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I’m a Linkedin power user and I’ve been using it effectively during the past two years in order to talk directly to top levels executives of companies which could be potential customers of my company.

One of the services they provide is InMail, an easy way to send a direct message to a contact which is not directly connected to you.

I never sent spam, of course, but personal emails to try to engage a potential customer and discuss about the benefits of this or that product we provide. Private, personal, friendly messages.

That said, the worst answer you can get is shown in the box above. It’s not a reply, it’s not a “I’m not interested, thanks”, it’s something like people who hang up as soon as they hear your voice on the phone or people who close the door as soon as they see you outside.

This is not a polite way to use a great and powerful service as Linkedin is. I fortunately received just five of these out of over hundreds InMails sent so far. My recommendation, if you receive an InMail which is not interesting for you, reply to the message or ignore it, but not “decline” it, unless it is really spam. But I bet no one sends spam over Linkedin since it’s a “protected” and trusted environment.

My two cents

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Technorati Tags: Customer, inmail, linkedin, luca filigheddu, Message

If you send an “InMail” (the method to send a direct email to a certain contact on Linkedin) and the recipient is not interested in what you are asking him or, in general, in what you are saying, I find really impolite to mark that email as “inappropriate“. Don’t respond or respond  ”I’m not interested”, but please don’t mark it as inappropriate in the Linkedin system. If you mark it as inappropriate, the system understands “it’s a disturbing and inappropriate email”, something that is not.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to receive InMails, specify it explicitly, so the system prevents me to send it to you. Or, just give up on LinkedIn if you don’t want to get the most out of it or.. if you just don’t get it.

An InMail has to be marked inappropriate if I send SPAM to you, something that I never did, or if I try to disturb you (well, SPAM again). Every Linkedin user has an InMail Rate, that measures the level of appropriate contact requests. Due to three VERY IMPOLITE people (out of hundreds InMails sent in two years) my rate is now 4/5 while it has always been 5/5.

If you join a social network like LinkedIn, please take the time to learn how to use it.

Technorati Tags: inmail, linkedin, luca filigheddu, social networks