Social Networks — A Place to Self-Promote?

How many of you like to get spammed? Do you enjoy getting those unwanted emails in your inbox? Do you enjoy receiving the automated voice mails on your phone telling you about the latest, greatest whatever? Do you enjoy getting those faxes about low cost health care or cheap vacations in the Caribbean? rnIf you answered no to any or all of these questions, then why must you spam me on LinkedIn and Twitter? I manage a large group (over 3,000 people) on LinkedIn. It’s a dynamic group of very outgoing people from all over the world. As the group manager, it’s my job to make sure the group stays active, vital and interesting. The biggest problem I have is keeping people from spamming one another. Every few months, I have to delete at least 40 percent of the discussions and I have to send little notes to the abusers letting them know we don’t appreciate getting spammed. We’re all smart people. Do we really believe that posting our wares on a site like LinkedIn or Twitter will produce sales? Do we really believe those LinkedIn readers will convert to qualified leads? Please note that the majority of these posts had not one comment. In other words, people were not interested. The social networks ask little of us. All they ask is for us to respect one another. They will really work to your benefit if you pay attention to some netiquette. If you don’t, you’ll find the social networks purely noise and a waste of time. Here are some of the tips that will keep you from being a spammer on LinkedIn. • Use the Discussion Section to discuss. This section mimics the old LinkedIn question and answer section for the entire network. The goal for the Discussion Section is for people to pose interesting questions that we can all weigh in on. It gives us a chance to interact with one another through the thread and to learn what others think. A good discussion will receive plenty of feedback. People will talk with each other and refer to each other by name. Often we forget who posed the question in the first place. Here are a couple of examples of good discussion topics that lead to great conversations: “What suggestions do you have for speaking to large groups versus speaking to smaller groups?” or “Is Twitter Just Noise or is it an Effective Business Tool?” • When you have content you wish to share, do so on your blog. For example, this piece will appear on my blog. I can then share the piece with my LinkedIn groups. I do this by hitting the “share” button at the end of my blog post. Then I select the groups I think might be interested. The piece will appear in the group’s News Section. The News Section of any group is a great place to sift through blogs. There you can find the people you wish to read regularly. Again, do not post your content in the Discussion Section. If you are answering a question that pertains to a blog post you wrote, you can include the link to that post. The person who asked the question can click on that link if they wish. • When you have events you wish others to know about, do not announce them in the Discussion Section. Discussions go to everyone’s email inbox. Post that event with LinkedIn events. If you have a question about an event, for example, “How many of you have attended the National Conference for XYZ products and what did you think? Was it worth attending?” That is a good discussion question. • Many of the people in my LinkedIn group weighed in on this question about spamming. The majority said they prefer to get to know someone before they start selling to them or describing who they are. In other words, relationship comes first. Find out more about the person before you create a spammy headline on the Discussions. Our profile shares a lot of information. It not only tells you about our jobs but it also tells you what questions we answered and when we posted to the News Sections of our groups. It tells you what books we like to read. It tells you what others say about us. Do your homework and it will pay off. Finally, let me add one last example. When I sent a private message to someone who blatantly spammed in the Discussions, I received a private apologetic response. At the end of that note, he wrote: “We are the best at what we do and I would be glad to help you in providing our services to you with cost effective prices. Let me know if you need any help any time.” Trying to be patient, I suggested he read the full thread that describes what we mean by spamming. I got a second message from him thanking me for the response and then he added, “I hope you know me a bit now after these mail exchanges :) I hope you had a chance to see my work and I would be glad if you can give me a chance to showcase my talent and help you in your business needs.” Please!! I know nothing of him, nor do I want to. And, I might add, he knows nothing of me. This person doesn’t get it. Do you?