A few quick thoughts about LinkedIn

I am big fan of LinkedIn and I’m more convinced than ever that it is the most important social networking site for business professionals.  There are various opinions on the use of Facebook vs. LinkedIn (two of my favorites…..Veronica Ludwig: here and Liz Kelly: here), but for my money, LinkedIn is a necessity for business networking.  

With more than 60 million registered users, LinkedIn has been around since 2003 and can be considered a “mature” social networking site.  As such,  they are constantly making changes and adding features.  As a frequent user, I have my favorite parts of LinkedIn and definitely some pet peeves.  We have helped several clients make the most of LinkedIn, and there are a couple of things you might want to consider to make your use of LinkedIn more effective.  (I’ll skip past the basics, like adding a professional picture, posting links to your website, blog, Twitter account, etc, because if you are serious about using LinkedIn, you are already doing those things!!)

• Only connect with people you actually know.  This is a fairly contentious issue and many disagree with me,  but I believe that your connections have more value to you and others if you actually have a relationship with them.  I just don’t see the benefit of having connections that you haven’t actually met, don’t really know much about, and will not interact with beyond the invitation.  
• Keep your connections open.  I have written about this before, but unless you are a psychiatrist I can think of no good reason to hide your connections from others.  It completely defeats the purpose of on-line networking.  And that includes recruiters – social networking isn’t supposed to be a one way street. 
• Utilize the add-ins that LinkedIn make available.  You can post pdf files and PowerPoint presentations, and publicize your blog.  It makes your profile stand out from others, and you should think of it as free, real-time publicity for you and your firm.
• Be careful when integrating Twitter and Facebook feeds.  LinkedIn has made it possible to have all of your Facebook and Twitter status updates display as status updates in LinkedIn too.  Unfortunately, the frequent posts on these more social websites look a lot like spam on LinkedIn.  The last thing you want to do is spam your business connections.  (tip: as a LinkedIn user, you can turn off receiving these updates on a user by user basis.  I’ve done it for several connections who pump out Twitter and Facebook updates all day - even some close friends!)  

The social networking landscape seems to change on a daily basis, but LinkedIn keeps gaining in popularity and usage.  It is a wonderful tool to network, stay connected and publicize yourself and the business.  Take advantage of it.