LinkedIn is perfect for generating new leads, becoming an authority in your niche and receiving crucial endorsements. The bad thing is many businesses try to use it the same way as they do Facebook and Twitter. LinkedIn isn’t your average social network. It’s all about presenting a professional image and networking with the right people. Don’t let all your hard work go to waste by making any of these six common mistakes.
Connecting With Everyone
Everyone wants as many connections as possible on social networks. You don’t need to connect with every user that happens to work in your industry or who requests to be added to your connections. Quality is far more important on LinkedIn.
Since it’s a professional network, your connections are people and businesses you actually plan on communicating with on a regular basis. You’ll get more out of your connections if you choose them wisely.
Skipping The Profile Image
For some strange reason, businesses seem to skip over the profile image. Just because you’re not an individual, it doesn’t mean you don’t need an image. If you want leads to find you, you need a professional profile image that represents your business. It makes the profile stand out in search, creates a more personable image and encourages potential connections to reach out to you.
Spamming the Connection
Obviously, you want to market your business to other businesses, but that’s not the only thing you should do on LinkedIn. No one wants a connection that only sends out marketing updates and messages. It may sound good in theory, but it only drives leads away.
Don’t pester your connections. Instead, interact with them. Post useful or entertaining content. If you’re just starting out, less than of your posts should have a marketing focus. Once you’ve established yourself on the site, keep marketing at 50% or less.
Avoiding Groups
In all honesty, groups are more important than connections on LinkedIn. Groups are where the real social factor comes into play. Take the time to find groups relevant to your industry. You’ll find new leads, useful advice and helpful connections. Plus, the more active you are in groups, the more likely you are to receive endorsements. Not to mention, it helps establish your business as an authority in your industry.
Staying Silent
Even though LinkedIn isn’t like Facebook, you still have to be social. Updating your status once a month or popping into a group once or twice each month isn’t enough. You want your connections to remember you. To do that, you have to get in there and socialize. Make an impression and you’ll start receiving more messages and even calls. This also goes back to limiting connections. With a manageable list, it’s much easier to remain consistently social. Daily posts and interactions are best.
Being Too Professional
Yes, LinkedIn is supposed to be professional, but being too professional actually turns off connections. Start with your profile and make it descriptive and short with a friendly, personal element. Third person sounds too much like you just want to market your business.
Basically, relax a little and act like a person and not just a business. It’ll make using the site more fun and lead to better interactions.