Of course you know what LinkedIn is—you already have an account, right? And you read "Eight Things to Do Right Now to Get More Out of LinkedIn" a few weeks ago on MarketingProfs.com, and have been working on each of those things...
Still, there are people scratching their heads saying "now what do I do," and others who are saying "something weird happened and I'm not sure how to react."
I've put together four LinkedIn-related questions that I've come across recently, along with my recommendations on how to handle certain scenarios:
Question: Who should own the account?
Quick Answer: You should!
This can be a tricky one. I strongly encourage everyone to have a personal LinkedIn account, with your personal (non-business) email as the primary account email. This means using an email address from Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, another email provider, or even your own domain (but not your company email). If you change jobs today, you don't want your ex-employer to have complete access and control of your LinkedIn network.
Note that you can have multiple email addresses on your account; just make sure that your primary email is not your employer's email address. I know of at least one situation where someone was terminated and the employer claimed that the LinkedIn network was theirs, leaving the individual empty-handed.
If your boss wants you to set up a LinkedIn account for the company, or your role in the company, make sure you have your own LinkedIn account that you manage and grow at the same time.
Question: Who should you connect with?
Quick Answer: It depends, but don't connect with everyone who invites you.
Once you get your name out there, with articles, involvement in forums and blog comments, and general networking, you'll start to get invitations from people you don't know. LinkedIn suggests that you connect only with people you "know and trust," which seems well-defined but can be interpreted a number of ways.
Of course, the strategy you choose in connecting with others will depend on whether you are an open networker (more prone to connect with almost anyone) or a closed networker (only connecting with those you know and trust). But the power of LinkedIn comes from your network's reaching a critical mass, even if you connect with those you might not know very well.
What if, after speaking to a group, someone in attendance invites you to connect? You might not know them, but they may feel they know you after having listened to you for an hour. My approach is to connect with such people—they are reaching out with good will, based on which you can develop a relationship.
Clearly, there are others who don't know you and don't care to know you, but are simply trying to make their network bigger. You need to decide whether adding them as a contact adds value to your networking strategy—if it doesn't, don't be afraid to reject their connection request.
Question: What should you do if someone asks for a recommendation/endorsement?
Quick Answer: If you can give them a strong recommendation, do it.
I've heard various answers to this question. Some people think that it's inappropriate to ask for a recommendation because it should be an unprompted act.
I think it is OK to ask, just as you would ask someone for a letter of recommendation when you are in a job search. But it is a little odd in the context of LinkedIn to get a request for a recommendation; so I suggest that instead of asking for one you first give a recommendation, and hope for one in return (you can certainly ask for one in a follow-up email).
What if someone you don't know asks for a recommendation? Or you don't have anything positive to say about that person?
First, if you don't know the person well, you can reply with "I would like to recommend you but I don't feel that I know you well enough. Can you send me some more information about your professional accomplishments, and give me some time to get to know you better, before I write a recommendation?" This will likely work most of the time, although you may have to be more assertive down the road.
If you don't have anything positive to say about the person, you can either respond and let them know that you don't think you can give a strong recommendation (e.g., "I'm sorry, but I don't feel like we have worked together enough for me to really get a good grasp on your strengths") or write something rather small or vague, such as "John was always punctual. When he was in charge of meetings we knew they would start and end on time." John may feel that is a weak recommendation and choose to not show it on his profile. If he does show it, you haven't given in or done anything dishonest, you simply vouched for something that might not be that important (who knows, maybe a recommendation like that is gold in John's eyes!).
Question: When should you point people to your LinkedIn URL?
Quick Answer: Only when you aren't creating noise or distracting them from where you really want them to go.
I love this question, because most people will give you ways and ideas on how to get people to your LinkedIn profile. In fact, in my "8 Things" article a few weeks ago, I recommended that you put your links in your email signature, on your Web site/blog, and in comments that you leave on other blogs. You know what's funny? I don't do any of those things.
In fact, I hardly ever point people to my LinkedIn profile. It is there, and it's fleshed out, in case you want to use LinkedIn to learn more about me. But I don't necessarily care for you to learn more about me—I'd rather you sign up on my Web site or subscribe to my blog. If you want someone to pay more attention to your business than to your professional profile, don't send them to your LinkedIn URL. Keep your email signature clean and concise, and free of distractions.
I recommend sending people to your LinkedIn profile if you don't have a Web site or blog to send them to—or from your Web site if you want them to have a way to learn about you with the more formal LinkedIn profile format.
Clearly, if you think that you'll be in job transition every three to five years, like the rest of us, you may want to include the LinkedIn URL in your email signature to strengthen your own personal brand. This is assuming you are emailing professional and industry contacts a lot more than you would email your company's clients.
Wrapping It up
Keep it in perspective: LinkedIn is a tool that you can use to find and strengthen network contacts. Use it as a tool, not a crutch, and you should see progress as you nurture your network relationships.
