Now those of you that have met with me in the real world know that I like a joke. I like a chat. I\u2019m interested in how your kids are doing. I love to see a picture of your dog.<\/p>\n
So that\u2019s the preface, to explain that I\u2019m not a miserable grinch. Honest.<\/p>\n
But now I\u2019m about to get grinchier (that is definitely a word). This is LinkedIn folks. Not Facebook. Not Instagram. It\u2019s not even Twitter.<\/p>\n
So why has my LinkedIn feed this morning included a video of someone\u2019s child doing the latest teenage dance craze, a warning not to leave dogs in parked cars, and a picture of someone\u2019s new baby niece?<\/p>\n
As a social media professional this is an object lesson in tailoring your social media content to suit not just your audience, but the platform too. By all means, be social and sociable on LinkedIn. Nobody wants you to be a boring bot. But when you post anything on social media, keep in mind what your objective is. To win business? Raise your professional profile? Or to let us know your kid can dance?<\/p>\n
And you can be guilty by association. One thing that most people forget about LinkedIn is that when you like or comment on a low value post, you then share that post across your own network with your name at the top endorsing it.<\/b><\/p>\n
And you can be guilty by association. One thing that most people forget about LinkedIn is that when you like or comment on a low value post, you then share that post across your own network with your name at the top endorsing it.<\/p>\n
So even if you don\u2019t post content like this on LinkedIn, by liking or commenting on it you then share this across your own network. It\u2019s not like Facebook, where a like is just that, a like. On LinkedIn it appears on your boss\u2019s feed with your name at the top. It appears on your potential client\u2019s feed, with your name on top. Future employers be unlikely to be impressed by your mate\u2019s baby niece. So, is a picture of a dancing child the professional image you hoped to portray? No, I thought not.<\/p>\n
In fact, I know plenty of professional people who actively unfollow \/ remove their connection with people who clog up their LinkedIn feed with this kind of post, simply by liking or commenting on inane posts.<\/p>\n
So, before you hit post, like or comment, think: \u201cis this something I would be happy to share in a job interview?\u201d If the answer is \u201cno\u201d or \u201cnot sure\u201d then think again.<\/p>\n