Did You Get a LinkedIn Invite Today?
“Melanie, I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.” Of course you would.
But who are you?
How many of these invitations do you receive?
Well, LinkedIn, www.linkedin.com, is a great, social-media tool for networking, staying in touch with key contacts and more. But if you just send out random invitations, you are not using it to your advantage.
Yes, it’s easy to use their automatic invitation. But, does it work?
I receive invitations like the one you see above on a weekly basis, and they go straight to my wastebasket.
Why?
Well, I have a few rules about using LinkedIn, and you may want to take them into consideration too:
Rule 1 – I only connect with people on LinkedIn that I know.
Why? The main reason I have a LinkedIn account is to network and make referrals. However, how can I possible refer someone if I have no idea who they are?
If I refer a complete stranger to someone I respect, and that stranger turns out to be a nightmare, there goes my reputation and credibility.
And it goes both ways. How would you like it if one of your contacts referred a complete stranger to you for an important project?
Rule 2 – If I receive an invitation, it had better be personalized.
If I receive a LinkedIn invitation, I want to know who the person is and why they want me to be part of my network.
I may receive an invitation from someone I worked with in the past, a fellow speaker at an event or an old classmate. But if it has been some time since we spoke, I may not remember that person.
By adding a little note in the invitation that states who you are and why you want to connect with me, I’m much more likely to add you to my network.
Rule 3 – Please don’t take advantage of our connection.
Great! You are part of my LinkedIn group. But now, you are sending me advertisements and marketing messages on a regular basis and constantly asking me to introduce you to others in my network.
That’s not cool. Social media is all about being social (see my previous post about this), and the communication needs to go both ways.
If you use LInkedIn as a marketing tool only and take advantage of my connections, you are out of my network!
What Do You Think?
These rules may not be for you, but you do need to think about why you are using LinkedIn and what you want to accomplish when you spend your valuable time on the site.
By remembering that it’s a social-media tool to communicate with people, you’ll be able to provide valuable information, help others and increase your network.
But if you just use LinkedIn to build a huge list of strangers in your network, constantly advertise your services and don’t really care about helping anyone but yourself, you are going to see very negative results and waste a lot of time and effort.
Do you need help with your social media and SEO strategies? Please let me know here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com.
December 6th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Melanie,
I want to thank you for your straightforward conversation regarding linked in. It has added value to my use of this unique site. I am a physician and new to the site. I was hoping to educate people to my medical practice, but I will now be more mindful of the way I reach out to others– known or unknown. Thank you for enlightening us novices!
December 6th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
[...] http://www.startupnation.com/business-blogs/index.php/2011/12/01/linkedin/ – good article. worth a read This entry was posted in news and tagged linkedin, training by admin. Bookmark the permalink. [...]
December 6th, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Thanks Dr. Werner. I’m glad you found the article helpful.
For more, check out the free information on my site and my book, “Simple Publicity.”
Melanie, rembrandtwrites.com
December 6th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
If I went by your rules I’d have missed out on some really great contacts and the relationships that have grown from them. I’d be poorer financially as well as personally for it too.
I invite people I think I can benefit and who I believe can benefit me. If I get an invite, it is almost always someone I don’t know. If it is generic or crudely written, then I don’t make judgments, I give the benefit of the doubt and until I learn otherwise, I assume they are new to social media networking. Once I visit and read through their profile, then I am able to make an informed decision about their place in my network.
Most of the invites I receive turn out to be good ones, but I still don’t blindly refer them to my clients and vendors. If that opportunity arises, I reach out with my own email to them, or a phone call to clarify the situation, learn more about them and then make a decision about passing them on.
And anyone who understands LinkedIn, who wants to contact someone in someone else’s network, already knows that just being in someone’s network is not an endorsement from them personally.
Do I ever remove people from my network? Sure. But it is a rare occasion.
LinkedIn is a great way to grow your influence and grow your business. And as far as more business finding you on LinkedIn, it’s a direct factor of who knows you, not who you know. So my recommendation to all people who want LinkedIn to be more than a database of acquaintances, be open to new relationships, and so get in there and make it happen. Of course, a well written invite will up your acceptance rate considerably, as there are many people out there that link a polished social media presence to a value judgment on the quality an entirely unrelated profession.
December 6th, 2011 at 7:11 pm
Hi Doug,
Thanks for your comments, and I’m glad you found a way to make LinkedIn work for you. As I mention in the blog entry, these are just the rules that I go by, and they are not for everyone.
The point is to know why you are participating in social media and have a plan to make your time and effort work for your particular goals.
All the best,
Melanie
December 8th, 2011 at 9:47 am
Bottom line for me in social media is that time and effort should equal results. As an artist and product designer,I receive generic LinkedIn requests from overseas manufacturers. I used to look at their sites to see if it was applicable. Never!
February 13th, 2012 at 7:31 pm
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