Varvara Grankova

As the founder and CEO of three tech startups and a project manager at LinkedIn, I know how valuable social media can be for business. My findings are backed up by research: According to IDC, 75% of enterprise customers and 84% of executives use social media to make purchasing decisions. And according to a 2018 LinkedIn report, 89% of sales leaders believe social media is critical to closing deals.

True, it can be difficult to establish contact with strangers. I have been receiving a huge number of commercial proposals for the last 30 years, and I know how quickly online negotiations can move to the stage of concluding a deal. Still, the more your communication with the client resembles real-life personal contact, the better. Here is my advice to those who want to expand their business network using social media.

Don't get hung up on job titles. Most people only try to interact with managers. Instead of exclusively reaching out to your boss, focus on building relationships with your peers and those just starting out in their careers. This network will grow with you and will pay dividends in the future.

Plus, reaching out to more than just managers increases your chances of getting a response. LinkedIn research shows that the likelihood of a response depends heavily on the job title of the employee you’re emailing. (LinkedIn uses machine learning to analyze aggregate data about the factors that influence open rates and response rates.) Early in their careers, people are more likely to respond to their first message, while senior executives and executives themselves are the least likely to respond to messages from strangers.

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Keep your first message brief, but not bland. People don’t have the patience to read long messages. They perceive them as spam, especially if it’s the very first email. I almost always ignore first messages that are longer than one paragraph. So keep it short. Pick three key ideas you want to convey. Formulate them in three sentences. Your entire message should fit on a smartphone screen. An analysis of LinkedIn’s internal messenger showed that messages up to 100 words perform best. Response rates for messages longer than 500 words drop significantly.

Of course, the content and tone of the letter also matter. The professionals who get the most responses try to make their phrases sound natural and aren’t afraid to show individuality in their messages. They also try to find common ground with the recipient, for example by referring to common interests, acquaintances, or a place of study. According to our research, mentioning mutual friends increases the likelihood of a response by 51%. Only a reference to the university where the author and recipient of the letter studied is more effective (increases the likelihood of a response by 53%).

Ask for advice. Having founded a few startups, I agree with the fundraising adage: “Ask for advice and you’ll get money; ask for money and you’ll get advice.” Ask for advice. You wouldn’t pitch your ideas to someone you just met for coffee. Don’t do it on social media either.

Often the best way to ask for advice is to be direct. You might say, “I have some ideas and I’d like to hear what you think. May I buy you a coffee?” Or, “I’m trying to solve this problem and would love to hear your suggestions. Can you give me 15 minutes?”

If you are currently in an in-between stage, i.e. starting a new company, changing industries, or moving to another city, use this as an opportunity to reach out to those around you and ask for their advice.

Help others. The best way to build rapport is to help someone without expecting or asking for anything in return. It feels good, teaches you generosity, and helps you understand what the other person values. It also allows you to ask for help in the future. You don’t have to offer help at every opportunity. Just make it clear that you are always there to help, especially those who are just starting out in their careers. For example, I don’t hide my email address and phone number online, and I try to respond quickly to people who are just starting out in their careers and need information that I can share.

Don’t neglect your old connections, either. Your existing relationships are the foundation of your network, so make sure you regularly connect with colleagues, clients, partners, and mentors who work or have worked with you.

Social media offers incredible opportunities to strengthen your professional network. Connect online the same way you connect in the real world: build personal connections through common topics, and invest in trusting, long-term relationships rather than one-off meetings.

About the author: Doug Camplejohn is vice president of product management at LinkedIn.

The original article is here .

Vedomosti note: access to the LinkedIn business networking site has been blocked in Russia since November 2016. On November 17, 2016, Roskomnadzor added the LinkedIn site to the register of violators of the law on personal data.

Four Rules of Online Networking from a LinkedIn Top Manager