While a tremendous amount has been written about how to leverage the web with social media, there hasn’t been nearly enough written about what NOT to do… and even if there has, there are not nearly enough people listening. Here are the top five taboos I see people try on LinkedIn.
- Overuse of “Visionary” – If you have to describe yourself on LinkedIn as a “visionary” you are most likely not one. Let someone else call you this, and don’t post it on your profile.
- Bad Photo Selection – Because it’s your professional profile, don’t post a picture of your child, car or some other confusing image. The imagesize is small to begin with, and if I’m trying to remember who you are (especially if I only recently met you), I’d prefer to see a picture of good enough quality that I can actually recognize you.
- Self-Aggrandizing Thought Leaders – See “visionary” above.
- Unsuitable Recommendations Requests – Don’t ask for undeserved recommendations, particularly when a) you barely know them, b) they really didn’t do anything with you worth recommending, or even worse c) when they actually have a poor opinion of your work product. Talk about an awkward request!
- Connection Collectors – People who connect to people they have never met and have nothing to share are far too common. They often send a connection request with no explanation whatsoever or even worse they claim to have worked with you previously while you have no clue who they are.
What are your top 5 things not to do with LinkedIn or social media in general?
