January 12, 2016
Here’s a quick & simple tip to maximize the time you spend on LinkedIn (you can use this in any social media platform). Treat your Connections better – be thoughtful with your messages, the In-Mails you send and the way you respond/don’t respond to requests.
We get so busy & quite honestly very lazy in a culture of instantaneous information that can forget these requests to connect, for networking and other (sometimes crazy or even spammy requests) come from real people. I can get caught up in talking about how many connections I have…but what that really means in terms of LinkedIn is really a quite powerful communication tool.
I have 4,712 Connections which gives me access to 4,341,087 professionals through 1st, 2nd and group connections. Check how widespread your messages reach; go to the Advanced Search tab & it’s listed there at the top. You can select & deselect locations, groups, 2nd connections and other categories to refine a search. While none of my messages will reach over 4m people on LinkedIn it shows you the magnitude of having nearly 5,000 1st Connections.
Take-away #1: Do Social & be real in your interactions with Connections on social media. This realness, takes more time because it requires you to craft personal notes, not just “Please connect with me, I’m trying to reach 5,000 Connections”. It’s a better way to interact with people on and off social media.
Take-away #2: Take the time to build up your 1st Connections. If you aren’t over 500, I’d ask you why you are on LinkedIn, what purpose is it really serving in your professional networking or job search? Go for a balance of quality and quantity, why not shoot for 1,000 Connections by April 1st, that’s nearly 3 months to grow the reach of your contacts and message on the professional networking platform.
If you’d like a free LinkedIn profile review reach out & we’ll chat this week. I met with several mid-career professionals this week talking about their profile and how to maximize their existing skills, experience and highlight those on LinkedIn with minimal work. You need to determine why you are on LinkedIn – make sure your profile does your experience justice!
Reach out & let’s ‘do social’ on LinkedIn! Liz