The personal touch on LinkedIn
My schedule has gotten away from me lately, as Y’all Connect Presented by Alabama Power grows closer.
Even worse, I’ve skipped my daily check-ins with my LinkedIn friends, in which I contact three connections each day to ask how they’re doing. (I’ll resume in the summer when my schedule eases up.)
Photo: Coletivo Mambembe (CC)
But I still make time each morning to take care of my LinkedIn friends, thanks to a simple email reminder.
LinkedIn sends me a daily digest of “network updates,” connections who today celebrate a birthday or a new job. I always send a note wishing them a great day or my congratulations.
It’s a small sincere gesture, one that lets me share in life’s daily joy.
Tip for power users: Wow your LinkedIn connections by sending a card, or even flowers or a branded item like a thumb drive or mug. (My friend Matt at MyLogoSource here in Birmingham can help with promotional items.)
To set up your LinkedIn network updates email:
- Go to the Email frequency settings page. (See image above.)
- Click the pencil icon next to “Updates and news.”
- Change “Network updates” to “Daily Digest Email.” (Can’t wish someone a Happy Birthday 4 days late!)
- Click “Save changes.”
One of the best ways to get value out of LinkedIn is to grow and maintain your network. Be good to your connections, and they’ll be good to you.
• • •
Our 1-hour webinar can help you land a job or more leads
on LinkedIn …
Birmingham Blogging Academy 
Wade, I love the idea of contacting three LinkedIn contacts per day to find out how they’re doing! Think I’ll “swipe” that idea! Thanks also for the kind mention in this post!
You’re welcome, Matt! Let me know if you see benefits from LinkedIn.
Good article Wade! I like the idea, but one thing that has been concerning and wondered is when one usually utilized LinkedIn to reach out to others usually and has reached out to certain people when there has been good history before, but never gets a reply back? I really wish it would be smooth flowing where anybody where a two-way street could easily flow with one party at least reaching out and taking initiative with good intent. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated on any encounters you have faced with one-sidedness. Thanks always for the amazing work you do and glad we are connected!
In my LinkedIn Networking Challenge, I reached out to hundreds of contacts and had a response rate of 65 percent.
So only about one-third failed to respond. That’s an excellent response rate, in my opinion.
Don’t worry about the nonrespondants — focus on the ones who do reply.