I am extremely passionate about showing business professionals how to leverage LinkedIn to increase business, make new connections, grow their LinkedIn networks & gain success accordingly. How you measure that success is down to each individual.
But LinkedIn also has some 'issues.' Not so much with LinkedIn itself, but more of some of the frustrations that come from using LinkedIn. For the purpose of this article, I'm going to call them 'LinkedIn Pet Hates' and here are a selection (in no particular order!).
LinkedIn Pet Hates
1. Fake LinkedIn Profiles Sending You Invitations To Join Groups
I mean, come on!! I've seen so many LinkedIn Groups set up by companies or organisations where fake profiles are created to send LinkedIn members invitations to their groups. Why do they do this? Well, the fake profiles are used to join lots & lots of groups, then message group members individually rather than use up inMails from a 'real' account. LinkedIn members don't tend to mind these type of messages that much & may just join the said group as they feel that they've been specially invited. When the messages are finally reported as spam to a certain number, the account gets suspended by LinkedIn and then more fake profiles are created, the cycle repeats. It's simply a 'cheap' method used by unscrupulous companies & organisations because they don't have the skills to engage with their audience and build a genuine, engaging group. My advice is simple, if you come across a message to you from a LinkedIn member that you do not know, unless you really feel a need to join the group in question, simply click on the 'Report Spam' button.
2. LinkedIn Members Who Join Groups JUST To Add PR, Then Leave The Group
You'll see this a lot and very similar to above, a person will join a group, add a 'white paper' or a 'subscription' message of some kind that is a link to a company website & then, they leave the group. So, their message has been added & they can move on like a plague of locusts to another group and repeat the process. Easy to spot these members, if you manage a group, look out for them and 'remove & block' them so they can't do it again in your group.
3. People Who 'Like' Their Own Updates Or Discussions
Yep, that old chestnut, I'm sure you have seen this a lot. A comment from a Twitter connection I have about this: "These idiots who like their own LinkedIn updates probably have garden gnomes."
4. Spam/Marketing Messages
You log on LinkedIn after the weekend & there you see them, 'spam' messages offering 'Insurance', 'Clothes', "TimeShares". They are a real pain & the best thing to do is click on that 'Report Spam' button once again.
5. Personal Twitter Updates On LinkedIn Updates
This is one 'pet hate' that many of my LinkedIn connections have highlighted. The frustration comes when LinkedIn members are subjected to every single 'personal' Twitter update, examples being about Watching TV, Cooking, Animals, or simply EVERY single Twitter update. Some are not aware that you can stop this action in your settings, simply tick the box in the 'Manage Your Twitter Settings' that says - Share only tweets that contain #in (#li also works) in your LinkedIn status.
A quick tip for those who are annoyed by these updates, from your LinkedIn homepage, hover over any such update & on the top right hand corner of the update a 'Hide' button will appear, click on it & that user's updates get ignored by you.
6. When Someone Asks For Help, Advice Or A Supplier & Then Never Follows Up Or Says 'Thank You'
Wow, this is certainly my main LinkedIn pet hate!!! It's so frustrating when someone asks a question, say, for a supplier & you may even be that 'perfect supplier', you reply, you even reply privately, but the original poster never gets back to you. You may even just be recommending someone, but nothing ever comes from it. SO FRUSTRATING!
So, there's 6 'LinkedIn Pet Hates', it would be great to know what yours are??