Connecting with People on LinkedIn and Facebook
BY WAYNE R. KARLINS, PRESIDENT OF REED SOCIAL MEDIA
I am asked all the time, “Of all the people requesting to connect with me on LinkedIn and Facebook, who should I accept?” It is important to keep in mind that common sense plays a big role here. However, here are a few of the things I look for before accepting an invite.
How did the connection begin? How was I invited to connect? Was it sent with a personal note addressed to me? Did it remind me where we might have met? Did they have a reason for connecting such as they were referred to me or they want to do business with me? If so, I would next view their profile.
Are they immediately trying to sell to me? Now, if they are starting off trying to get business from me, selling to me before we are even connected, they do not stand a chance of connecting with me.
Profile picture. If they do not have a profile picture, I will not connect. Although, if they are a friend of mine, I would accept, but then I would highly recommend they get a professional head shot for their page after connecting.
Back to the profile. There are a few additional things that can tell you right away if they are or are not a good person to connect to.
Their posts. One of the first things I look for are their posts. What was the date and time of their last post and what exactly was it that they posted then? Are they posting content I would be interested in? If it is August of 2019 and the last time they posted something was in May, that would be a good reason for me to take a pass.
Profile information. The next aspect to consider is their profile information. I look at the profile and see what information is available to me. Do they give contact information? Do they state where they work? Is the About section filled out? If they state where they work, is there a real Fan or Business page to visit? Does that page give information about the business? I also always look to see what contact information they have listed before accepting to connect. The better a profile is filled out on either page, the more likely I am to connect with someone requesting to connect with me.
Not sure? Just ask. Now if you still do not know if you should connect, write them and ask, “Have we met?” or “How do we know each other?” You may find that up to 60% of these people will not answer you back, so then I have my answer, I am not connecting with them.
After building your new connections, you may want to request for locals connections or to even meet in person. Of course, here again is where common sense applies. You may want to wait a little while to see how this relationship develops before meeting someone right off the bat. See if they are in some of the same groups as you. Do they follow some of the same Fan and Group pages on Facebook? Take a few weeks and see what their behavior is like online. Do they have any real recommendations on Linkedin or reviews on Facebook? Reach out to someone you are both connected to and see if they have ever met or if they know this person better than you currently do.
Security is your friend online as well as on any social media platform. It is not only changing your password often, but what you do on these sites. Clicking on links from new people can often lead to problems, but we can talk about security in another blog.
Making connections on your social media pages can both benefit you and your business. Being smart about it is key. When you send out a request to connect, make it personal, call them by name, remind them where you might have met, or who is recommending you connect to them. Look at their profile first.
So now you are connected. Here are things that will get you removed from my page faster than it took to connect with me.
First and foremost, sending me a message starting out with a sale pitch. Remember, both Facebook and LinkedIn are relationship building platforms. Do not start out selling to me or telling me what I need from you. However, a nice message welcoming me to your page, asking who I might want to be connected to, is a great way to start off this new connection.
Additionally, look for these other signs of people I would not suggest connecting with:
Strangers
People who request to connect more than twice in 30 days
People who post too much
People who post too little
People who share nothing in common with you
Family and friends that are not supportive
People who are online to start arguments and upset people
If you have more question on this subject, please email me or respond to the social media page this was posted on in the comment section.
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