How to Use LinkedIn to Deepen Your Professional Relationships
By: Arthur Uratani
Director of Marketing and Outreach, Bookoff McAndrews
How often do you see or talk to your friends these days? Every couple months? Twice a year? Once a year?
How about your professional acquaintances and business contacts? Even less?
We live busy lives and that means that we interact with a majority of people that we’re friendly with on a pretty infrequent basis. So, what’s one of the things you can do to fill that void between interactions and remain an increasingly positive and welcome blip on someone’s radar?
Thoughtful social media engagement.
We’ll talk about LinkedIn specifically, but this is generally applicable across platforms.
First, the basics. Like and react to the posts that your friends put up. Why? Likes can be hard to come by, especially on LinkedIn. Your friend will be appreciative of the support (and likely reciprocate in kind should you put up a post of your own). Also, why not stand out even more by “loving” or “celebrating” their post should it resonate with you? Even more rare than “likes” (i.e., thumbs up emoji) are “reacts” (i.e., clapping, heart, light bulb, etc. emojis). A little extra love can go a long way.
Second, when inspired to do so, comment thoughtfully on your friends’ posts. Why “thoughtfully”? Generic comments (e.g., “Congratulations!”) rarely inspire much more than a generic response (i.e., “Thanks!”). Instead, bring up a heartwarming anecdote or funny story that you two share, ask a follow-up question, or just express your enjoyment of their post (e.g., think of a review that’s going on a book cover). Now, not only will your counterpart be more grateful you spent the time to digest what they wrote, but they’re also more inclined to respond thoughtfully, which elevates the possibility of a meaningful dialogue getting started. Even if the organic conversation that follows only lasts another one or two comments, you’ll still both hold each other in slightly higher regard afterwards. Do that consistently and who knows what opportunities could open up? A little extra thoughtfulness can go a long way.
Finally, now that you’re supporting your friends and connections through regular social media engagement, you can consider going even further by authoring your own posts. Why? If your content is compelling enough and genuinely helps others, you can get people to come to you and engage with you! You’ve gone from seeking to being sought after. As George Costanza from Seinfeld would say, “you have hand” (just don’t go overboard with it). Now you are in the driver’s seat fielding comments and demonstrating the breadth of your charisma, knowledge, empathy, and listening skills. And feel free to write about more than just your work. The posts with the highest engagement are the ones that show who you are as a person, what you value, and what interests you. Something happens to you every day, every week, and every month that reminds you of some life lesson you hold dear. Write about it! A little extra personal touch can go a long way.
Putting together these three tips, we can now see how to engage with others on social media in a way that will lead to better relationships and more opportunities for deeper connection: show love, exhibit thoughtfulness, and add a personal touch. Try it out and let me know how it goes! Connect with me on LinkedIn as well and let’s support each other on this journey.