The Most Annoying Thing About LinkedIn And How To Handle It

When it comes to advancing your career and being a digital brand ambassador for your company, the most important social media tool is LinkedIn. It enables you to learn and grow, connect with your community and share and interact with your company’s communications. But over the past several months, one major concern among audience members has become a regular topic of discussion during the corporate training sessions I deliver:

What’s up with all the unsolicited sales messages I receive on LinkedIn?

The uptick in these messages is significant. It’s the social media equivalent of junk mail or robo calls. And these generic, uninvited pitches are really getting out of hand; they’re even starting to impede use of the platform. My clients tell me, “I’m loath to accept connection requests because it’s just going to multiply the number of unwanted messages I receive.” This presents a dire challenge for branding in the digital age.

To be fair, LinkedIn does allow you to change your privacy settings so you don’t receive InMail (messages from people who are not your connections). That’s a start, but the shut-off button doesn’t allow you to filter messages from connections, so if they start spamming you, you’re going to be reluctant to accept future connect requests from anyone you aren’t absolutely sure won’t start spamming you. Feeling uncomfortable saying “yes” to a connection request goes against the mission of LinkedIn.

We’re all used to the ads that precede videos, or the banners and popups we see when we’re surfing the web, but that’s different from a message that shows up in your inbox, wasting your time and reeking of intrusion. Worse, you don’t know what the message is about until you open it.

The chorus of dissatisfaction with this has become so loud in my workshops, I decided to track the spam I get on LinkedIn. In the past week, I received 37 messages, all from people I have accepted into my LinkedIn network (I have a lot of connections). They all start in a similar way – usually immediately after you accept a connection request: “Happy to have you as a connection.” Then they move to one of four sales techniques: concern for you, an unbelievable offer, scattershot distribution, or a powerful question. Here are excerpts from the actual messages I received in the past week.

1. The “Concern For You” Approach

“Successful entrepreneurs like you are feeling overwhelmed. You need a way to reduce your workload so you can be the CEO of your company.”

2. The “Unbelievable Offer” Approach

 “I produced this e-book which highlights my proven system to help you double your sales in six months.”

3.  The “Scattershot” Approach

“Have you always wanted to write a book but just don’t know where to start? I’ll help you write your first book and get it published this year.”

That’s a great offer, but I’m already the author of three published books. That’s the equivalent of snail mail addressed to “William Arruda or current resident.”

4. The “Powerful Question” Approach

“What’s the biggest challenge that you’re facing in growing your business?”

The voice in these messages is almost identical; it feels like they’re coming from a copywriter who everyone is consulting or imitating. My favorites are the sales emails that overtly profess there is no interest in selling you anything. It’s the digital equivalent of fibbing to stick your foot in the door:

“I’m not trying to sell you anything, I’m just interested in learning more about your business.”

But while spam emails have become less effective, LinkedIn is emerging as a valuable alternative for business developers. Unsolicited messages (albeit from connections) are causing the LinkedIn brand irreparable harm; these messages are dissuading many members from engaging in LinkedIn because they now associate the platform with being intrusive rather than indispensable.

Let me be clear. I am one of LinkedIn’s biggest fans. I think the platform is the most powerful tool for building your personal brand, growing relationships and keeping the saw sharp. It’s also a valuable tool for showing loyalty to your employer and for giving value to others. But I’m not equally sanguine about the manipulative sales techniques that have become so pervasive.

When I get one of these annoying sales messages via LinkedIn, here’s how I respond:

My favorite thing about LinkedIn is connecting with interesting people to share ideas, get inspired, etc. My least favorite thing about LinkedIn is receiving unsolicited sales messages, so please don’t be offended when I ask that you please remove me from your sales communications. If your only reason for connecting was to sell to me, feel free to remove me as a connection. Otherwise I look forward to staying connected. Thanks.

The more appropriate (and less irritating) way to get business through LinkedIn is to build authentic relationships. To genuinely care – not use canned words from a copywriter who only pretends to care. To only offer relevant services to those who are open to them. That’s the personal branding trifecta. And that’s why LinkedIn groups – which I call professional associations on steroids – provide the most human, customized way to connect and engage.

When LinkedIn starts to become the brand of social media junk mail (or people stop connecting with other members for fear of receiving sales messages) instead of the place to build your brand and nurture relationships, a competing platform might soar ahead. LinkedIn needs to find a middle ground – one that allows members to use it as a sales platform, while enabling members who aren’t keen on sales messages to ignore them without missing out on messages that really matter.

William Arruda is the cofounder of CareerBlast and creator of the complete LinkedIn quiz that helps you evaluate your LinkedIn profile and networking strategy.

 

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Source link