Part of being on LinkedIn is contributing to your network and being an active member of the community. One of the simplest ways to contribute is to post status updates. Our latest social media research indicates that “Early Adopters” do this regularly.
Early Adopters are advisors who use social media daily, acquire new business, research clients and prospects, and integrate social media into their overall marketingstrategy. Casual Users are just what their name implies. For more clarification, please read my previous blog post.
Not only are Early Adopters nearly twice as active in posting status updates (80 percent versus 42 percent), they are nearly twice as active in posting compliance-approved materials. In other words, they see value in posting, whether its self-generated content or firm-generated (51 percent versus 26 percent). Regular posting promotes awareness and engages your connections. Early Adopters seek to create a presence online. It is also worth noting that 58 percent of Casual Users do not post any status updates on LinkedIn. This could be because of compliance-related issues or they have no content strategy.
Here are three quick do’s and don’ts when posting status updates on LinkedIn…
Do:
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Share links to articles and resources your clients, prospects, and COIs may find valuable. But before you post anything – listen. Prospects and clients may posts concerns or questions. Make sure to be responsive and present yourself as a resource.
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Post a genuine question to the group. For example, “Does anyone know of college student looking for an internship this summer?” Pose questions that solicit a response to engage connections.
- “Like” updates that your connections will find helpful. The “like” feature on Linked is different from Facebook. When you “like” a post on LinkedIn, it broadcasts that update to your connections. This not only provides valuable content to your connections, it engages the law of reciprocity with the person whose post you liked. Don’t be surprised if they “like” one of your posts soon.
Don’t:
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Only talk about your products and/or service offerings. Believe it or not, we’ve seen it! Even though LinkedIn is known as a business social network, blatantly selling your services is looked down upon. The last thing you want is your connection to “hide” your updates.
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Post or comment on controversial topics (politics, religion, etc.). It may be tempting, but keep in mind that it may cost you business at some point.
- Get too personal. LinkedIn’s culture is very different than that of Facebook or Twitter. You may have had a ham and cheese for lunch but no one on LinkedIn needs to know. That said, a personal update about a book you recently read is a great way to add some personality to your posts.
There you have it, some quick tips on LinkedIn status updates. If you want to be an Early Adopter, you’ll start planning an outbound content strategy to keep your connections engaged.