With the recent update to the Linkedin app, several features of Linked in have now become much more accessible to smart phone users who previously had to log into their PC to access them.
One of the features I was previously unable to view in the app was the status updates posted by my connections. Now I can see them I am appalled at the volume of quite obviously syndicated tweets being posted as Linked in status updates! I know they are tweets because;
Many include RT and # which belong in Twitter and mean nothing when used in Linked in
Some made reference to Twitter in the update (E.g. “Hello Twitter”)
Most updates were duplicates of tweets I had already viewed in Twitter itself
All said “posted from Twitter”!
Why have a presence on Linked in?
I imagine most business owners have created a Linked in profile to raise the profile and increase exposure of their business? That’s the minimum benefit. Getting involved with groups etc will increase your network as you connect with other business owners and are demonstrating expertise. So if we assume the users who syndicate their tweets to Linked in are not using the platform beyond posting updates and accepting connections, the first impression a new connection will have of the business is going to be judged in part by the status updates?!
What’s wrong with syndicating tweets?
When shared selectively and using neutral language then nothing. When all of the updates are only ever obviously syndicated tweets or worse, when every single tweet is posted to Linked in too there is a lot wrong! Let me explain why..
I want you to imagine you are at a networking event with someone you know and you are introduced to Joe Bloggs who wanted to be introduced to you as he is interested in discussing a potential business deal. For the duration of the event Joe addresses you through your mutual connection; never speaks directly to you and the entire conversation is spoken in a language which you do not understand, nor is it translated for you. What impression has Joe given you of himself? Well mannered? Professional? The kind of person who you want to do business with? You met him but do you like and trust him? Exactly.
It’s a big mistake to presume that your Linked in connections use and understand the language of Twitter. It’s another mistake to believe that someone using Linked in who may be considering doing business with you won’t care that you have nothing original to say. It’s a huge mistake to treat Linked in as a ‘dumping ground’ for every tweet you post.
Once a Twitter account has been connected to a Linked in profile, using the hashtag #in in tweets will send that one tweet to Linked in where you can find a ‘tweet’ button to do the same thing in reverse. You can even use Hootsuite or TweetDeck to share the occasional post with both platforms. Keep the language neutral and nobody need know it’s a duplicate nor will they mind the odd one or two.
Are you damaging the credibility of your business? Do you agree? Does it annoy you too? Am I wrong and nobody cares what is posted and where? Share your views by leaving a comment,
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Thanks Veronica,
Good point, I never thought of it like that before. I use Hootsuite and copy the occasional tweet over to LinkedIn and sometimes Google+. Not to FB though, I always manually do those. I need to remember to make sure to remove the #tags.
Hi Veronica,
I can’t get on my soap box about this enough. I agree with you completely. When I see tweets fed through to LinkedIn and Facebook I feel like that person is blatantly favouring their Twitter network and treating all others as second class connections.
I think there is a problem with people feeding their LinkedIn updates to Twitter as well, I blogged about it some time ago. I’d love to get your thoughts on that.
http://sourceress.co.uk/index.php/2011/twitter-linkedin/
Katharine
Do you know what Veronica I am not going to reply to the content of your blog post because you are right on with it, but rather I would like to share a few words on your writing style.
You may or may not have been told this before but you really have a lovely way with words. I enjoy your informative but conversational and chatty tone, the examples you use to illustrate the points being so beautifully made and much more. You would make a good journalist or even an author. Now there’s a thought.
Keep up the good work. Love your style and gritty-under-the-radar ‘let’s not faff about’ approach. I am sure your expert status in your field is moving on in leaps and bounds…
Dee Blick
Very true Veronica. I have to say I was suckered into syndicating tweets to LinkedIn initially, as the setup options implied that tweets containing @ would not appear in my Status, which seemed to suggest that only “clean” status updates (including links to blog posts and pertinent articles) would be syndicated. I soon found this to be disappointingly untrue, and promptly changed the settings.
Thanks for a great blog.
I must confess to not using LinkedIn very much. I did at one point link Twitter posts to LinkedIn but dropped it very quickly – same as for Facebook, as Tweets are designed to be short and much more frequent than LinkedIn or Facebook updates and just clog up the pages on those two platforms.
So I totally agree with you, Veronica. Off to check I really HAVE unlinked Twitter from LinkedIn – that’s if I can work out how to use it on the iPhone since the app had changed…
Great post and one with which I entirely concur Veronica. In fact, I take a very specific point of view on posting tweets on LinkedIn – I don’t do it! I personally prefer manual posting for all the reasons you and the others who’ve commented have outlined. To me, every platform requires careful thought about who you’re posting for – note the use of “for” there and not “to” 😉 . I believe my LinkedIn contacts want pithy and relevant material in enough depth to be worth the time they’ve taken to read it, which I prefer to supply via my blog. If they want my Twitter feed, they can go and follow me on Twitter. I have had clients who’ve asked for a live Tweet feed on their LinkedIn profiles against our advice – interestingly all have now asked for them to be removed as they are getting negative feedback from their connections! Thanks for the words of wisdom.
Good post Veronica.
I always advise my clients against feeding tweets through to LinkedIn, the audiences are different on the two platforms and are looking for different forms of communication.
Having said that, I always advise clients to install the Tweets application on LinkedIn purely because it allows them to list all their LinkedIn contacts who are on Twitter, so they can follow them on that platform too. Tweeting with LinkedIn folk who are Twitter suers is fine – but keep it off LinkedIn!
Thanks James. The occasional cross post is fine but it’s the 100 tweets per day syndicators who are hurting my eyes! I’m at the point now whereby if I see one more RT in Linked in I might spontaneously combust! 🙂
Good points Veronica
Too many people set these things up and then leave them running.
Using hoot suite I’ll choose whether a post should go to LI, I find quite good engagement there when I’ve cross posted tweets and I’ll respond on the LI site.
You do need to be careful that things aren’t posted too often as many people now unfollow if the volume is too much.
James
That is the crux of it isn’t it? As customers, friends, connections etc we have made the effort to connect on social media and we want to feel cared about. Thanks for your comment Suraj
Totally agree, Veronica.
I use Facebook more than LinkedIn but the same thing happens there – people have syndicated their Tweets to their Facebook profile and it screams out that they don’t care about me as a ‘friend’ because they never login to interact or engage, they just use it as another place to broadcast their messages.
Thanks for commenting Gary. Sharing posts about new blogs or important notices is the point completely. I shared my tweet of this blog post to Linked in because it’s relevant. Selective sharing also means your Linked in status is not being updated 100 times per day too! 🙂
A very insightful post, thanks. I wasn’t aware of the #in and #li trick, but then I usually post from Hootsuite anyway so I haven’t need them yet.
I’m glad to say that I only cross-post if the content is relevant, as others have said here that’s usually a new blog post or web security warning.
Thanks Wendy and more very good points. I really can’t see anything positive to syndicating every tweet and it will be interesting to see how many other LI users will become disgruntled with this practice now that updates are easily seen via the app?!
Thanks Graham. The thing is, adding the # to selected tweets you want to share requires very little extra effort. Automatic syndication requires no effort but then so does doing nothing which would do less damage to the way your business is perceived.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post and thanks for taking the time to comment
Thanks for your comment Aaron – it is really irritating and those who do syndicate every tweet run the risk of not being heard when they do have something important and relevant to share with their Linked in connections!
Aaron also pointed out something out to me privately that I will share here for the benefit of others who may be writing blogs about Linked in. The keyword Linkedin is searched for more often than the correct spelling of Linked in. I’ll be updating my meta tags/description and I hope that is helpful to others who weren’t aware of this – thanks for that tip A!
Hi Veronica,
I agree entirely. Each social media platform has a different audience and style, so what is said on Twitter isn’t necessarily appropriate for LinkedIn. In fact, more often than not, I feel it really isn’t!
People should also be aware, that those who know how to will also remove you from their feed of updates on LinkedIn if you Tweet too much to LinkedIn updates, so then they will not see your updates at all!
Wendy
Yes, Veronica,
As ever you provide valuable insight – and it brings everyone’s activity across the various platforms into sharp focus. Good practices take effort, and those who make the effort will be rewarded.
I will be on guard in my own LinkedIn and Twitter updates thanks to your timely reminder.
Thanks,
Graham
Good post, with good points. People who automatically send all their tweets to their home page do not know what they are doing.
As you say above, I would look to send the odd tweet to my LinkedIn profile wall using the #li or #in (you can use either) as some content is worth sending there – like my blog posts, and other relevant material.
I would get annoyed having my LinkedIn wall flooded with peoples Tweets, and they would be removed accordingly!