Who do you connect with on Linkedin?
We’re big fans of Linkedin, and using it is high on our list of top tips for effective small business marketing. But, the way that people use it seems to be changing and I’m wondering (out loud) what the criteria should be for connecting with someone.
The system tells me that I first set-up my online presence with Linkedin on 9th August 2004. Since then, I’ve diligently invited people with whom I have a genuine professional connection, i.e. they were a colleague, a client, a supplier or someone I’d met in a professional capacity. Of my 600+ connections, there are fewer than 20 who would not immediately know me if I were to pick up the phone. It really is my ‘little black book’ of people I know and could call on in a professional capacity.
So, along comes Twitter and the social networking frenzy, and up goes the number of pretty random Linkedin invitations. I probably get 5 or more invitations a week, with little more than the auto-generated text by way of introduction, from people I’ve shared a discussion with in one of the groups, or exchanged a few tweets on Twitter. And, I’m not sure what I think about these invitations. I tend to drop them a line back explaining that to keep my social media manageable and authentic I keep Linkedin for people with whom I have a genuine professional relationship. It’s not to say that there aren’t people who I’ve originally met through Twitter, subsequently formed a more solid business relationship, and then added to Linkedin – but surely there has to be a difference between people you chat to on wider social platforms, like Twitter, and people who become a Linkedin connection?
What do you think? How do you decide who to connect with on Linkedin these days? Am I maintaining my professional integrity or missing out on great new connections?
By Bryony Thomas | Chief Clear Thinker | Clear Thought Consulting Ltd | @bryonythomas | www.clear-thought.co.uk
Clear Thought Consulting works with small businesses, equipping them with the marketing strategies, suppliers, skills and set-up that they need to become bigger businesses. We do this by planning and delivering 12-month marketing transformation programmes – supporting a small business through a step-by-step process to making marketing pay. We firmly believe that when you can’t out-spend your competition, you have to out-think them.
Published on 18 January 2011
