LinkedIn for Dummies

Of all places, we were on a rooftop barbecue when overhearing a conversation discussing whether three friends use Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Of the three, LinkedIn came out the least used by that group; not surprising were the participants in the conversation young but less expected to hear from professionals, which they were. But they were professionals for whom Facebook was their first real networking tool, not the significantly older LinkedIn. Despite its age, though, LinkedIn has yet to hit its prime. It’s definitely older not just in chronological age but feel, not nearly as hip, the networking PC to the Mac, but like a Timex watch, it takes a lickin’ and keep on tickin ‘. More importantly, almost everybody in our space uses it, and they use it for what they should – work. We might all have most of our coworker and many of the same business contacts on Facebook, but it can’t serve the same purpose. Either you end up with a barren Facebook profile for a certain group or you end up sharing too much. None of those worries exist with the business communications suite which is LinkedIn . If you’ve started to forget about it or use it less, now is a good time get re-acquainted with the tool that can actually help you with your job not just waste time while at it.

No list should be too long, so here is all you need to be effective:

1. Be Proactive
You can use LinkedIn when you need, but like a savings account, it is only as good as what you put into the bank. LinkedIn has rolled out some newer, real-time features to get users on the site more frequently. Some will find value, but it’s not important to do so yet. Most important is simply building your "bank account", in this case your network of connections. You can do that one of two ways – the lazy way of waiting for people to connect with you or the proactive one, where you seek out connections. The lazy way can work if you happen to deal with a lot of proactive people and/or if your job requires lots of interactions, because you will likely increase your chances of running into proactive people. The easiest and most common way to be proactive, once you meet someone, send them a follow-up using LinkedIn. Like any good social network, LinkedIn also has any number of tools to help you send invites to a group of people, be it your Outlook contacts, webmail contacts or an exported list. If you do that, though, read the next point.

One of the best if not over the top examples of being proactive, comes from Michael M. Nixon, who has 14,000 plus connections. His is a fairly standard invite, saying, "

Hi,

I found you while I was searching my network at LinkedIn. We have a number of common friends on LinkedIn.

I noticed that you included your email address in your LinkedIn Profile and therefore I am assuming that you are open to LinkedIn invitations.

My background is varied: ranging from high technology, software engineering and start-ups to investment banking and venture capital (you can read my entire profile after you join my network).

I am interested in expanding my LinkedIn network by connecting with people who have similar interests.

What makes his different is the part where he says that to connect you have to invite him, not because of an ego, but because he has actually run out of invites. The second part that is a little unique is that he isn’t a head-hunter, by far the biggest group of perhaps too proactive users second only to outsourcing firms. He’s a Managing Director at CreditSuisse. You too can connect with him, just read his rules 🙂

2. Be Precise
While Michael Nixon, represents an extreme, people tend not to decline invitations, especially now that LinkedIn has become so commonplace and that having connections with people you don’t necessarily know has too. But you want to minimize the chances they will decline, and like any new relationship, you will want to make as good an impression as possible. Scenario 1, let’s say you are doing a bulk add using your contacts. Let them know. I remember receiving one that said something like, "I’m doing an import of my contacts. Sorry for the impersonal nature of this request." Scenario 2, there is someone you want to connect with because you want to do business with them, but you don’t know them. It’s OK to say we haven’t met, but you should also be cognizant of the inherent value each brings. If they won’t get why you are connecting, make sure to explain it. If you happen to get a connection from someone whose contacts add more value to you than you do to them, you won’t mind a limited to generic invite. But imagine the reverse; it’s a solicitor or someone you think will end up soliciting you right away. Before accepting you would prefer some indication of the value you might receive. Lastly, under being precise, certain people are sticklers. When you invite them, choose the correct category. Don’t select colleague for instance if you haven’t actually worked together at the same company. Likewise, though, if you don’t have a strong connection, you can fake it by saying you are part of the same group (LinkedIn doesn’t check) or that you’ve done business together. Again, though, just explain.

3. Use But Don’t Abuse
One of the best features of LinkedIn has little to do with anything they control, it is deliverability. Messages from LinkedIn go to the inbox on most people. Even more helpful, you can send announcements to your entire database, and since they come from LinkedIn, you have a high degree of likelihood that they could see it. The same applies if you have a group on LinkedIn . It used to be that, like one’s personal contacts, you could download the list if you were the manager of the group. It’s almost better now that you can’t, as messages sent to the group will surely be received. The more people you have in your network, the more that can receive your messages. You may not be in a position now to take advantage of it, i.e., you might not have a reason to blast your contacts, but you will. So back to being proactive, go build the list. When you do start to mail, the usual caveats exist. Like any inbox superpower, it has the potential to abuse – bad for you, as you can lose contacts, and bad for everyone, as LinkedIn might change its communication policy. You probably won’t need 14,000 or even 1,000, but for those sitting on 80 to 100 contacts, go forth and connect.