By Cheval John

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LinkedIn, which was created in 2003, is a unique business platform because it allows many of us to connect and build our network.

People can find podcast guest, post their skills, work history and other things that can allow them to find work.

It can also allow small business owners to find their ideal clients.

LinkedIn has also moved into the live streaming space recently.

Those who have a large following have access to live stream their events and shows.

I had written before about how to connect with people on LinkedIn by sending a personalized message.

It seems to me that they have taken the advice well as I have been seeing personalized invitation from those who I have not met in real life.

Though this is great, I have started to see a very disturbing trend: spamming

When I have seen the personalized invitation, I look at the person’s account and I then accept them.

A few days later, that same person is sending sales pitch in the messages.

I immediately delete the message and then disconnect with them.

When you send sales pitches after connecting, it shows:

1. You are very desperate

2. You just looking for a drive-by sale

3. You have not done your research.

Though LinkedIn is a business platform, you should not be selling to someone the minute they connect with you.

What you should be doing instead is building trust.

Ways that you can build credibility on LinkedIn

1. Interact with people.

If someone post something that is of value, you should share on their account how the article impacted them.

2. You can share articles yourself.

If you find an article that you believe will benefit your network, you should share it in your feed.
Even if no one comments at first, when you share articles consistently, someone might end up commenting and more than likely, end up connecting with you.

3. Write articles yourself on LinkedIn publishing platform

The LinkedIn publishing platform is still important despite what some might say.

It shows your expertise.

Plus, when your network see that you put a lot of time and effort in writing your article consistently, they will feel compelled to do business with you.

In their minds, they are thinking if you can give away all of this information for free, they will be willing to pay you to help them solve their pain points.

You can re-purpose your blog post on the LinkedIn publishing platform.

Just make sure to put a disclaimer saying: “This article first appeared in this blog”

To conclude, LinkedIn is not just a business platform.

It is a place where you can build valuable friendships.

One can argue that LinkedIn is a social media platform.