2. 5 Amateur
LinkedIn Mistakes
That you’re (probably) making
LinkedIn is a professional and commercial platform.
It’s a unique part of your online arsenal—it’s unlike any other
social media, and you need to use it differently. What you do on
LinkedIn matters: it really matters, and if you’re not careful, your
actions can backfire and tarnish your brand and your integrity.
I’m going to throw out a wild guess and say that you don’t want to
get burned by your mistakes. Fair enough. Here are the five most
common LinkedIn mistakes and what you can do to avoid them.
by
David M. Hobson
www.linkedinxpress.com
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LinkedinXpress
3. LinkedinXpress
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Having an
Incomplete Profile
Mistake #1
Luckily —the solution is simple,
don’t make it harder than it
needs to be. Just fill out your
profile. All you need to do is
waltz through and complete
everything until LinkedIn rates
your profile as “all-star.”
This can seem cumbersome, but
it’s not. When you run through
this for the first time, you don’t
need to worry too much about
content. Since your goal is just
to get your profile done, you
can worry about pimping it out
later. For now, just focusing on
getting it done, it’s better
than incomplete.
An unfinished
profile just
screams
“rookie!” It’s a
pretty clear sign
that you don’t
understand the
online business
world, and it’s a
roadblock in the
way of people
taking you
seriously.
4. LinkedinXpress
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Having an
Incomplete Profile
Mistake #1
This includes your profile photo. A profile
without a photo is like a store without
a sign - it looks unwelcoming and more
than a little bit shady. What do you have to
hide? If you don’t want a profile, then don’t
have one - hit delete.
But since you’ve decided to play with the big boys and girls of
Social Media, then make sure that you upload a professional
photo where you’re wearing a neutral or positive expression.
Say no to photos where your arms are crossed, and avoid other
defensive body language. And don’t stumble into the trap of
picking a picture from the family photo album or a night out with
your friends. Keep it professional. (I’ll give you the whole picture
on profile pictures in another report, so stay tuned.)
This mistake is easy to fix: you can complete your
profile in under half an hour.
5. LinkedinXpress
Not Choosing
a Vanity URL
Mistake #2
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By default, your LinkedIn URL
is a sleep-inducing amalgam
of letters and numbers. It
will show up as something
like “www.linkedin.com/
powerupuser/23/38j/382.”
Talk about ugly, unprofessional
and un-optimised.
Don’t want to look like a
chump?
Then change that nonsense
into a vanity URL so that it
shows up as “http://www.
linkedin.com/in/yourname.”
Classy.
It’s free, and it has amazing
SEO benefits. Beyond that,
it bolsters your professional
aura—it shows that you know
what you’re doing. It also
looks better on your email,
business card or other profiles.
Besides, grabbing one can’t
hurt. Even if you don’t quite
see the need for one right
now, it makes sense to snag
the vanity URL with your name
before someone else beats
you to it.
You may have missed out on your favourite Gmail
address, but you don’t have to miss out on your
LinkedIn vanity URL.
6. #2
What I see people doing is this:
they’ll call themselves LinkedIn
open-networkers (often abbreviated
to LION). This one is pure amateur—
you don’t want to get caught doing
it. It’s equivalent to really shoddy
multi-level marketing.
Don’t get connections this way. Let
me be clear: Don’t. Get. Connections. This. Way.
It’s a big mistake that will lead
people to run the other way
when they see you online. If
you cave to this temptation,
you’ll get hooked up with low-quality
connections, people
who just don’t understand
where LinkedIn is going. Worse
still, if you open-network, you
will be one of those people.
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Calling Yourself an
Open-Networker aka LION
Mistake #3
LIONs are
essentially a gang
of spammers who
will connect with
anybody and then
barrage each other
with their offers.
7. dress at a black tie party.
Nobody is attracted by that—
LinkedIn is the wrong platform
for casual updates.
What do you do, then?
Be savvy. Whenever you
post something, think it
through to ensure that
it’s a strategic part of the
business plan. If you wouldn’t
do it in a business meeting,
presentation, or newsletter,
then don’t do it in your
LinkedIn updates.
LinkedIn is a beast of its
own. I see too many people
treating updates as if they’re
Facebook statuses—posting
motivational messages,
magical quotes, and photos of
unbearably cute animals.
Look, that’s sloppy and
foolish.
If you’re posting that kind of
content on LinkedIn, then
you’re in the wrong place
doing the wrong thing. You’re
the only one wearing fancy
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Acting Like
This Is Facebook
Mistake #4
Stay on message. Be your brand.
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Mass Mailing
Mistake #5
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Raise your hand if you enjoy receiving unsolicited mass
messages. Nobody? Nobody at all? Yep—even the crickets are
staying silent.
If you don’t want to get mass mail,
why would you shoot it off to people?
Here’s a hint: don’t. Don’t spray out mass messages on
LinkedIn, even if you preface it with something like “sorry to
send a mass mail.” People won’t care how “sorry” you say you
are, but they will care that you’re spamming them. Let’s be
honest. That’s all mass mailing is: spam.
It’s unprofessional. It’s sloppy. It’ll cause people to mark you
as a spammer and before long your account will be limited or
even banned. That’s great—if you’re looking for a great way to
damage your professional reputation.
Mass mailing is a rookie mistake. Avoid it. And oh yeah,
same for downloading your LinkedIn contacts to email
and spamming there with a “friendly note from your
LinkedIn connection”.
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CONCLUSION
You need to be careful. LinkedIn
is not Facebook. It’s not Pinterest.
It’s not Twitter.
It’s a unique part of your brand, a component of
your online presence focused on networking with
other professionals. So stay professional, and
stay away from these five common mistakes.
And if you are making any of these mistakes, it’s
not too late. You just need to hop on LinkedIn
and fix them - now.
10. LinkedinXpress
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Summary
Finish your profile. It’s not hard, and it makes
you look good.
Claim your vanity URL. It’s okay to be a bit
vain this time, really.
Don’t open-network. It makes you look
like an idiot.
Avoid treating your updates like casual
social media.
Don’t mass mail people, ever. It’s spam.
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WANT MORE?
If you want more, head over to
LinkedInXpress and I’ll show you
how to ensure your profile is
professional and on brand.
Go to www.linkedinxpress.com now!
Thank you!
www.linkedinxpress.com
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David M. Hobson
e-mail: david@linkedinxpress.com
