Sital Ruparelia

Questions: Have you any tips on what to write in the status updates on LinkedIn?

1. Be Respectful of people’s attention

Just because your contacts agreed to connect with you on LinkedIn doesn’t mean you can spam their home page every day with irrelevant updates and self promotion.

2. Be Transparent

I often see people write a status update encouraging you to click on a link which then takes you through to some random product that they’re earning affiliate income from.

I’ve no objection to people promoting and earning affiliate income – but, like most people, don’t appreciate being misled. So be transparent.

3. Be of Value

Before you post a status update, ask yourself: “Will my status update be of value to my network? Will it be interesting, useful, entertaining or beneficial in some way?

If the answer is “no” or “I’m not sure”, don’t post it.

4. Be personable

Whilst LinkedIn is a professional networking site, it also allows people to see what you’re doing and feel more connected to you, without having to exchange emails or phone calls.

So share what you’re up to occasionally. But again, just ensure it’s something that would be of interest or value to others.

It’s useful if you’re telling me that you’re preparing a presentation on xyz subject, doing some charity work, just leaving town for a business trip, just started reading a great book or have just found a new job.

It helps me get a snippet of what you’re doing and feel more connected to you.

But saying “I’ve just had coffee” isn’t particularly of interest to many people – so maybe leave that for Facebook status updates rather than LinkedIn.

5. Promote with caution

If you’re going to self promote or make requests for help via the LinkedIn status updates, then do it sparingly.

If the only time people ever see your status updates is when you want something or are trying to promote something, then many contacts will view you as one of those people that only calls when they want something (..you know the type of people I mean).

But if you’re regularly sharing valuable, useful, interesting updates – then when you do want something or are promoting something, most people will have no issues with it. And in fact, are more likely to try and help you because you’re someone that shares openly.

6. Protect and enhance your Personal Brand

Remember, everything you write on LinkedIn is searchable via Google and other search engines. So any client, recruiter or employer will be able to see what you’re writing. And as every time you update your status, it’s an opportunity to enhance (or indeed damage) your personal brand.

So be clear about what you want to be known for, how you want people to perceive you and ensure that your status updates enhance your personal brand rather than damaging or diluting it.

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