Tackling the world of social media – whether as a person or business – can be hard. There’s tons of opportunity, but plenty of tools and processes to learn that it can become overwhelming. We’ll always analyse, research and develop a clear strategy to run great social campaigns – but what about those just starting out with small businesses, or wanting to use social for career development? What are the absolute dos and don’ts?
I’ve asked some of the biggest names in social media on Twitter for one ‘golden rule’ for our favourite social websites – and this week, we focussed on career and business-building site LinkedIn.
Here’s some of the great #LIGoldenRule Tweets we received…
Our first tip came from career and recruitment blog Undercover Recruiter – revealing how first impressions are especially important for connecting to people through LinkedIn. As invitations to ‘connect’ require approval from the receiver, unlike simply ‘following’ on Twitter, the way you introduce yourself is clearly an essential part of building a good LinkedIn profile.
@wearecrowd Personalise your invitations!
— Undercover Recruiter (@UndercoverRec) July 31, 2014
a tip echoed by social media consultant Emer O’Leary of socialsorted.com
@wearecrowd Oooh, so many to choose from. I say ‘Personalise your invitation to connect’. So many people still don’t do this!
— Emer O’Leary (@socialemer) July 31, 2014
Plus, people on LinkedIn want to know what you look like! It’s a presentation of yourself, a digital CV, so make sure they can see you – as mentioned by London social media consultancy firm Paperhat Consorcio
@wearecrowd Thanks! Yes, LinkedIn Tip – Make sure you have a decent profile picture! — Paperhat Consorcio (@ConsorcioGroup) August 4, 2014
Once you have connections, maintaining and building on them is just as important and can give you valuable opportunities. So says Steve Phillip of Linked2Success:
@wearecrowd absolutely, thanks for asking – Build know, like & trust with your connections. — Steve Phillip (@Linked2Steve) July 31, 2014
plus staying engaged with those you message and keeping courteous is essential, as suggested by Philip Oakley
@wearecrowd Always send actionable personal messages and invites to contacts which you follow up. #linkedintips #LIGoldenRule — Philip Oakley (@philoakley) August 7, 2014
as well as a reminder from Social Media Training and Management agency Altrincham HQ about the real value of LinkedIn:
@wearecrowd The value in LinkedIn is not having a large number of connections – but keep in touch and building relationships with #LinkedIn — Altrincham HQ (@altrinchamhq) July 31, 2014
Finally, a brilliant tip from Sara and Chris of Norwich marketing agency Bright Yellow – where they too mention having a strategy and clear idea of what you want the profile to achieve.
@wearecrowd Have a strategy #LIGoldenRule – know what you want to achieve, who you are targeting, and what action you want them to take — Sara and Chris (@brightyellw) August 7, 2014
Have your own tip you’d like to share? Tweet it to us using the hashtag #LIGoldenRule!