Linked Intelligence

Tips from The LinkedIn Rockstars: Top Ten Annoying Behaviors of People on LinkedIn – Number 3

Lori Ruff, The LinkedIn Diva — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:30:44 +0000

Ok, we’re to my Top 3 Annoying Behaviors of People on LinkedIn. We’ve been taking this educational journey together to help people understand the LinkedIn environment and what other people think of behaviors that may not even get a second thought while we’re engaging from a computer with no one else in the room.

How many invitations have you received for a group located somewhere else? If you’re a member of one of the large groups or a member of multiple groups, you’ve likely seen at least one. I’m pretty sure they’re sent out by companies that the group owner has hired to build their group. The subject lines typically proclaim: “Connected in (insert location here): We Need You!!” or “Just Following Up…” (See Screen Shot). Notice they all include a Budurl.com address followed by the group name, i.e., http:budurl.com/BuckheadConnect as the one in the screen shot.

Sometimes you’ll even get more than one a day for the same group! Why? Because the messages are coming from low level people in another country that doesn’t speak our language and so are unaware of the mistake they are making. The profiles aren’t real. They are sent from accounts that have very little profile information but who are surprisingly a member of 50 very large groups. If enough people report them as spam, they are shut down by LinkedIn.

Not only is this a pet peeve of mine and lots of other very well connected people on LinkedIn, it’s a violation of the End User License Agreement (EULA): available here. It’s in the Don’ts Section:

10.B.16 – (Don’t) Sell, sponsor, or otherwise monetize a LinkedIn Group or any other service or functionality of LinkedIn, without the express written permission of LinkedIn.

They found a formula that works for them. Yeah for them!

In the meantime, I get more “spam” concerning groups in places I don’t live and even from places I’ve never visited, than for any other reason. When I get them, I report them as spam and check our groups to make sure they are not pilfering people… yes another pet peeve. Let’s call this one 2.5.

LinkedIn limits the number of groups anyone can join to 50. When you’re very involved on LinkedIn this really does become a challenge. And when people are limited, group membership and members are more valuable. So, joining a group just to entice people to join your group looks and feels a bit more shady than it would if membership were unlimited.

What do you think?

Introductions are Proven to be More Effective than Cold Calls

Jan Wallen — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:37:56 +0000

Did you know that introductions are proven to be more effective than cold calls? When you’re making cold calls, you’re calling someone you don’t know, hoping to get their attention long enough to listen to what you have to say. When someone introduces you, it comes with a personal recommendation. The person will listen to you because you’ve been personally introduced.

LinkedIn makes it easy to request introductions. Let’s say you want to meet John Smith, who is a potential client. You’ve worked with executives like him, and the results have been excellent. You want to talk to him about how you might do something similar for him and his company.

Go to LinkedIn and look up John’s profile. You can see how you’re connected to John. That is, you can see who knows both you and John. Look for someone you know well. Pick up the phone, and tell them, “Bob, I want to meet John Smith. We’ve worked with companies similar to his, and the results were excellent. I want to talk to him about how we might do something similar for him and his company. Do you mind introducing us?”

Be sure to tell the person who’s introducing you why you want to meet the other person. Not only is it polite and courteous to do that, it makes it easier to make the introduction. Also, when someone is introducing you to someone else, it comes with some responsibility on the part of the person introducing you. He wants the introduction to work out well, too.

I find it more effective to make the phone call first, and then to use LinkedIn’s steps to an introduction. So after I make the phone call, I go back to LinkedIn and request the introduction.

With introductions, I’ve been able to reach people I wouldn’t have otherwise, and we’re now working together. It may take a few extra minutes to do the research to find out who knows the people you want to meet. The return on your investment is high.

Tips from The LinkedIn Rockstars: Top Ten Annoying Behaviors of People on LinkedIn – Number 4

Lori Ruff, The LinkedIn Diva — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:52:40 +0000

I once had a conversation at a networking event where I asked the person if they were on LinkedIn. I said I’d send an invitation from my phone to make sure we could stay in touch. He said “Great! You can learn all about me from my profile!”The conversation was short and we didn’t exchange cards,

but I didn’t mind because I knew I could look him up again.

The next day when I arrived at work, I went onto LinkedIn to make sure I sent a personal note to everyone I had connected with the night before. When I came to this guy’s profile, I was a bit stunned that there was nothing but a fairly blank profile staring back at me from the screen.

I wouldn’t have been as surprised if he hadn’t thought I could “learn all about him.” I guess I was hoping for more than his industry and location. I searched for his name again thinking he might have had more than one profile but to no avail. There wasn’t any contact on his profile either, but we were connected to I sent him a message asking him to connect for a follow up meeting.

I never heard back; until months later when we ran across each other again. He asked why I never followed up but I explained that I did indeed send him a message from LinkedIn. He replied that he didn’t check LinkedIn; I should have sent him a regular email. (Are you starting to get the picture?) We never exchanged business cards because he said he was on LinkedIn. He said I could follow-up with him there but he had no contact info listed, had the messages delivered online only, and didn’t check it

How much are you making your prospects hunt and search for you? In this day of social media and 24/7 access, perhaps we’re spoiled. But I’m going to take a stab and say anyone who doesn’t tell their prospects how to get ahold of them don’t do much business.

Are you on LinkedIn? Are you telling people that? Then make sure you visit at least once a week; and, include contact info (Who, Why, When and How) on your profile. While we’re at it, if you tell people you’re on LinkedIn, make sure you look as dressed up and ready for business there as you do in public. Need help? We’ve set up complimentary instructor-led video training available just like the internet is: online 24/7/365. Register now at RockLinkedIn.com. Let us know what you think.

You’ll have access to the training as well as other resources like books, ebooks, worksheets and more, even three full-length webinars: LinkedIn for Job Seekers, for Recruiters, and for Event Networkers. I wish I could have invited my almost friend to watch it before he so completely lost the sale. Are you willing to be available for your clients? Visit Rock LinkedIn dot com now to make sure you are.

How LinkedIn Works [INFOGRAPHIC]

Scott Allen — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:01:13 +0000

Everybody loves infographics. Here’s a great one about LinkedIn.

How LinkedIn Works by Infographiclabs

Job Titles in ALL CAPS

Scott Allen — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:58:01 +0000

Typing your job title in all caps on #LinkedIn does NOT make you look more important than your non-capitalizing peers.

— Jordan Whitt (@jwwhitt) April 10, 2012

@JennaNBaker you’re half right. I should’ve qualified that with “unless your job title consists solely of acronyms.”

— Jordan Whitt (@jwwhitt) April 10, 2012

Tips from The LinkedIn Rockstars: Top Ten Annoying Behaviors of People on LinkedIn – Number 5

Lori Ruff, The LinkedIn Diva — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:30:01 +0000

I love recommendations. They provide 3rd party testimonial proof that your LinkedIn profile is peer reviewed and credible. What I dread is when someone sends me a recommendation request that has nothing but the default text.

The worst is when I don’t even know a person. That just shouldn’t happen. “I recommend the work of a person I’ve never met and have never experienced” is just not an honest and credible thing to do. It looks bad for them and especially for me. So I politely ask on what basis they’d like to be recommended for since I’ve never experienced their product or service. I have yet to hear back from anyone who has made the initial request.

The other annoying behavior is when people I do know send me a request, again with the default text. Sometimes it’s been recent, but most often, people think about needing recommendations much later.

I can and do take the time to think about how we worked together in the past and to look at their profile to see what position the recommendation request is for. But honestly, most people that you ask don’t know what to write that will help you accomplish your goals.

A better option—and not just for busy people—is to offer an outline of what you’d like to be recommended for or at least why so that people you ask have an idea of what to say. Remember, that recommendations are not character references, not just a pat on the back. The most effective recommendations detail specific elements of a project more than saying “he’s a great guy!”

The old adage likely applies to recommendations: you get what you ask for. Or to paraphrase a former president, “Don’t ask; they won’t tell” what you were brilliant at!

LinkedIn Updates People You May Know Feature

Scott Allen — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:57:46 +0000

Late last week, LinkedIn announced an update to their People You May Know feature that they will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks.

The new People You May Know includes several enhancements designed to make it even easier to find and connect with people in your network:

Streamlined user experience
Improved algorithm — more accurate and relevant recommendations
Quick filtering — you can now view your results from relevant associations like company or school with a single mouse click

This is one of my favorite LinkedIn features — I’ve found it tremendously useful for reconnecting with former co-workers, clients, and especially networking acquaintances. I highly recommend using it at least once a month. When you do, be sure to clear out people you don’t know, as well as connecting with those you do.

LinkedIn will be rolling out this newer version of PYMK to everyone over the next few weeks, but if you can’t wait, you can go ahead and try it out now.

LinkedIn Security – Keep your info safe

Jan Wallen — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:30:11 +0000

Security and social media have been in the news lately. Here are tips for protecting your information on LinkedIn.

Your LinkedIn Profile:

Only put information that you want the world to see on your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is a professional network, and is all about building relationships and doing business together. Your profile is a public document, and we don’t know who will read it.
Be sure your profile shows you in a good professional way so people want to do business with you. It’s not meant to be your life story. Think of it as a sales and marketing piece for you, whether you’re conducting a job search or in business.
Don’t put confidential or proprietary information in your profile. For example, as you’re describing your accomplishments, leave the specific sales and revenue results for your resume or business case studies. When you take your conversation offline, that’s the time to talk about the specifics.

Your Connections:

Connect with people you know and that make sense to network with. You may not want to connect with everyone who sends you an invitation. This also depends on your networking philosophy — whether you have a Quality philosophy and want to know everyone you connect with, or a Quantity philosophy where you want many, many people in your network.
Check carefully when someone sends you an invitation that only says, “I’d like to add you to my professional network” and is not personalized in any way. They may be sending that to many, many people. I sometimes send a message when I receive an invitation like this, and ask them how they see us networking. If they don’t respond, I don’t accept their invitation.

Accepting Invitations & Replying to Messages:

When someone invites you to connect on LinkedIn, you’ll see their invitation in your Inbox when you’re logged in to LinkedIn. You’ll also receive an email notification that someone has invited you to connect. It’s best to go into LinkedIn to view and accept the invitation rather than click on the link in the email.
It’s also best and safer to go into LinkedIn to reply to messages rather than from the email message, even though it may be more convenient.

Security and your online reputation are important – protect them.

Tips from The LinkedIn Rockstars: Top Ten Annoying Behaviors of People on LinkedIn- Number 6

Lori Ruff, The LinkedIn Diva — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:30:35 +0000

The most often stated reason people tell me they have lost their LinkedIn account is when they are using a business name instead of their given name on LinkedIn. In fact, when I start getting a flurry of calls, I know they are cleaning house once again.

You see, although many social media sites care about their number of accounts, LinkedIn realizes if they allow a lot of fluff and bad information on the site, they will lose their reputation for being a great place for business. So they frequently and with regularity impose punishments of various sorts for bad or unwanted behavior.

Is it bad to use a personal profile to represent your business? You bet! Because in this online community, profiles are for people and pages are for businesses. Some business people either don’t want a personal profile or they just don’t know the rules, so they create a profile and use their business name in the name field instead of their own.

The downside is, so many people understand the rules, that this unsuspecting person doesn’t realize how much they hurt their reputation by coloring outside of these particular lines. But here’s the real deal:

LinkedIn WILL shut down your account if they find you using anything other than your name and lettered credentials in your name field. They take no excuses. They shut off the account and I have NEVER heard of them reinstating it later for any reason. The offending party is left to create a new account and trying to rebuild.

The only except to this was a close friend who had a checkmark symbol in her name field. She reached out to LinkedIn support to ask a question and was replied with “you have an illegal character in your name field. Once that is removed, we will answer your question.” Ouch.

So, no matter what you may see other people do; do yourself a favor, color inside the lines. Here is one area you absolutely want to Fit In. Standing out with anything other than your name does you no favors. By the way, you can find the EULA (End User License Agreement) at the bottom of every LinkedIn page, or click here.

What other habits do you find annoying?

Loose LinkedIn Connections Sink Security

Steven Tylock — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:52:22 +0000

Sure, this is a shameless takeoff on “Loose Lips Sink Ships”, but hopefully you’ll forgive me – because the saying makes sense.

And if wartime talk could leak secrets to the enemy, peace time posting can spread information to the social criminal.

Those shark infested waters

The wonderful thing about small-town america is that you know your neighbors, right?

Sure, you have to lock the doors at night, and be wary of the traveling salesmen, but both the potential loss and probable risks are small.

But then the criminals find out – and there goes the neighborhood.

Trolling for information on LinkedIn

The very first commandment is this – everything you place on your profile is going to be seen by everyone!

(Over on the LinkedIn Personal Trainer blog I’ve previously dealt with “super-sekrit” information )

So just don’t do it.

Indiscriminate connections

Two summers ago I exposed the myths of indiscriminately connecting – includeing the bit about updates being seen by more people.

So what happens when you connect to people indiscriminately – and you happen to make updates about your life.

Think that might work against you?

CNN Money says so…

Yup – people that want to hack into your life – for any number of reasons – will look to connect to your Linkedin account and spy on you, your activity, and your intentions.

But hey – if you’re a fake and only use LinkedIn as a promotional tool, never connect to people you really trust, and never reveal anything on the site – you’ve got nothing to worry about;-)

Safety first

Well – I was sure I’d be able to make a nice cultural link with that line, but the web is failing me – the saying is a common one, but other than linking it to an Itchy and Scratchy reference, I’ve got nothing…

Your virtual safety should come first – there’s no reason to try to benefit from an online system if doing so causes you to lose your identity!

Anyway – connecting to people you know and trust – it’s a safer bet; and that’s why I recommend it.

To your continued success,

steve