All week we have been focused on the social media platform for companies focused on B2B transactions: LinkedIn. Before we close out the week, here are a few closing thoughts on why I Love Linkedin.
My First Love
It was my first serious social media platform. Long before I had a profile on Facebook or Twitter I was making business connections on LinkedIn. After every networking event, I would hop on and connect with the people I had met that day and in between, I would reach out to former coworkers. It didn’t take long to grow my community to several thousand people.
Using the Connections
But connections aren’t valuable if they are just names in an address book. I quickly learned I needed to post content in the timeline and interact with people if I wanted any real value.
How often? I used to tell people they needed to add new content to the timeline once a week. But it has gotten significantly more crowded so if you want to get noticed you need to up your game by adding new content several times a week. You can schedule most of the content in advance using a tool like HootSuite, but be sure to pop in once a week to like and share content posted by others in your timeline.
Take advantage of the update information. Look for people with new jobs and achievements. Take a moment to reach out and congratulate them or ask about their new role. Don’t try to sell in this first conversation. A friendly interaction may lead to a more in-depth business conversation.
Groups
In the beginning, I joined lots of groups. Soon I discovered some are better than others. Now I use the following evaluation criteria:
- Is there an active moderator who has established rules and is ensuring everyone is following them?
- Is it a closed community? I would rather be a part of a smaller, private group where people feel free to share real information
- Are there interesting conversations? Do members post questions and respond or is everyone simply posting links?
When I find an interesting group, I make it a habit to drop by once a week and contribute to the conversation.
Love Fades
LinkedIn was my favorite social platform for a long time. As a former corporate executive, I felt comfortable there, hanging out with old friends. But the platform has changed. Maybe it is the buyout by Microsoft, maybe it is just time. Lately, there seems to be more and more advertising in the timeline and less content by people I am interested in.
Like a romantic relationship shifting from the passionate first days to the comfortable patterns of a long-term relationship, I can still say I Love Linkedin. Not with the same enthusiasm, but still fond of the platform. I will still share content and use it to connect, but will probably spend more time on Twitter, where I still have interesting conversations.
If you are running a B2B company or looking for a new job, LinkedIn is still the place to be. For more tips on how to leverage this platform, check out some of our other posts on this topic.
While we love cats, they don’t belong in your profile picture. Even if I did use cute cat images as examples in this post.
LinkedIn isn’t right for every business. Here’s a quick way to decide if it is right for yours.
