Are you using LinkedIn? If you’re a business owner, employee, solopreneur or author, building relationships on LinkedIn can help you make connections. If you’re ever looking for a new job, a new opportunity, potential clients or looking for ways to grow your knowledge base, LinkedIn is a great place to do that.
Spending time on LinkedIn is different than being on Facebook. At its core, Facebook is more “social” while LinkedIn is more “business.” That is a true simplification, but it’s one way to differentiate between the platforms.
Are You Using LinkedIn?
If you’re using LinkedIn or if you’re new to LinkedIn you want to practice proper social etiquette and here are a few steps to take.
- If you send a connection invitation, send a personal note. This is especially true if you don’t know the person personally with whom you’re connecting. If you have a personal connection or have met the individual previously, make mention of that in your connection request.
- Don’t build a profile without adding a professional profile photo. Not many people want to make a connection with a business professional who doesn’t have a headshot.
- When someone accepts your friend request, thank them. Send a message BUT don’t couch it in “hey, buy my products.” Be genuine.
- Build relationships.
- Be active
- Comment on status updates. If someone comments on your status updates, have a conversation
- Fill out your profile completely.
- Link to your website
- Take some time to completely build out your headline, using key words. Don’t use industry insider terms that most people wouldn’t use to search for you. If you’re a writer, then put writer in your headline don’t put “word crafter” for example because that isn’t an intuitive search term.
Are you utilizing your LinkedIn account? Is it helping you make business connections? If you’re on LinkedIn have you taken advantage of the article publication platform? If you’re blogging and you have content you can repurpose use it on LinkedIn.
Consider writing new content for LinkedIn and publishing there regularly.