Unlike other social media platforms that are available online these days, such as Twitter and Facebook, LinkedIn was created with business in mind. Starting from the way your profile looks, to managing business relationships, everybody in LinkedIn expect high-quality professional behaviour from you all the time. As you start to grow your connections, it is very important to know some of the things that are considered appropriate.
Display Professionalism
A first impression is a one-time thing. Therefore, it is very important to make sure that every single bit of it counts. This means that it is very important that you only show people your professional side. If you choose a rather unprofessional image on your profile, you may not get a chance to redeem your reputation. The profile image on your LinkedIn account needs to show your professional image. The headshot should have a clean background, a smile, and should show your eyes.
Avoid Over-Stuffing Your Page with Keywords
The very first thing that a lot of people do when they receive your request is check your profile. If your profile is filled with irrelevant or repetitive keywords, they might decide not to connect with you. This means that it is very important to optimise your LinkedIn profile using relevant keywords, remembering that keyword optimising is VERY different to keyword stuffing. Rather than using vague and relevant words, you may want to choose at least three or four keywords in which you want to be associated with to ensure that your profile shows up in the search results when potential connections search for keywords on what you offer.
Personalise Each LinkedIn Request that You Send
If you decide to use default connection message for request, you may only end up sending the wrong signal to the person you are trying to connect with. By using a generic message, you may imply that you may either not have the time to send a personalised request or that they are not really that important to warrant such a personal request. On the other hand, by personalising each request, it can come with a reminder on how the person may benefit from you or why they should accept your request. This is important particularly if you are connecting with a person you have never met before.
Make sure that You Protect the Contact Information of Your Connections
It does not feel good to receive a ‘general’ message sent to many other people. This may result to having your connections feeling offended when you also share their email ad with other recipients they may not even be connected with. This means that you need to be particular in checking the audience of every message that you send.
Most Importantly… Share Valuable Content!
Professionals on LinkedIn are kind enough to share their expertise and knowledge with their connections, and so should YOU! If you are an expert in your particular field (trust me YOU are) than you should share this knowledge with your connections. Wether that be the latest accounting practices, real estate news, or how-to guides, anything you think provides value to the social discussion, will be appreciated on LinkedIn.
Furthermore, if you have any publications, eBooks, newsletters, articles, essays or journals, you should also share these with your LinkedIn connections. If not to prove your expertise in your chosen field, then to perhaps enlighten or entertain someone browsing your LinkedIn profile.
Indeed, social media is a powerful tool in growing your personal and online connections. By following the correct etiquette when using LinkedIn, you can expect to grow your followers by connecting with other liked mined professionals in no time at all.
Get in touch with the WestVic Web team today if you have any questions, queries or concerns about starting a LinkedIn profile for yourself or your business. We can share our insider LinkedIn tips, techniques, tools & strategies to help turn your profile into a powerful online channel.
