We love LinkedIn for both personal and corporate networking & promotion. However, we see a basket full of blunders that any informed networker would be ashamed to own up to.
Here’s Our List
1. End your title with the word “Expert,” or “Guru.” Exception: if your name actually is “Guru” or you are wearing a Karnac the Magnificent Hat in your profile pic, you are welcome to use the term Guru.
2. Toss the word “foremost” or “leading” in front of your title. Everyone loves someone who is humble enough to know what they think you should think of them.
3. Combine #1 and #2 – and become the “Leading Organic Fertilizer Guru”
4. Don’t recommend people. Unless, of course, you wouldn’t like it if someone recommended you…
5. Use your logo as your profile picture. Unless, of course, you actually look just like your logo.
6. Don’t connect with anyone. LinkedIn becomes more useful with more connections. Why? Because you only see LinkedIn members you have a connection to. More connections means more search results and more potential connections.
7. Join groups and post “I am growing my linked in network please connect with me” spams in discussions. No one joins LinkedIn to shrink their networks.
8. Decorate your name with funky characters. People really want your to see ___**>>> Beth Badass <<<***___ in their Outlook. Oh, and funky character break features that people use to find you in Outlook, like say SEARCH. If your name is Beth, it starts with the letter “B” not the “_” character!
9. Ask spammy questions like, “Did you know you can make millions with my secret process revealed in my latest ebook!?” That “report spam” link is really easy to click.
10. Begin your title with “Professional,” “Competent,” or “Qualified.” You wouldn’t have a job if you were an amateur, would you? Why would an adult be less than qualified?
11. Refusing all connection requests by clicking “I Don’t Know This Person.” While it may be true you don’t know that person, LinkedIn actually punishes people when you click “I don’t know.” And worse, LinkedIn tells the other side that you hate their guts and wanted them gibbeted. Hit the “archive” button instead of the I Don’t Know button. It has better karma.
12. Log in once a quarter. Unless you like calling people and finding out that deal they sent over back in September, it closed three weeks ago.
