Stop Trying to Prove You Are a GENIUS on LinkedIn

Do you want to know how to waste time and annoy your LinkedIn network? Create or contribute to a 'games' post. Games add little value to LinkedIn but unfortunately are highly engaging. WHY?

By games, I refer to those word challenges and number problems, I am sure you have seen them. These games appeal to our ego of 'demonstrating' our intelligence, or in the case below, the prospect of a job.  Here is an example;

This one and others like it has been doing the rounds for so long;

Almost 30,000 have commented on this example in the space of 11 hours. That is a LOT of people to consider for an IT role. Hiring based on the ability to solve a problem (or copy another person's response) is adding no value to LinkedIn at all.  Recruiters, is this your new strategy?!?

Why am I seeing this update?

I am not connected to Lun, but I am connected to a person who commented. As soon as I comment my network may see this. They may be tempted to comment, and thereby it goes viral in some form on LinkedIn.

Please think before joining in, and resist the temptation to join in this type of discussion, unless you want to be that really annoying person in the room....

 UPDATE

Yet another one to add to the list. This has no value at all, and not sure I'd classify as a psychometric test. (PS Hashtags have no function right now on LinkedIn)

and now for another maths question with animals - please make it stop!

AND YET ANOTHER!

This one has no value at all....  what do people really think will happen after commenting?!

NO MORE TIME WASTERS

Some people are tired of games like these. The response is to create an anti-games post with image and message. This still adds more noise but with the objective of educating others to stop posting and interacting in nonsense;

Emotional Games

Outside of these games, there are other posts that attempt to pull at our heart strings, but once again add no value to LinkedIn without a clear purpose;

There are certainly ways to support a cause and raise awareness, simple hitting Like doesn't achieve much. Think about how you can make a difference in a meaningful way.

How Can You Be Involved?

1. You can start this type of conversation, by sharing an image with your update, or you can engage in someone else's update. Either way, this activity is connected to your profile.
   
   Starting your own gives you the privilege of having your comments attached to the image and an opportunity to engage others in your network and beyond. Is this valuable?
2. Adding to an existing update is where the real noise is (although those starting the discussion need to stop!). We forget that our comment is only seen when there isn't much interaction. Once it goes 'viral' you comment is lost in the mountain of comments, and all your network see is the fact that you have commented. If your update hits my feed and you are among 30,000 others am I going to search for yours to see what you actually wrote? Sorry but I have better things to do. In face this type of activity encourages me to unsubscribe from your updates (and this means all of them) or even disconnect.
   
   The same applies to topical discussions. Once the conversation grows beyond a page of comments, your comment is lost. If you are disagreeing with the update, it doesn't matter, because I won't see that, and I will make my own assumption, which can in fact damage your brand and reputation.

Your comment could be amongst thousands of pages of comments;

(Side note: An improvement to how LinkedIn works, would be to have your comment appear with the image in the updates, rather than just "Jo Saunders commented on this" - LinkedIn are you listening?)

So what IS the opportunity Here?

People love to engage when it is simple, they can boost ego or have an opinion. So how can you use that?

These examples are of a similar nature but have a purpose. The truck design example is clever if you are in the design space, but this one got way too noisy for my liking. Also not everyone has design expertise, and there isn't an easy way to manage the noise, so by participating are you making a real impact on the decision?

Using a 'caption this' approach can work, but be sure the image has some relevance. The example below could work well if you are in the construction or project management space, especially if it is a real situation that is local. Always think about image copyright and permission.

This example can be used with context and relevance. Many people have a word for the year, so posting a similar image with your brand on, asking for this could generate conversation. You may decide to do marketing research or invite opinion about yourself, such as asking your network what you are known for, what 3 words come to mind when thinking about you. Of course this can open up room for negative comments, so you will need to monitor and respond accordingly.

This one adds bit of humour and fun.... I don't mind this one so much, if used with purpose;

And then we have the current news related to something else. Relating politics and change in policies to popular music is a clever approach, but is this stretching it somewhat? Did Joe Hockey actually make that statement? If so I'd be including a link to the quote. If this is a spin on facts, think about how to represent facts and what is the purpose of sharing this. It may be something like "What will you be doing at 70, will you be continuing to do what you do best, just like ACDC?" or it could be directly related to what you do, or what your clients do.

Always Think Purpose

Keep in mind that your comments are serving the purpose of engagement and exposure for the creator.

When you engage you are gifting the creator of the post exposure to your network.

Consider the after effect of engaging in any conversation on LinkedIn (and any social network for that matter). When you next see a game, or controversial discussion, think about the reason you are contributing, the value you are adding and what this does for your profile. Your comment will be lost in the noise and the content will be lost, giving space for assumptions.

Read more about games and the LION strategy here.

Need help getting your head around this? Book a session with me in person or via Skype. It is worth understanding. Put your personal brand first.

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ABOUT WILDFIRE SOCIAL MARKETING

Jo Saunders is known as the LinkedIn Demystifier, providing mentoring, group training and consulting to professionals, organisations and SME. Our mission is to help consultants and professional services teams connect and communicate with their target market using the right tools and strategy, for personal branding, relationship building and lead generation.

Click HERE to learn more about LinkedIn in our workshops, which are about positioning yourself as a leader, networking and building strong connections and publishing valuable content to really step up as a thought leader. 

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