Don’t make these LinkedIn mistakes
LinkedIn is the largest business to business platform in the world. Many people feel obligated to use it to grow their network. I am a very active user of LinkedIn with over 2,000 connections all over the world. I’ve noticed some mistakes that people make which I’d like to point out that are hurting themselves and their brand.
Not Being Responsive
You are hurting yourself more than helping if you aren’t responsive. I’ve sent invites to connect which have taken six months or more to be responded to. I’ve sent messages which are never responded to which are often referrals to people in need of their services. If this is YOU, you’re better off deleting your profile. You can set up email notifications for once/week if you don’t want to hear about every single item individually all day everyday. Make sure to jump into LinkedIn at least once per week. Don’t be the person who leaves others listening to nothing but crickets.
Keep Your Profile Up-to-date
I often see profiles which haven’t been updated in months or even years. It only takes a few minutes to add a new position, a new company, a new designation, a new certification, a new website, or very importantly, new contact info. The idea is to keep people up to date with your activities. You will be ignored if your profile hasn’t changed in years. You will further be ignored if your contact info isn’t up to date.
Add A Picture!
It’s a fact that profiles with a picture are much more likely to be viewed. Get a professional headshot from a professional photographer or use a great image from a speech you gave, an award you won, or something along those lines. This isn’t facebook where any pic goes. This is where people are supposed to find you for your business acumen and an unprofessional picture won’t help them respect you and find you an authority. Here’s my profile pic:
Like/comment/share
Keep yourself top of mind with your connections by liking, commenting, or even sharing your connections posts. I hear all the time from people that they have seen my recent posts and are happy for me, found the content interesting, learned something from me, etc. But yet they don’t like, comment, or share on those posts. Spend a couple minutes a day (or at least once per week) viewing your feed and helping your connections. They will be grateful and keep you in mind.
Add educational content
Most of you are experts in your field. If you aren’t occasionally sharing the benefits of your expertise, you are missing out. The fact is that you “attract more people more quickly by offering to teach them something of value to themselves, rather than just trying to sell them something. ” Chet Holmes, Author of The Ultimate Sales Machine.
Don’t Spam People
Don’t spam! Don’t connect with someone and immediately send them a long private message “selling” your company or asking for referrals to your connections. Offer to have a phone call or meeting to learn more about each other. Don’t skip steps. Take the time to really learn about your connections. I often have to tell people that “No, I won’t refer you to my connections because I don’t even know you after our two minute conversation at a networking meeting. I’m happy to get to know you better though to evaluate whether I should put my reputation on the line by referring you.”
Thanks for listening. I hope you found this helpful.
Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn HERE.
Mitch Zucker
Firewalker Development Group
774-218-9486
mitchz@firewalkerdevgroup.com