To accept connections on LinkedIn, or not? That is the question
At the moment I have four invitations to connect sitting in my inbox, but I’m in a bit of a quandary as to whether I should actually accept them or not. I’m a fairly open networker, so normally there is no issue, but I’m also protective of my network and my personal brand. Most people send a short message saying why they want to connect, and after a quick look at their profile, I’m usually happy to do so. So what’s wrong with these four?
Well, the first thing I have a problem with is they sent the bog standard “invitation to connect” message from LinkedIn. That would be ok from someone I actually knew, but from a stranger? No chance. Personally, I think it’s the social equivalent of a stranger walking up to me in the street and handing me a piece of paper with their résumé on it, or someone going to a networking event and handing out business cards, without actually introducing themselves first. It’s not something I would expect to happen offline, so I don’t respond well to it online. If you want someone to accept your invitation to connect, then please, please, please, take the time to introduce yourself and explain why you’d like to add that person to your network. I’ve found some of the following messages worked for me:
- I’m looking to expand my business network and would love to add you to it…
- I really loved your book/article/blog post and would….
- I noticed that you viewed my profile. Can I help you at all?
- I met X and they suggested that you would be a really good person to talk about Y. Could we connect?
For more help, click here to read my 5 Rules for sending invitations to connect on LinkedIn.
The next thing that made accepting their invitation to connect difficult was their choice of photo. I know I’m not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover, but I’m sorry, if we haven’t met, then that’s all I’ve got to go on. This is a social media for professionals, not Facebook, so the expectations here are different. A headshot is the standard expected, so having no image or a selfie just doesn’t work for me. Remember, this is the first time we’ve met, so first impressions count.
Finally, when I clicked on their profiles, there is just so little information there, I knew about as much about them as I did before I clicked on their profile. I’m happy to provide a few words of advice on how they may improve their profile, but because they used the standard message, I’ve no idea if that is the reason they wanted to connect in the first place.
So what have I done? Well, bearing in mind my business is helping people with their profile, turning down an invitation to connect by someone with a profile that needs work would be bad for business, so I’ve sent them all a message back, asking for more information. One has already replied with the “looking to expand their network” reason, so now I’ve accepted their request.
What would you have done? Accepted or Ignored? I’d love to here your thoughts.
—————————————————————————————————-
If you’ve found this useful, or have any questions relating to this post, then let me know. I also have lots of free resources to help you with LinkedIn, and my Mastering LinkedIn ebook is free to download.