Land on LinkedIn and getting a place on the largest professional network in the world does not happen overnight. Between codes to respect, ways of expressing themselves and interacting with others… New users can easily make mistakes. In order to benefit from the best possible experience and to make the most of the features offered by the platform, L’Express goes through the missteps to avoid at all costs.
It starts with how you communicate with your network. “There are things that are very recurrent: mentioning many people in a post or in a comment. This can be very irritating and show that we are looking for the like at all costs”, immediately advances Christopher Piton, author from “Conquering LinkedIn: 10 Steps to Deploy Your Marketing Strategy, Build a Strong Reputation and Generate Leads”.
Stay active on the network
All the experts interviewed by L’Express are unanimous: creating an account on LinkedIn is useless if you are not active on the network. Many users create a profile to be present virtually. “It’s a must. If an employee, a business manager or a freelancer is not present on LinkedIn, it seems suspicious today,” said Philippe Douale, LinkedIn and networking expert. But some new users give up very quickly without taking care of their profile and updating it constantly.
“The important thing is to be constant and regular. If you just publish your CV and disappear from the platform, you will find no use for LinkedIn”, estimates Christopher Piton. This involves finding new contacts to expand your network, but also through posts, interactions with the content of other users such as comments or adding a reaction: “I like”, “bravo” or even “support”.
“Three types of posts are dangerous”
Be careful though, the content you post can sometimes turn against you. For Grégory Mancel, LinkedIn corporate trainer, “three types of posts are dangerous: the purely entertaining post which only triggers the ‘funny’ reaction, the political post and the controversial post relating, for example, to the increase in the price of gasoline or the yellow vests”. According to him, “LinkedIn is the social network where we are most exposed. It is certainly a professional network, but in the newsfeed appear the posts of the people we follow. In terms of e- reputation, we have to be very careful.”
The way you write your content can also be eliminatory. “Text blocks should be avoided. People’s attention is limited on social networks. Above all, do not start with ‘dear network’, it is something that we still see a lot. need to use that language,” says Christopher Piton. Also, be careful about the photo you use. This is the first gateway to your profile. “The portrait photo can be prohibitive. It is absolutely necessary to inspire confidence”, assures Philippe Douale.
As in everyday life or in a professional environment, good behavior on the social network is essential to maintain excellent relations with its contacts and not to risk being categorized as a person who inveighs or spends his time criticizing. “Try to be positive and add value, don’t try to put people down and be negative in your feedback. By creating a positive vibe around your personal brand, you will stand out,” advises Richard Van Der Blom, LinkedIn trainer and author of a report on the social network’s algorithm. Finally, all the specialists will never repeat it enough: “The only big mistake: it is to stop too soon, assures Mathieu Pimort, founder of the company Linker. LinkedIn is neither the smartest person nor the the most qualified who will manage to stand out, but the one who will last the longest”.