I often write about things you should do on LinkedIn to maximize your effectiveness. Today we’re going to look at the other side of the equation…the mistakes. The five mistakes listed here are related to your ability to eventually monetize LinkedIn.
1. Not Having a Purpose or Not Understanding Why You Are On LinkedIn
Quite simply if you don’t know the answer to this question then how do you know what actions you should be taking on LinkedIn? There are numerous reasons to be on LinkedIn and you may have several. The actions you take should be done to support your purpose.
My ultimate goal is to grow my business (make money) so I focus on growing my networks and communicating my message as often as possible. Because I know my purpose, have determined what actions support this purpose, and implement my strategy on an ongoing basis, I have been successful in developing new business clients.
Action Steps:
a. Write down the top 3 reasons why you are on LinkedIn
b. Determine what actions will support each reason
2. Failure to Participate
There are 50 million people on LinkedIn and a large majority do not interact with others on a consistent basis. This is a direct result of mistake number one. Without understanding your purpose you can’t know which actions to take that will produce a positive outcome.
There are only so many hours in a day and people tend to repeat what works. Social media marketing rarely provides quick results. Most often success is built over time only after people get to know you, like you, and trust you. You have to have the patience to continue participating when you’re not seeing the results.
There are no guarantees that your efforts will produce results, but if you do not participate consistently, I guarantee that you will not find success.
I spent almost a year providing value and interacting before I started seeing results. Now I can count on several inquiries each week from potential clients looking to engage my services.
Action Steps
a. Commit to taking action on a weekly basis
b. Schedule these activities
c. Post them next to your computer or in your electronic calendar
3. Presenting an Incomplete Picture
On LinkedIn people get to know you through being connected, belonging to common groups, the information your share, and your profile. People want to look at your profile and have a clear understanding of who you are and how you might be of service to them.
If you don’t provide enough information for them to know those two pieces they are unlikely to go looking for the information. You need to make sure you have a detailed profile. You need to include a professional photo. You need to have links to your websites, blogs, etc.
If you’ve been fortunate enough to get them to view your profile, you’ve accomplished the hardest part. It would seem a shame to lose them for simply failing to provide enough information.
Action Steps
a. Look at 20 profiles to see how others are presenting themselves
b. Spend an hour each month working on your profile
c. Personalize your profile–add keywords, personalize your public URL, and Change your Web URL’s to the name (go to edit and choose “Other”)
d. Look at the LinkedIn application to see which make sense to add
4. Not Sharing Information or Providing Value
Mistake number three is about people getting to know you. Number four is all about getting people to like you. It’s a simple fact: If you provide value to others without asking for something in return people will start to like you.
The quickest way to generate goodwill on LinkedIn is to provide value to others. Directly this might be responding to a connection or introduction request. You can also build goodwill by providing thoughtful responses to questions in Answers and in group discussion posts. Another great way to provide value to others is through writing recommendations for those who have provided great service or assistance to you.
Everything you do on LinkedIn either adds to or subtracts from your online brand so make sure you put some thought into what you say. Participate consistently and you’ll notice that your profile visits increase and people will start interacting with you.
Action steps
a. Find at least two connections to introduce each week.
b. Answer at least three questions each week
c. Identify connections that deserve a recommendation and write it. Try to find at least 15 people to recommend. Make sure these are 15 people that deserve it. If you can’t find 15 now, build this up over time
5. Failure to Build Credibility
By addressing the previous four mistakes you will have reached a point where people know and like you. You may have even started to build some credibility. There are six ways that I document to build your credibility. These include:
A. Your Profile: first impressions count.
B. Answers: In number four we addresses answers from the perspective of providing value. This is also a great way to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise. Whenever you answer a question it is available for anyone on LinkedIn to view. Your Direct connections are also notified that you answered a question on their Home page.
C. Recommendations: Nothing beats having another sing your praises. I have found that my client recommendations have been a huge part of building my online brand.
D. Your connections: Who you are connected to can have an impact. When I seek to connect to others I will often reference a common connection in the invitation.
E. Your Groups: With groups you have something in common with fellow members. I reference common groups in invitation requests as well.
F. Providing Value: This will help others grow to like you but it also is very helpful in building your credibility.
Action Steps
a. Answer at least three questions each week in your field of expertise
b. Try to get 10 recommendations. You can request recommendations but only do so from people you know that you have provided great service or help to. If you don’t have 10, keep providing great service and you’ll get there. When you do, join The “Top Recommended People” group on LinkedIn.
c. Grow your connections based on your connection strategy
d. If you don’t belong to 50 groups find 50 that are relevant and join.
e. Seek out every opportunity to help others.
Wrap Up
There are many other LinkedIn mistakes I could mention including avoiding typos, having multiple accounts, etc. These 5 though are fundamental mistakes that will impact your ability to monetize LinkedIn.
I’m a firm believer that the true value in LinkedIn is as a vehicle to add to your bottom line. You may have joined to network, to find a job, or to advance your career…all are great reasons… and all that at the end of the day are about monetization.
It’s OK to be on LinkedIn to make more money. It’s what will keep you coming back and participating, which in the end helps every other person on LinkedIn.
SONARconnects is a full service advertising and marketing agency. We help our client’s by showing them how to develop strategies and tactics to build communities of people, communicate their message, and monetize their social networking/media presence. Our client’s include Lenny’s Sub Shop, Copeland’s New Orleans Style Restaurant (ATL), Action Business Coaching (ATL), Aussie Pet Mobile (ATL), The Frederick Group, and MyCustomDay.
If you’re struggling to understand how to use social networking/media to build brand awareness and drive new business call us for a Free consultation at (404) 663-3997 or visit our site: http://www.sonarconnects.com.
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About Sean Nelson
Sean, I appreciate your List of Five. In the hands of a different author, the comments might have across as a list of whins. However, your insights and “actions steps” makes the information interactive and immediate. You have accomplished the difficult task of influencing behavior and moving people into action. Thanks for sharing.
Mitch Byers, author of InterviewRX and SalaryNegotiationsRX
Mitch,
Thanks for the comments. Not sure if whins is Whines or Wins. Either way thanks for participating.
Sean
I’m so glad I came across this blog post. I can’t agree with you more, and appreciate all the info. Please forgive me if this seems too naive, but I am puzzled by one point in the action step you mentioned (see below)
Personalize your profile–add keywords, personalize your public URL, and Change your Web URL’s to the name (go to edit and choose “Other”) Can you explain a little further or give me an example? I’m missing the point here I think.
Much appreciated again… Janice
Janice,
You can list up to 3 website links in your profile. When most people create these links they simply choose My Website or My Blog as the type of Link. Then on the profile it lists these as the weblink. If instead you choose the Other option you can then create a custom name…thus My Website can instead be LinkedIntuition.
Also in your profile you have a LinkedIn URL. In profile edit mode you can customize this so that it includes your name, a tag line, etc.
These and 100′s of other tips are included in the LinkedIn MBA which is available for a another week or so at $1.97. You can vie3w information on the book by going to http://www.linkedintuition.com/book.html.
Sean
Excellent blog and great advice too..
Although perhaps only relevant to geographically zoned groups, I would also say it’s a mistake not participating in “live” (i.e., non-virtual!) meetings.
One of the groups I signed up too (SME East Anglia Small Business Forum) has held several meetings which turned out to be extremely beneficial!
Stuart
Stuart,
Thanks for the comments.
Sean
Just found this article today. Very helpful. I can see I need to be spending more time thinking about and visiting LinkedIn. Thanks!
I too am new to LinkedIn. This is great training material. I have already forwarded it to another one of my groups and to all my contacts.
Thank you.
Kathi,
Be sure to look around the blog for other articles that will be helpful.
Sean
Mark,
Thanks for passing the blog on.
Sean
I joined Linkedin when I got laid off in May. Had no idea what to do with the information posted, but joined because that’s what everyone recommended. I have been somewhat dorment the past couple of months and decided to finally use this site to my advantage. There are so many positives that this site has to offer no matter what each individuals reasoning is. Thank you so much for this blog. I have asked myself these same questions. What great advice. Keep them coming.
Debi
Debi,
Glad to be of service.
Sean
I’ve had your site bookmarked for a while now and was browsing through for blog material. It’s apropos I came across this now.
I have a friend who just got laid off and he asked for help. I told him I couldn’t think of anything and then proceeded to give him a quick tutorial on how to use LinkedIn groups/forums!
I think my next blog will be about LinkedIn since so many folks are getting laid off right now or struggling to find partners, customers etc.
Thanks for the virtual nudge! I will be linking this or some other related article of yours to my blog post.
Jenn
http://webhead20.com
Jenn,
Thanks for the comments. The one area I don’t write much about is the job search aspect of LinkedIn. That’s primarily because I have not used LinkedIn to find a job, being self employed.
Sean
Hi Sean, thanks for this information, it is really helpful as I’m trying to improve traffic to my jewellery website.
Best regards,
Geraldine
Saba Jewellery Ireland
Great stuff here – enriching. Thanks
Great advice and thanks for providing steps to making this work.
Belkis,
Thanks for the comments.
Sean
I have joined this group a few minutes ago, and yours was the first post I read. It is very valuable. It also gave me a very good impression of the group.I’ll start with editing my profile.
Lale,
Thanks for the comments. You can learn a lot in this group.
Sean
I wanted to post an article on linked in related to the economy does anyone know how I can do that and link it to my profile?
Hello Sean,
Absolutely right. While I have my profile also in the LI – will put to use what you have stated. And yes, your point about helping others is extremely well stated. Thanks for a great article.
Jennifer,
You can’t directly post a news article to LinkedIn. It has to be posted as an article on the internet and then you link to it to create your news article.
Sean
Natarjan,
Thanks for the comments.
Sean
Hitting the nail on the head. One of the best articles on the purpose of social and professional networking websites. Good Job!!
Pavan,
thanks for the kind words. Lots more articles like these on the blog.
Hi Sean I just wanted to say that was a great post about the five failures of using linkedin and how you can correct them by making a few changes and being consistent using linkedin. Great information thanks for sharing this.
Michele,
thanks for the comments. Be sure to check out the rest of the blog for similar articles.
Sean
Seon, Great advice how to avoid committing mistakes in Linked-In. I’ll also start encorporating these step-by-step methodologies in spreading my business. Thankx once again. Please keep sharing your valuable thoughts with us.
One of the most viral topics in marketing nowadays, and great that you differentiated it with steps to follow to avoid mistakes. Gr8 cheers!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks so much for this article. I just joined LinkedIn and I’m still trying to get to know my way around. This is very helpful.
Manish,
Thanks for the comments glad you liked the article.
Dj, thanks. Be sure to read some of the other 200 plus articles.
Sean
Wow..provocative article that draws 88+ comments! I’ve been a casual LI user for many years, and most people I’ve compared notes with are just like me–never made a dime or opened a new opportunity on LinkedIn.
Thanks and a question: does LI provide users any metrics/analytics other than number of connections that can be useful in understanding how well the tool is working for you?
Best, Martin
Several have commented on the Invitation to Connect issue. You mention it’s an act of goodwill to accept. One of my best practices is to connect ONLY to people I know and trust. Why? Because I don’t want to jeopardize the relationships I value by some aggressive connection reaching out to my friends w/o an introduction from me. I really care about and trust the people in my network.
Denise,
Thanks for the comments. I think the line you’re talking about is “this might be responding to a connection or introduction request.” The reason this is prefaced with “might” is because its not an absolute. I’m not saying do it or else, simply identifying a way to share value.
I will make a comment on a point in your comments that I disagree with… “I don’t want to jeopardize the relationships I value by some aggressive connection reaching out to my friends w/o an introduction from me”.
If you connect to someone you don’t know then they are your connections second degree connection. As such they cannot contact your connections directly, although they can send a connection request. Its still up to your 1st degree connections as to whether or not they want to accept the connection. Otherwise they can simply archive the connection and move on.
I see my role on LinkedIn to be a hub in connecting people whether I know them or not. I’ll pass on an introduction, taking time to explain how I know them or that I do not personally know them. Then I leave it up to the recipient to determine if they want to accept. I don’t get in the way of unexpected opportunity.
I have 4,000 + direct connections and maybe I get an introduction request or two per month, so I’m not seeing the aggressive connection attempts.
The beauty of LinkedIn is that each person gets to decide what is best for them. So while I disagree I respect that its your network and assume you are doing what you feel is the best strategy. If it works for you that’s fantastic.
Thanks again for taking the time to comment. Whether you agree or disagree with my post, your comments help drive the conversation forward.
Sean
Nice piece. A great reminder of how to interact on Linkedin. It is easy to get distracted and not contribute like you intend. Thanks for the nudge. Will go to my calendar now and schedule time to follow through.
Donna,
Glad the article spurred some action. Thanks for the comments.
Sean
Thanks for sharing linkedin tips. Great read.
Nice post and good points. There is a more fundamental issue of understanding or at least trying to use social networks in a reasonable way. This means thinking about the system and the people using it. Initially Linked-In was heavily used by recruiters looking for people to work with. Now it seems that networkers looking to build their connections are also gathering long lists of connections. With these “pro-networkers” there are also “novices” (casual users) which use the network differently. I think that more tutorials and resources for casual and intermediate users will help everyone, specially the “pro” / “expert” class users.
Siddique,
Thanks for the comment.
Sean
Thanks Ami. Every user started as a novice, its just where they choose to go. I learned a lot from others so I try to pass it forward with the blog. Share value and your results will eventually reflect that.
Sean
Thank’s a lot Sean!
Nocoletta you’re welcome. Be sure to check out the rest of the blog for more article like this one.
Sean
Very informative! Thank you!
Thanks,
Be sure to check out the rest of the blog for more articles like this one.
Sean
That’s just what every new Linkedin member needs! Although I have had the sense to figure out most of these steps on my own, but it helps to have them all laid out as a simple checklist, especially since I always tend to get distracted with building my website and researching the net for helpful articles.
Phrasing your goal clearly is the sure way to achieve it!
I’m retweeting this for sure.
Thanks for sharing.
Manal,
Thanks for the comments. Glad I could help keep you on track.
Sean
Right. Or I can quit that colossal waste of time right now and not be annoyed by updates from people I neither care about or don’t remember.
Martin,
Not sure where your comments are directed. Need a little context, but from your post I’m not sure Social Networking is going to be your best use of time. For myself it’s proven to be a great source of contacts and new business.
Sean