LinkedIn has long been the primary social media outlet for business, especially for professional services.  Marketing managers and business development professionals have racked up hundreds of contacts. They have crafted and carefully maintained pages for their projects and principal level staff. Groups were joined. Pulse articles written and curated. . .  all hoping to generate new business. 

No Such Luck! You might as well abandon that hope.  LinkedIn is good for many things, but generating new business is NOT one of them.  What went wrong?  These factors tend to drive serious business development away from LinkedIn:

1. LinkedIn Became Facebook

You’ve noticed it. The content on your LinkedIn home page looks more and more like your Facebook newsfeed.  Posts are more personal, more about promotion, and less appropriate in a business environment.

2. Endorsements Are Meaningless

You are constantly asked to ‘endorse’ a contact for a ‘skill’ that person may very well not have. How can that mean anything?

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3. Contact Requests Are Annoying

An informal poll of a group of business development professionals for engineering firms showed that nearly half of the contact requests received were from staffing agencies or software sales. 

4. Unsolicited Job Announcements

You’ve probably noticed an increase in the number of emails from LinkedIn informing you of firms who are looking for someone just like you, maybe.  Unfortunately, the keyword-search method is flawed, and potential job opportunities are often not relevant to your skill set.

Again, LinkedIn is a great platform for many things; Pulse always has interesting articles. Many groups maintain lively discussions.  Even introductions can be useful.  Just don’t expect to generate new business.

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This article is published by Will Sherwood | The Sherwood Group |Website Design | Graphic Design | Marketing Communications: The Sherwood Group has over 30 years of experience working with all sorts of companies, small and large. Our clients range from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 firms, in nearly every business sector, from across the street to around the world (and yes, even Europe, China, and South America). Our goal is to create advertising,  graphic design, website design, and marketing communication that still looks fresh and relevant 10-15 years later. Our mission is to stir your imagination and leave your competition shaken and wondering,  Now what do we do?”  We are located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Do you need help growing your business? Click here to check out the social media marketing and website design packages from The Sherwood Group. We’ll help you capture new business and achieve your goals.

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