Just a few days ago, I was having lunch with a close friend in her fourth year at Sauder, who is quite savvy on social media. Soon enough, our conversation turned to the value of LinkedIn as a sales tool, but prompted a lively discussion as to how to best use it. I have only 150 contacts so far on this site but that is because I limit LinkedIn contacts to those with whom I’ve actually spoken to or connected with. Not all of those connections are strong, obviously, and that is why LinkedIn provides me with a platform to build on the communication initiated earlier with my contacts and also to get to know them better.
My friend, however, had a different take. She thinks people should add everyone they can, whether they know them or not. This leads me to think if the norm of adding names of people you don’t know is eroding the effectiveness of LinkedIn as a sales tool. LinkedIn is a professional tool, built for mature professionals. It is not a social networking site, like Facebook or Twitter, but is solely used to build business connections. However, I strongly believe that adding employers and professionals who we have never met or spoken to before, might display a impressive huge ‘connections’ number on our profile, but in reality, it would not demonstrate a list of legitimate business contacts. It is better to start small and keep your list focused but effective. Make an effort to meet more people and get to know them better and hence expand your contacts by repeating this approach. This might take longer but in the end, only close and strong connections can help you get your dream job instead of having thousands of superficial contacts on your LinkedIn profile.
Sources:
http://www.linkedin.com/answers/marketing-sales/advertising-promotion/direct-marketing/MAR_ADP_DMA/999931-8424757
http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/5-signs-linkedin-profile-effective/
http://www.businesscomputingworld.co.uk/10-easy-steps-to-improve-linkedin-networking-effectiveness/