Maria Elena Duron wrote the post: Being Consistent In Your Brand Doesn’t Mean Be Annoying… it is a good read. She is talking about the frequency of your updates on sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

How much is too much?  How much is too little?

She throws out the number 15, in one day (presumably on Twitter).  Wow, that is A LOT.  Unless you have someone dedicated to social media outreach I’d say that (a) you are going to alienate people and (b) you are wasting your time that should be spent elsewhere (like pursuing deeper relationships, instead of spewing your kewl ideas all day long).

Her post talks about some ideas on frequency for Facebook and Twitter, and on LinkedIn she says:

On LinkedIn, my personal thoughts are on once or twice a day on status updates and then a whole lot of answering and asking of questions along with participation in groups. I’ll defer to my esteemed colleague, Jason Alba, author of “I’m on LinkedIn – Now What?” as he knows that network well and more specifically provide greater direction there.

I would never recommend you have a strategy that ties you to once a day, or more than once a day.  I think it’s okay to do it once a day on LinkedIn, but I wouldn’t do it more unless there was some really important stuff to share.  Even then, can’t it wait until tomorrow?

If you want to be front-and-center on LinkedIn I think anywhere between once a day and once a week is FINE.  Don’t do it too often… if you want to do it more encourage your LI network to follow you on Twitter (which is what Twitter is made for).

She also suggestions “a whole lot of” questions and group participation.

Again, I think you can overdo this…

Check out this brilliant post by Scott Allen: It’s Time to Practice a Little Selfish Networking.

Some times you can have too much of a “good” thing… the danger is when you let this get in the way of what you should be doing…

That is Peter Newfield’s question on LinkedIn… there are 22 answers and it’s really interesting.

Some say the early adopters are out because they just go look for shiny stuff, but the value is still definitely there.

Others say that LinkedIn moved Answers off the main menu and that has decreased the value.

Some say it’s too much work, others say it’s awesome.

There’s some great discussion on that LinkedIn Answers thread… what do YOU think?  Has LinkedIn lost some of its appeal?

This is more for HR and hiring managers who are looking for talent on LinkedIn.  There are plenty of tactics to employ, I’m sure (share yours in the comments).

The question came from a buddy:

Question: I want to leverage linked in to find a replacement for [an awesome systems guy] (he as taken a job elsewhere.)  I don’t really want to leverage the “job posting” function, as I don’t want to be overwhelmed with applicants, and I prefer to find someone that my network recommends to me.  What to you suggest as my best way to leverage linked in to get the word out?

Can you say HIDDEN JOB MARKET?  I bet this thought process happens all the time.  It pays to be connected, networked and known!

My response was this:

I would ask the question just as you posed it (take out [the name] and put something like senior systems architect) in LinkedIn Answers… that can be emailed to up to 200 of your first degree contacts.

There is a checkbox that says “is this a job posting” – leave that UNCHECKED as you are asking your network how to leverage LI, not posting a job.  Otherwise LI might want to charge you to post a job.

People are using LinkedIn as a powerful tool all the the time – some lucky guy or gal might just get an offer out of this!

Need more tips?  Get my LinkedIn for Job Seekers DVD – over 2 hours of watch-over-my-shoulder training.

Short answer: yes.

It might not be as easy as you think, especially if you are looking for easy money, or passive revenue.  Don’t use LinkedIn as the only tool to sell your $47 product… you’ll have to sell a lot to make any real money, and to sell a lot you’ll have to be all over the place, and being all over the place will make you look like a spammer, and looking like a spammer can get you banned :p

Here are two stories about people who made money because of LinkedIn:

Story 1

I asked a question on LinkedIn.  Someone answered the question with a really good answer.  Someone else

was interested in my question, saw her answer and hired her.  I don’t know if that was a $700 contract or a $2,700 contract, but by taking a few minutes and sharing her knowledge she got new business.  Even if it where a $700 contract, she now had a new client (perhaps she could sell more stuff to that new client down the road) and hopefully an evangelist to spread some word-of-mouth goodness.

Story 2

I was doing a presentation at a law firm and an attorney said he belongs to his alumni group on LinkedIn.  Someone started a group discussion that had nothing to do with law… if I remember correctly it was a discussion/question that had to do with an upcoming football game, and perhaps asking for hotel recommendations for that away game.  This attorney simply responded with helpful information… someone else saw the response and said “oh, I kind of remember now that so-and-so (the person who answered the question) was an attorney, but I didn’t realize they did *that* type of law – I’m looking for that expertise right now!”  Contact was made and a contract was signed – just from being helpful on a discussion in a group the attorney got business.  I’m guessing the contract was worth more than $700 :p

LinkedIn is a tool – it’s a communication vehicle… it is not a get-rich-quick thing… the reason these people made money was because they were in the right place, with the right information, and accessible.

There are more stories, but the point is, YES, you can make money from LinkedIn!

Here’s a great post with 19 daily tasks for various social media platforms… 5 for Twitter, 6 for Facebook, 5 for LinkedIn, and 4 for blogs.  Understand that Chris Brogan is a pioneer in this space, and doing this has been a part of his job descriptions over the years (afaik)… doing all of these regularly (even weekly) might be way to much for the average mortal.

Nonetheless, there are great suggestions you can implement.  I don’t necessarily disagree with any of them, although I’d suggest and alternative to his 15th point (the last one in LinkedIn) …. only put slideshows or books that are relevant to your branding message, not distracting at all.  Don’t need to add more noise to your LinkedIn Profile.

This post cracked me up from Sophie: Answer me this, LinkedIn.  It’s a super-short post, but the point is excellent and has some great links after her rant.

I read this and thought “I wonder how many people read my book, or saw me speak, and contribute to the crap in LinkedIn Answers,” whether it is their crappy question or crappy answer to someone else’s question.  Hopefully not (m)any!

I think that using LinkedIn Answers is one of the most important things you can do in LinkedIn… are you using it effectively?  I hope so…!

When you ask a question on LinkedIn Answers you MUST send the question to up to 200 of your first degree contacts.  If you don’t do this, imho, you shouldn’t even ask the question.  It’s that important.

A few months ago LinkedIn changed the design on the page where you invite your connections to get the question emailed to them.  This is what you click on (kind of hidden, isn’t it?):

When is the last time you asked a question on LinkedIn Answers?  If it’s been over a month, mozy on over and do it!  Why?  I explain that in my book