LinkedIn has become the go-to social networking platform for business professionals, and with 332 million members with 2 new LinkedIn members per second, you can no longer afford to not be on (and active) the social network. Here are some do's and don'ts when using LinkedIn for marketing and business development.
DO:
• Personalize your invitation to connect. Don't just use the standard "I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn." While it is clear what the intent of the invitation is, there is little effort put into sending the invitation and it gives no compelling reason on why I should join your LinkedIn network.
• Add a professional profile picture. Your profile picture should not be the selfie.
• Respond to LinkedIn messages within 1-2 days. This shows you are responsive and helps you build relationships with your network. If you wait a long time to respond, most people will not respond back.
• Like, comment and share your connections posts. It is not all about you.
DON’T:
• Send spam messages. Share posts that are of interests to your network.
• Over post. If you wish to share a post to your LinkedIn home page and to some of your LinkedIn groups, space out the posts so that it doesn’t spam your LinkedIn connections home page stream.
• Be inactive. Post weekly to keep your connections up to date with what is going on.
• Connect with people and then start trying to sell them with your posts or messages. Build relationships first.