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Make a Better Connection on LinkedIn #FabFive

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For this week's Fab Five Friday, I am going to focus on content to help you improve your LinkedIn activity. I included several posts from Viveka von Rosen because she has provided a huge amount of quality content and, to me, holds the thought leadership crown on the subject of LinkedIn. Viveka hosts #LinkedInChat every Tuesday at 8 pm EST.

First, please, I beg of you, stop sending out the default LinkedIn invites. Click on +Connect and personalize your request. “I'd like to add you to my professional network” is uninspired and shows you didn't put much effort into it. It doesn't need to be long or complicated but a brief, personal message can go a long way.

Second, it is bad form to auto-post your tweets into LinkedIn. Most blogs have a share button for LinkedIn now which makes it very easy to share. Posting one specifically chosen post for your update on LinkedIn that day is much more beneficial than flooding the LinkedIn stream with all your tweets. If you have a certain post that you want to go from Twitter to your LinkedIn updates, just add a #IN at the end of the tweet.

  1. Big Spammy Spammers who Spam on LinkedIn by Viveka von Rosen
  2. 20 Tips to Becoming Successful on LinkedIn by Viveka von Rosen
  3. 12 Most Important Metrics You Should Monitor on LinkedIn by Viveka von Rosen
  4. 7 LinkedIn Tips for Small Businesses by Ekaterina Walter
  5. 3 Reasons to NOT Auto-Post Your Tweets to LinkedIn by Aaron Corson

How's your LinkedIn profile looking these days? Take a minute to freshen up and make sure you are presenting the best possible professional image.

What are your best LinkedIn tips?

Featured image courtesy ofย ideagirlmediaย via Creative Commons.
Article by Peg Fitzpatrick

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5 Comments

  1. Well, I know many have their own etiquette about who to connect with on LinkedIn. Some are LIONs and openly network with most everyone but to me, this is not much different than searching a phonebook.ย 

    Social networks are about trust for me and I only care to connect with those that I know, trust, and can possibly recommend or refer for business.ย 

    1. I agree with your thinking on open networking, that isn’t for me either. I am trying to keep it a pure, true network for me. I don’t add people that I don’t know. As far as I know, there is no prize for the most connections on LinkedIn so what’s the point?

      Recommendations are especially important because they are a reflection of you and if you write one for someone you don’t know it could turn out badly.

  2. As a nearly graduate I tend to have as big a network as possible. Especially on LinkedIn – I have no chance of knowing from where my first job will come. Once settled into the first job, I’ll definitely clean out my connections.ย 
    ย 
    As for recommendations, there’s an awfull tendency for a 1:1/quid-pro-quo understanding. If I ask for a recommendation from someone I’m instantly asked to recommend them back. But does that not completely cancel out the effect and purpose of a recommendation?

    1. ย @jarosjakย I have had mixed luck with the recommendations as well. I would hope that recommendations are fair and honest, not just based on recipriocity.
      ย 
      Are students getting recommendations from professors for LinkedIn these days? Best wishes on your graduation and good luck in your job search.

      1. ย @Peg Fitzpatrickย Sorry for the late answer. Read your reply on mail, and forgot all about it.
        ย 
        Usually the recommendations are fair (at least I think mine are).ย 
        ย 
        In Denmark we’re unfortunatelyย a bit bound by some unwritten rules about not thinking you’re something special. This makes us less prone to ask for appraisal by our peers and superiors. The professor recommendations in general are very rare in Denmark and are, to my knowledge, seen as a privilege for the students that do special projects with the professor – and is not something you ask for directly. I might be given to you, if not it’s insinuated that you’d like one, if it is not too much to ask.ย 
        ย 
        A bit different from most other places around the world (except Scandinavia I’d guess)

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