Dear LinkedIn: Don’t try to be Facebook. Be the BEST business site you can possibly be.

Dear LinkedIn,

I’ve been your friend, fan, follower and member for quite a few years now. I am so passionate about what you do, I also train businesses and write profiles for executives so they can develop a strong presence they can be proud of.

You may not be the “sexiest” of all the channels, but what I admire and respect about you is that you’ve dominated the world’s largest business network and have proven yourself to be one of the most powerful channels in Social Media.

You may not have the same number of members as Facebook. You may not be the site where news breaks. But, as you know, you are the site where business people are INVESTING time. You have provided us with various reports that your members are more likely to be decision makers within a company and more affluent than other Social Media channels

So, may I ask, WHY are you trying to be something you’re not?

Recently, you have added emojis and animated gifs into your new messaging system:

 

We’ve seen emojis emerge as a fun way of communicating – particularly amongst millennials. We’ve even seen Domino’s develop a way to order pizza using emojis.

Here’s the thing. You aren’t Facebook. You aren’t Twitter. You aren’t Snapchat.

You are LinkedIn.

Let Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat do what they do.

Focus on what you do best: helping business people connect with their professional network and convert clients.

 

Your members “get” that you need to make changes and do your best to keep improving your site. We may not always like change, but we get it.

Instead of adding emojis, why not focus on making changes to your infrastructure to help us connect properly and deepen our relationships?

Suggestion #1: Please make it easier for members to add a personalized note with EVERY connection request. 

The only time we can personalize this note, is if we are sitting at our laptop or desktop, search for the specific person and click the “Connect” button. (Yes, I know you can also use your iPhone/iPad to do this, but the navigation isn’t simple or straightforward).

Personalizing each and every connection request would allow us to provide context to the person we are connecting with. Many of us want to know WHY the person making the request wants to connect with us.

We may be connecting computer-to-computer but we are fundamentally connecting person-to-person, and we wouldn’t exchange business cards without a conversation.

Suggestion #2: Make it easy for members to reply to our connection requests without accepting the connection.

Right now, this is the process to reply to a connection request without accepting:

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This REALLY useful part of your infrastructure shouldn’t be hidden. It should be one of the key pieces of your communication toolkit!

I implore you, dear LinkedIn. Focus on your strengths, not on your weaknesses. We love you for who you are. Don’t try to be anyone else. Just be yourself.

Be the best darned business network you can be!

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What do you think about LinkedIn’s new emojis or some of the other changes to their site?

Leslie Hughes is a LinkedIn Optimization Specialist, Professor of Social Media, Corporate Trainer and Principal of PUNCH!media

Leslie was called a “Social Media Guru” by CBC Radio and has been working in digital marketing since 1997 and founded PUNCH!media in 2009. PUNCH!media clients include The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and TVO.

PUNCH!media’s goal is to empower through education and help executives gain confidence in their online presence so you convert higher-paying clients.

www.punchmedia.ca
leslie {at} punchmedia.ca
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