Why recommendations are so important on LinkedIn
By Wayne R. Karlins, Reed Social Media President
You know how you feel when you get a good review? Imagine that feeling when you get a great recommendation on LinkedIn. Like a Google review, recommendations on LinkedIn are extremely important to give and receive. It is important to know recommendations show up on both your page and the person's page you wrote it for. They can make a positive difference to your online image and reputation. Therefore, you should make time once a week to write one to someone who has helped you personally, helped your business, your networking skills, made an introduction or referral, or is just a great person to know.
For many, the hard part is writing the recommendation. So, here are a few tips. First, it is crucial that you be truthful when writing your recommendations and make sure you are genuine. Be honest or don't write it. Most people can read through the bullshit. When beginning your recommendation, always state the reason that you are writing the recommendation. This includes letting them know in the recommendation how helpful they have been and how it helped you or your business. Also, be sure you add your relationship to the person you are writing about and how long you have known them. If you worked together on a project, for instance, you can explain what the project was and how great it was to work with them. You can also give a recommendation about a person if you heard them give a speech. In this case, comment on what the subject was and where you heard them speak. You may also want to mention the company they work for toward the end. Finally, leave them with a why you recommended them.
Writing recommendations can even help you! You are a giver, so pay attention to your connections and reward those when they help you. However, you may not want to have your whole team at work writing recommendations for each other, as this may not look professional or genuine.
I am often asked if you should ask for recommendations. I do not, but it seems to be a 50/50 split, among experts I have spoken with if they recommend asking or not. If you do decide to ask people to recommend you, do not ask everyone. If you're going to request a recommendation from someone, request it from a person you know well.
If you are asked to write a recommendation, but you do not really know that person, reply by telling them that at this time you do not feel comfortable writing them a recommendation because you do not feel you know them well enough. Better yet, invite them to meet for coffee, lunch, or after work to get caught up. After all, you are connected with them on LinkedIn. Work your connections!
I highly recommend that you read each recommendation you get. Make sure it is well written and assigned to the correct position you were working at for that recommendation. You can ask for an edit before accepting it by sending it back to the person who wrote it. This should not happen often, but you can delete a recommendation that you have sent. You can also revise one you sent.
If you have more questions about recommendations on LinkedIn or other social media questions, please leave them in the comment section by this blog or email me at Info@reedsocialmedia.com
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