Etiquette is a funny thing. There are little rules seemingly for everything from salad forks to putting greens. Many points of etiquette seem snobby or arbitrary at first, but most of them do in fact make sense. Even the Internet has etiquette. Have you ever written an email in all caps and gotten accused of SHOUTING? (I learned that one the hard way). Social networks like LinkedIn are a 21st networking necessity, but if you don’t know the rules of the road, you could look like the guy with the tablecloth tucked into his shirt dousing his filet mignon in ketchup at the five-star steakhouse. With that in mind, here are a few LinkedIn pointers.
Posting Content
I’m going to say this a few times: LinkedIn is a professional social network. It’s for work and career stuff. Not pictures of your cat. Or your food. Or your vacation. Ever. Keep your posts related to things your network will find relevant to their business or professional 
development. Share interesting news stories related to your industry. Post if you’re going to be attending a conference or networking event. If you have a blog, post updates about new entries. Anything that can position you as a passionate expert about your field of expertise would make great content for LinkedIn.
Posting Frequency
On Twitter, some users might post once or twice per hour. On Facebook, once or twice per day is OK, although every one of us knows an “over poster,” don’t we? On LinkedIn, I feel like one or two posts per week is probably about the right cadence. Posting more than that can seem self-aggrandizing, and even spammy. Find other ways to stay active by joining groups related to your industry and regularly participating in group discussions.
Connections
In Twitter, we follow, in Facebook, we friend, in LinkedIn, we connect. LinkedIn is set up to discourage connecting with people we don’t really know. Most people to whom you send connection requests will expect you to have some valid reason for wanting to connect. Remember: LinkedIn is a professional social network. Connections could be customers, vendors, coworkers, employers, peers, even competitors. Anyone whom you can add value to professionally is probably a good candidate to connect with.
Messaging
LinkedIn gives you the ability to message your connections directly in addition to making posts. This is a great way to reach out directly to someone when you have a reason to do so. Haphazard sales solicitations are not welcome. Messaging is a great way to make an introduction, find the right contact to purchase your goods at their company, or inquire about job openings.
Oh, in case you forget, the salad fork is the one furthest to the left.
