Ten Dos and Don’ts on LinkedIn

Here are tips on what TO DO and what NOT TO DO on LinkedIn and why. Make sure you shine and don’t annoy with the answers to frequently asked questions.

Some links have been added for more detailed explanations on the topic.  

These tips are in addition to the ten items listed in a previous article titled Don’t Annoy Your LinkedIn  Network with These Ten Things.

What can you do if you get a spammy sales-pitchy “buy my stuff” message from someone and you accepted the connection invite but are now having second thoughts about remaining connected?

• You can remove the connection two ways – on their profile or from your connections page
• You can unfollow the connection or even mute them 
• You can block the connection

What can you do if you are tagged in a post and don’t want to be?

• You can untag yourself

What can you do to protect yourself from being hacked?

• Use a private email to logon and another that is public-facing
• Use two-step verification 

How many emails should I have on my LinkedIn profile, and why?

• A minimum of two in case you get hacked or for other reasons

Why should you personalize requests to connect using the person’s name instead of just hit “connect”?

• The most important thing to a person is their name, so honor that and make them feel special that your message was meant just for them

Why can’t I personalize a connection request on mobile?

• You can! Tap the More button, then Personalize Invite. 

Why might you set your profile to follow vs. connect?

• You might not know the person
• You might be over your 30,000 first-level connections
• You might want to control how many people reach out
• Personal preference

Should my headline be my position and my company?

• In my humble opinion, NO! You are missing out on incorporating 220 characters of key titles and keywords. Who you work for is in the experience section, so it’s redundant to put it in the headline.

Why should I embellish my job titles?

• You can have 100 characters as a job title so embellish each of them with keywords

What buzzwords should I not use on LinkedIn?

• Hubspot lists 10 Overused Buzzwords