Archive for LinkedIn invitations
LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool for business professionals. It is the preferred network for many people because the rules of engagement are more rigid and professional. No one is going to send you a mafia wars invite, nor will anyone post any weird photos from your youth. It’s just business.
While the rules (both formal and informal) of connecting on LinkedIn are what makes this site so useful for many of us, it also has its pitfall for those who don’t understand the nuances.
For example, when someone sends you an invitation to connect on LinkedIn you have three options: accept the invitation, archive it or “I don’t know this person”. What happens if you accept is obvious. If you archive it, the invitation just disappears into the ether – no real consequences for either party.
However, what many people new to LinkedIn may not realize is, there can be serious consequences for the inviter if you choose the “I don’t know this person” (IDK) option. You see, LinkedIn takes their rules very seriously. They know many members of LinkedIn use it as their primary social media site exactly because of these rules. They work hard to enforce these rules so the culture remains consistent.
So what happens when you click IDK on someone’s invitation to connect? Read More→
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you probably already know that I’m an open networker – I accept invitations even from people I don’t know. However, that doesn’t mean I want to randomly build my network with anyone and everyone. I want to connect with people who are truly interested in building relationships.
As my LinkedIn network grows, I’m beginning to become more selective about who I add to my network because I want to know who these people are. I’m becoming increasingly annoyed by people who send me invitations to connect who have obviously not taken the time to even peruse my profile.
On the other hand, I don’t want to miss opportunities to meet interesting and valuable contacts. Some of my closest business connections are people I “met” online and have never met in person
So how do I choose which invitations to accept and which to archive? When trying to determine my own personal LinkedIn connection policy, I asked my network for advice.
Julie Gosnell Campbell agrees with me about open networking. She comments, “Remember six degrees of separation… that person you decline might be your connection point to the ungettable get… that person you have always wanted to meet.” The truth is you never know how someone can be of value until you get to know them.
Lars Anderson agrees that LinkedIn should be about building your network. When you do that, you have more sources for expertise or building your business. He says,“If you just want to hang with your friends use email or Facebook. If you want to find and meet new people to expand your connections then use LinkedIn and accept, accept, accept.”
On the other hand, Peter Roome is more selective in building his network. “I think it is important to Read More→
LinkedIn is one of my favourite social networking sites. It is full of business professionals who use the site for business purposes. No one is going to send me a zombie invitation and I don’t have to worry about stumbling upon semi-pornographic photos when I check out someone’s profile.
Building your network on LinkedIn is an essential part of using the site. However, there are several written and unwritten rules that govern sending invitations to connect on LinkedIn. If you don’t know these rules beforehand you can get yourself into trouble.
Your LinkedIn Invitations Are A Limited Resource
The first thing you need to know is there is a limit on the number of invitations you can send. Each person gets 3000 invitations for their lifetime on LinkedIn. Once you use them up, that’s it. Forever.
Now, if you’re sitting with only a few dozen or even a few hundred connections, this might not seem like a problem. However, if you plan to use LinkedIn for the long term, you might want to be careful about how many you use up.
One of the ways I protect this resource is to stop sending invitations to join LinkedIn to people who are not on the site already. I don’t want to use up this limited resource on people who are not interested. If I want to invite someone who is off line, I send them a regular email with the link to my LinkedIn profile, and an explanation about how to join.
Who Can You Invite to Connect?
When you invite someone to connect on LinkedIn you are asked you how you know this person. This is part of LinkedIn’s emphasis on trust. They want you to trust the site and trust your network. They don’t want you receiving tons of mail and invitations you don’t want.
As a result, you can only invite people to connect if you both have the same organization as part of your profiles – an employer, business, group or association or educational institution.
If you don’t have some commonality in your profiles you’ll be asked to provide this person’s email address as proof that you actually know each other. If you choose “I don’t know this person,” you won’t be allowed to send an invitation.
This is why having a complete profile is important. The more previous employers you include in your profile, the more you’ll be able to add people from your past, even if you don’t have their current contact information.
Inviting the Wrong People Can Get Your LinkedIn Account Frozen
When you receive an invitation to connect you are given three choices: accept, archive or “I don’t know this person.” If too many people click “I don’t know” in response to your invitations, LinkedIn will freeze your account. Then you’ll need to wait until a live person can look at what you’re doing. You’ll get a warning to cease & desist. If your account gets frozen too many times you may actually get kicked off the site.
Clearly if you’re using LinkedIn extensively for networking and promoting your business, you need to play by the rules so you don’t lose this valuable resource.
How to Know if It’s Safe to Invite Someone
On LinkedIn, most people are either open networkers or selective connectors. If someone is an open networker, feel free to send them an invitation to connect, even if you don’t know each other.
To find out if someone is an open networker, check out their profile. They’ll probably belong to an open networking group such as LIONs or TopLinked. They may also include their email address and an open invitation to connect after their name or somewhere in their profile. If they are an open networker you don’t have to worry about them clicking “I don’t know” on your invitation.
If the person you’re trying to connect with is not an open networker, you need to develop a relationship before sending the invitation. You can do this by answering one of their questions, joining a LinkedIn group they belong to and joining their discussion, sending them a LinkedIn “In-mail” or connecting with them outside of LinkedIn.
You can also ask someone in your network for an introduction, if they are connected to the person you wish to meet. Just be aware that not everyone passes along introductions so you might have to try more than once.
Building your LinkedIn network of connections is an essential part of using the site for promoting your business. But if you do it carefully, you’ll find some valuable connections you wouldn’t find anywhere else.
Andrea J. Stenberg
Have you “met” someone on LinkedIn who has become an important customer, suppliers or resource? Leave a comment and tell us how you met and how your new relationship has benefitted your business.
The other day I received the following question: “How do I add a person to my LinkedIn network if I’ve never met them before? I don’t have any relation to the person but they are in my industry.”
Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn discourages you from contacting people you don’t know. When you send someone an invitation to connect, LinkedIn asks how you know this person: colleague, classmate, business partner, friend, groups & associations or other.
When you choose how you know the person you’ll be given a drop-down menu of items from your profile. Look through their profile to see if you have any groups or organizations in common. This is why having a complete profile and joining LinkedIn groups can be helpful. It increases the number of people you can access.
If you select other, you’ll be required to add their email address. I have on occasion looked up someone’s email address from their website. It’s a little forward, but if their email address is published on their website you’re not doing anything nefarious. Just fess up in your invitation.
If you select, “I don’t know Joe” you’re be told you can’t invite this person.
If you don’t have any common groups or organizations and don’t feel pushy enough to dig up their email address, try using the introductions feature of LinkedIn. If you are a 2nd or 3rd degree connection, get someone you are connected with to forward an introduction. Not everyone forwards introductions or checks their LinkedIn account regularly so choose the person to introduce you carefully. Look for someone who is an “open networker” as they are more likely to forward your request.
If none of these suggestions work, another option is to send a message thru LinkedIn InMail (from their profile page, to the right of their photo is the link to do this). In your message state why you’d like to connect and include your email address so they can send you an invitation to connect.
Connecting with someone you don’t know on LinkedIn takes a little more work than on other social networking sites, but the benefits can really be worth it. By putting in a little more effort, you can create a real relationship with someone rather than just an anonymous link.
Andrea J. Stenberg
If you have specific questions about LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or marketing in general, don’t be shy. If you send me an email with your question, I promise to do my best to answer.
