LinkedIn Etiquette – 7 Tips For Better Connections

Since launching my business, I’ve been much more active on LinkedIn, which means many more people “seeing” me and a good handful of them sending connection requests. In the beginning, being the nice person I am, I was quick to accept them. Too quick. More often than I’d like to admit, I’d almost instantly find a message trying to pitch me something or even worse, just straight out sell me something. 😞

I’m more reluctant to connect to “strangers” now and often reply with a “why” question before accepting requests from people I don’t know at all. Sorry, not sorry.

The most recent sales pitch made me remember a conversation I had with a fellow business owner at the start of the pandemic. He was looking to make the shift to “selling” on LinkedIn. I told him I wasn’t very experienced when it comes to using LinkedIn as a sales tool, but did share some tips to help him promote himself and his business for better engagement. Here they are:

  1. Make sure to use a really good head shot with a clean background.
  2. Create a custom header and include your tag line if you have one.
  3. The Experience section is like your resume. Fill it up with as much information as possible so people can learn about your background without having to ask.
  4. Use the About section to tell your story, but keep it short and sweet.
  5. Ask customers and vendors to write strong Recommendations and be willing to do the same for others.
  6. Build real connections – with people you look up to, would love to know better, and those you’d eventually love to work with if the opportunity presents itself.
  7. And last, but not least, post relevant and helpful information, share posts that resonate with you, and comment thoughtfully and respectfully on posts where you feel you can provide good feedback and/or additional information on the topic at hand.

In the end, no matter where you “meet” people or how you “communicate,” remember, it’s all about the connection. Be someone others would love to be connected too, and they’ll happily buy from you or refer you to others when the time is right.

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