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This article is about the inane messages we get on LinkedIn, why people send them and why they’re a waste of time
There are two types of messages that really frustrate me when they arrive in my LinkedIn inbox. The first type are those that indicate there is an opportunity waiting for me and I will get to the other one later. So I receive a message, probably from a very nice person, stating that they have an opportunity I might be interested in. Not knowing whether the opportunity is one for me, or is just them being an opportunist, I advise them to “go on”.
By working together we can rule the world?
The second message said “within a few months of working together you could generate a four figure income”. This isn’t exactly attractive, considering a few months is a long time, they didn’t say how much time or effort I would need to make and they certainly didn’t tell me what it was about. They sent me a link to a “video” and stated it was worth five minutes of my time. The video gives no clue as to the benefit ofgetting involved in such an opportunity, I didn’t bother watching it.
It was no surprise that I received another message asking me what my favourite part of the video was. I just wish people would get to the point a little quicker. It seems that LinkedIn is being infected by people who don’t know what they have to offer or make it very vague so you don’t think it is “just another one of those get rick quick schemes”.
The tragedy is if they told people upfront what it was, they could make their own mind up about whether or not it was something they would get involved in, and save everyone a lot of time.
The second message that I’ve been receiving lately that’s driving me mad is one that tells me people have joined a new service that allows them to update their contacts online, and sends their LinkedIn contacts a message when they join the service. When you have a lot of contacts it can be frustrating receiving a very similar message from a large number of them. However, what it has thought me is that the brand that provides this service has no idea about branding and marketing because they are happy for people to inundate their contacts in their name. The other annoying thing about this message is people can keep all this information on their LI profile, so adding themselves to another website or application is a duplication of their effort.
When sending messages on LinkedIn try to ensure the person receiving it understands what is in it for them, their clients, or their network, before you press the send button.
When thinking about joining a new platform check that the current websites or applications you have already signed up to do not offer the same service. LinkedIn has some pretty amazing features, yet they are not very good at letting people know they exist.
Henry
You don’t mention your cricketing prowess amongst your other activities. If memory serves me, I recall that you were a budding Alan Knott/Alec Stewart back in the 80’s. Why has this been airbrushed?
Mike
Time waits for no man Mike and my cricketing career is now over – substituted by happy days sitting in pavillions with the likes of Norman Head