I truly believe that staying in touch on LinkedIn pays off.

Successful business owners make a point of staying touch with their customers and potential customers. For example, when I was a child, my family’s insurance agent would acknowledge my folks’ wedding anniversary every year.

My husband’s friend from their softball-playing days sent us a Christmas card every year for over 20 years. He was a Realtor. So, when we needed someone to sell our home when we moved to Colorado, naturally we called him. Although the friendship had dimmed over the years, his Christmas cards paid off.

And just this month, staying in touch through LinkedIn paid off for me.

I met Helene Jewett in the early 2000s in a Toastmasters club in downtown Denver, but we lost touch after I left the club in 2003. Then LinkedIn came along.

In July 2010, Helene invited me to connect and we’ve remained in touch ever since, although we have not seen each other in person since 2003. So, seeing her when I arrived at her company to provide LinkedIn training, was a real treat.

Here are some lessons that stem from the connection we have maintained all these years.

 

Personal is Preferable

  • Always write a personal note when inviting people to connect, even people who you think will recognize you. Helene wrote: “Remember me from Toastmasters Days at Speak Easy? I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.” I would have remembered her anyway, but this approach was much warmer.
  • When you get a note like Helene’s, be sure to reply with a personal note. I wrote back telling her that I indeed remembered her and referenced a talk she gave that I had especially liked.
  • When you begin a LinkedIn relationship in a warm and friendly way, you are rekindling the connection you once had.

Use the Notifications Feature

  • Look for work anniversaries and job changes to acknowledge, especially those of people with whom you have reconnected.
  • Once Helene and I connected on LinkedIn, every time she had a work anniversary, I’d message her a note of congrats.
  • When she landed her current position, I sent her a note and asked about the job.

 

Check Your LinkedIn Messages on a Regular Basis

  • Shortly after Helene started this job, she wrote me a LinkedIn message asking if I offered LinkedIn classes. If I wasn’t checking my messages frequently, I might have missed it.
  • I wrote her back and briefly told her about my services.
  • After that, we started communicating through email and eventually by phone to set up a webinar for her company.

 

I share this story with you because many people don’t take the time to write a personal note with their invites. Just as many don’t bother to stay in touch with their connections. Also, sometimes LinkedIn users tend to ignore their messages, which could result in missing a business opportunity. Following my advice doesn’t take long, and you will find that staying in touch on LinkedIn pays off.

 

How About You?

What kinds of experiences have you had because of reconnecting on LinkedIn with someone you haven’t seen in a long time? Do you use other ways of staying in touch?

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 45 and up, to become more effective using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter. She works with business owners, nonprofit organizations, retired people, consultants, and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com