Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

Ask Yellow Dog: LinkedIn Endorsements

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imgresI received this email today from a friend of mine:

What is the etiquette for endorsing people on LinkedIn?

Is it merely to gain more brownie points with someone you want attention from?

Is it to attract those people who are reviewing someone’s profile?

And here was my response:

LinkedIn Endorsements- honestly, no idea. I typically DON’T endorse people, especially those I don’t know/haven’t talked to in a couple of years. It’s super obnoxious and I’m trying to decide if I should turn it off (which is an option) or if that’ll hurt my SEO/search results in LI. But, I think it’s just a popularity contest and pretty ridiculous.

I obviously haven’t turned off my endorsements yet, but it did get me thinking- what’s the deal here? You can already see how many connections I have, NOW you want those folks to tell others how awesome I am at certain things? Isn’t that the job of my profile? Yes I get that it’s helpful, but I have not placed any stock in the endorsements I receive or those I see others receiving. It seems similar to the Twitter idea of “I follow you, so you’ll follow me back and we’ll inflate our numbers together!” Kind of useless.

Instead, I suggest you have a really great LinkedIn profile page. A professional headshot (your kid is cute, but does she run the company?), a comprehensive bio, and a thoughtful work history. Make recommendations of individuals because they did great work, not because they’ll write one in response (which we all know is nice).

LinkedIn is ramping up their efforts and updating their engagement strategy. Just because they are, doesn’t mean you have to. Hopefully they continue to make it easy for us to make updates and add details and work history. Don’t worry about doing everything all the time. Make sure you’re hitting the pieces you want and that work for you. And if the endorsements aren’t your thing, turn them off, or hit ignore when they pop up, like I do.

Consistency with your Social Media

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imagesI recently started work with a new client. I noticed that the company has a Foursquare location claimed, which is great. When I mentioned that setting up a special there would be a good idea, the response was “I haven’t looked at that in ages!”

DO IT. Social media is great, but you have to be consistent. Make sure you’re checking your social media platforms regularly. Here’s my suggestions:

Facebook: check daily. You may not post to it daily, but you need to login every day to see if people are commenting/tagging/etc and make sure to respond as needed.

Twitter: Check Daily. Make sure to answer any DM’s (that aren’t spam) and reply to tweets. I recommend tweeting at least daily and using different content from FB.

LinkedIn: Weekly. This one you need to make sure you’re keeping up on invite requests, and a lot of folks still use LinkedIn to communicate with people. So keep an eye on it so you  remember who those people are you’re connecting with. A LinkedIn Company page should be updated when you add new services.

Google+ Business Page: Make sure you have one of these. you can’t auto-post to them from most places (like blog posts or newsletters) but you can go in and manually post. Google wants you to ENGAGE with people in real time, not schedule it.

Foursquare: Monthly at LEAST. You only need a Foursquare account if you have a physical location. Make sure you’re keeping an eye on people writing tips & if it makes sense to offer a special then make sure to check in often and update or refresh the special!

YouTube/Pinterest/Yelp/everything else: Yeah, I have no idea. That’s not really true, but the above are the big 5 I think are worth keeping an eye on!

Network with Yellow Dog in December!

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Actually, it’s a mad dash to the end of the year, and you’re either coasting into the end of the year with your sales goal blown up, or you’re stressing to get those last few things finished up to make your goal (or just your budget!) for the year. Here’s a couple of great events coming up to check out if you need some new networking opportunities to end the year strong!

Geekwire Gala– 12/4/13 

I can’t make it this year but the Geekwire Gala is THE event of the season, with hundreds of folks in the tech and startup community attending. Not to miss if this is your target market!

NWEN Breakfast Buzz – 12/13/13

You know my love of NWEN (and I’m on the board!) this years final breakfast is going to be FANTASTIC! Coffee Talk with Jeremy Jaech (SNUPI Technologies) and Ed Lazowska (University of Washington): The Internet of Things. It’ll be an awesome & thoughtful breakfast, really well attended and a great way to get you excited for what’s in store for you & the startup community in 2014!

eWomenNetwork Luncheon – 12/19/13

You also know my love of eWomenNetwork! This is a fantastic organization for women in business who are looking to grow their business, get education, and have a community of like minded people in their corner. This organization has been instrumental in Yellow Dog’s success!

And then, the lost last two weeks of the year…I’m planning to take most of it off to be with family around the Northwest. I hope you have some fun things planned, and don’t end up with coal in your stocking!