Linked Into Business » Building your Network

What are Best Practices for Connecting on LinkedIn?

VivekaVonRosen — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:33:02 +0000

In the recent webinar I did with MLTCreative on LinkedIn for B2B Marketing, there were several questions we were unable to get to during the presentation. I will be answering many of them in my blog posts over the next few weeks.

Sandra H. asked: How do you recommend that we connect with people who we don’t know on LinkedIn?

When inviting people to connect on LinkedIn, there are limited options to show your relationship:

Colleague
Classmate
We’ve done business together
Groups
Other
And I don’t know…

Obviously if any of the first three options apply, use them.

You can use the “friend” option without knowing the other person’s email address if you haven’t been “dinged” (reported) too many times as someone the person you are trying to connect to doesn’t know. If you can use the “friend” option, (or any of the other options) make sure you create a personalized message. Let people know why you are connecting with them. How you found them. What about their profile intrigued you. You have a much better chance of getting your invitation accepted (or at the least, not tagged as an IDK or spam) if you tell them why you want to connect.

Oops - I've been IDK'd one time too many

An option I will often use, if it is available, is the “group” option. As long as a LinkedIn member has joined a group, and has not turned off the ability to connect through a group, you can reach out to them this way.

Invitation using "groups" option

You may need to join a group they are a member of, wait to be accepted, and then when you are, send them a message asking them if they will accept an invitation. This is more time consuming, but will not cost you an “InMail” or an “Introduction”. If you ask them first to connect before you send the invitation, you will also be less likely to get spammed or IDK’d.

Your other option, of course, is to use one of your introductions. Take the time to fully explain why you want to connect, not only to the end party, but also to the person connecting you.

Introduction on LinkedIn

If you have a paid account, you can use an InMail.

Some people will put their contact information in the “Contact Setting” at the bottom of the LinkedIn profile – and you can either use that information to contact them directly, or to get access to them as a “friend” (Once again, be aware that you have a higher chance of getting IDK’d or reported as a spammer if you do.)

Use common sense. The Golden Rule applies to LinkedIn as well. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I am a LION and I will accept your invitation. Others might not. But usually, with the courtesy of a well crafted introduction letter, and a genuine desire to connect, most people will grasp your outstretched hand and connect.

Let us know how you like to connect on LinkedIn!

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LinkedIn Connections Beta Mode: Answered Prayer

VivekaVonRosen — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:21:50 +0000

Ask prolific users of LinkedIn the one thing they wished it could do, and they are likely to tell you: “I’d love a quick way to view and organize my connections so that I can more easily select who I send messages, profiles, and events to.” Well guess what – though not available to everyone YET (I had to use my friend Rose’s Profile as I don’t have access to Connections Beta due – I think - to the number of connections I have) LinkedIn has come up with a solution:

Connections Beta Mode

Used to be you could only sort by industry or city, but now you can classify and tag your connections however you want.

You can classify your folks with tags LinkedIn has set up, or with tags you create. (This is going to take and then save me literally hundreds of hours!)

LinkedIn as your own personal CRM – finally they are thinking!!!!!!

And right now its free!

Want a quick way to view and organize your connections?

LinkedIn’s New Connection Beta Mode

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Social Media Speaker Reveals: The Tweet In

VivekaVonRosen — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:48:06 +0000

Social Media Marketing Strategies: The “Tweet In”

When: May 20
Where: Twitter.com (or www.tweetchat.com)
Time: 8 Eastern, 6 Mountain, 5 Pacific
Hosts: @LinkedInExpert, @FreeRangeMom, @MariSmith
Hashtag: #tweetin

Michael Stelzner (http://twitter.com/mike_stelzner) in his “Social Media Marketing Industry Report” set out to understand how, why and where marketers and business owners were using social media. His findings reflect that 88% of the participants are either using social media to market, or plan to shortly. That leaves only 12% who will not be your competitors in the social media marketing world.

Social media either already is, or will shortly become an incredibly important aspect of your marketing plan. Michael writes, “it is the nature of social media to share”, and so it is our desire to help you increase your company’s social media footprint by sharing some of the social media strategies we have used ourselves to increase our networks and monetize our presence on the holy triumvirate of Twitter, facebook and LinkedIn.

If you don’t already know Peggy Dolane (@freerangemom) Mari Smith (@MariSmith) or Viveka von Rosen (@linkedinexpert) by all means, check us out. Together we hope to share with you some of the powerful strategies we’ve developed and utilized over the thousands of hours we have spent online.

The Tweet In

The first strategy we will share – and utilize – is a Twitter strategy coined “The Tweet In^TM” (since tweetup, TweetGrid and tweetchat were already taken). The Tweet In looks like any “chat” on Twitter. Using the hashtag# to define your topic to your followers, you can all chat about the same subject, gaining information and positioning yourself as a thought leader in your industry. Of course I have done this with other social media strategists, but it works just as well for wedding planners, veterinarians, health care practitioners and industrialists (all clients of mine who have had success with the Tweet In). For a quick video on how to actually do this, visit @FreeRangeMom or @MariSmith’s for great youtube instructional videos.

What differentiates the Tweet In from the fabulous tweetchats already practiced on Twitter (#gno, #followfriday, #walmartmoms, etc) is the pre and post production.

Pre-Production

The first thing you will want to do is find some amazing strategic partners to create your Tweet In with. I was a relative newbie on Twitter when I first connected with @MariSmith and @Freerangemom. Obviously having the weighty presence of two social media stars can help elevate the significance of your Tweet In. Also, it’s nice to have someone to share the load with.
Choose an interesting subject and have opinions about it
Choose a date – and you might want to make it a recurring event.
Create a post to share on your individual blogs to tell your followers a little bit more about the upcoming Tweet-In.
Start inviting people to your Tweet It up to a month ahead of time (we are all busy people who need to schedule)
Create a “guest list” or “resource list” (perhaps list them on your blog as well)
Tweet about the event
Ask others to RT the event.

Post-Production

Record (by cutting and pasting) the relevant tweets from your Tweet In
Write another blog and highlight your findings
Use information from you Tweet In to create a webinar, seminar or blog (make sure you get permission to use Tweets if you are going to quote anyone)
Post results on a blog, or invite those who attended the Tweet in to you webinar or event (you might offer then a discounted rate, or event give them a promo code to get in free).

So what are the benefits of a Tweet In?

Build your network
Make strategic connections
Spread relevant information
Gain testimonials
Increase traffic to your blog and/or website
Gather information for your own business (webinars, events, blogs, white papers)
Increase business
Attract potential clientele
Attract PR
HAVE FUN

Some Social Media Marketing Folks You Might Want to Follow:

@KevinHouchin (Lawyer for Social Media Stars – an not too shabby himself)
@MilesAustin (CEO of Integrated Alliances – premier social media training site)
@LaurieMacomber (The Google Guru and SEO copywriting queen)
@SMBizGuru (Small Business Guru)
@GMarketingGuy (Guerilla Marketing dude and social media marketing evangelist)
@Michael_Stelzner (King of the white paper and author of “Social Media Marketing Report”)

When is our Tweet In

We’ll be tweetin’ about out “Tweet In” Tweet In on May 20th. Our Tweet In won’t be just about Tweet Ins, but also about other social media marketing strategies we have found effective. Join us and ask us questions, tell us your successes, agree or disagree with us. We don’t care, we just want to see you there!

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