Since I started my business, I have been deliberately trying to grow my LinkedIn network with connections and people I’ve worked with or who may share an interest in B2B connections, especially in New England. Thanks to UMass Social Media Day and Angela Pitter's session on best practices with LinkedIn a few years ago, I now add a note with my LinkedIn Connect invitations to personalize the request and improve the chances of the invitation being accepted.
Here’s how to connect with someone on LinkedIn and add a personalized note.
After logging in to LinkedIn, click My Network at the top of your screen. (This is how I see it on a computer.)
Scroll through the suggestions of people you might know or search for a specific name.
Once you have the person’s profile in view, click Connect. (Or if you don’t see the Connect button, click More and then Connect.)
Connect button, usually seen with a 2nd level connection (a person who is directly connected to one of your connections)
Connect link found by clicking the More button. Usually seen with a 2nd level connection who has privacy set or a 3rd level connection.
4. When you are prompted, click “Add a note.”
I usually write a note about how I know the person or the mutual connections or interests we have (as shown below). You can type up to 300 characters.
Click “Add a Note” to personalize your LinkedIn connection request.
Add a note that emphasizes why it may be beneficial to connect.
5. Click Send.
Then sit back and wait for the connection request to be accepted. It can take a while if people aren’t on LinkedIn very often. Or if they Ignore your request, you won’t hear from them at all. But hopefully your note, your LinkedIn profile, and your shared connections will seal the deal and you’ll have someone new in your network and your LinkedIn connection count will increase yet again!
The clickable image that shows up on social media posts is called a link preview image. In Squarespace and other website editors, you can designate a specific image to show up when you share a website page on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter/X.
You can add a Social Sharing image to Squarespace to be shown as a link preview for your website when you share a URL on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The size of 1200x628 pixels works best for those platforms. You can also set custom images for specific website pages or blog posts to draw extra attention to them.
Squarespace lets you promote your blog post automatically on your connected social media accounts through the Share settings for the post.
Taking the time to add a note to your invitation to connect to someone on LinkedIn improves the chances of the invitation being accepted. Adding information about how you know the person or mutual connections you have builds trust.
Use the Facebook Like Button Configurator to generate code to add a Facebook Follow button on your website.
After reading an article about self-employment time management, I started keeping a log of how I was spending my time on marketing and educational activities related to my website design business. Now I am much more deliberate about how I spend my time online and I've narrowed down my business-related social media focus to a few platforms.
A coat rack is a central location in your house where all the coats, hats, and scarves are kept. It's a meeting place for all of that outdoor apparel. A website is like a coat rack that organizes all the marketing apparel for your business: your About Me information, your Services descriptions, testimonials, photo galleries, product pages, blog posts, a contact form, and links to social media accounts. So what are you waiting for? Get that long-postponed website designed and launched. After all, your home (page) is where you hang your hat.
I use social media for my website design business to establish my expertise and promote my business, to get ideas from others in my field or related fields, and to inspire or share information with my potential or current small-business clients. I do my best to post on a few social media channels several times a week. I create original posts and I also share helpful posts from others in my industry. I researched where my potential customers are spending time online and now focus on posting in those locations.
As a confirmed introvert, I've tended to favor online networking strategies rather than in-person networking events. That's why it was a stretch to go to a local Women's Business Networking event last night. Reflecting this morning on the evening, I'm really glad I donned my courage cape and took the chance at trying something new. I'm glad to be back in my den this morning, but if I hadn't popped my head out to check the weather "out there," I would have missed out on learning and networking opportunities that I couldn't have had any other way.
I attended a webinar about using Facebook and Instagram for my small business. I learned several helpful tips that will guide me to using my time wisely on social media.
Squarespace makes it easy to keep the social media feed blocks on your website in sync with the postings you've updated or deleted on your social media accounts. No need to worry; your website can keep up with your social media missteps.
It’s convenient that Instagram now allows you to post images from your computer as other social media networks do, not just your phone.
To set up blogs to be published to your Facebook business page, use the page as your "Push Target." When you choose to cross-publish a new blog posting to Facebook, it will automatically be posted on your business page.
