LinkedIn Answers: LinkedIn Etiquette Recommendations on Asking & Answering Questions?

• Tweet

• Tweet

As more and more people start to realize the value of contributing to the LinkedIn Answers feature through asking questions and providing answers, it is a good time to think about the proper etiquette for participating in the LinkedIn Answers forum.  Now I am no Miss Proper, but there are a few things that I have noticed having experienced both ends of the stick that I would like to share with everyone and make some etiquette recommendations.

Tips for asking a question on LinkedIn Answers:

• Make sure that you completely enter your question!  There have been many “partial” questions that have been cut-off mid-way or that just look incomplete.  Before pressing the send button, take another look at it and make sure it makes sense!
• Choose the most appropriate category!  When you enter a question you need to choose at least one (with an option to choose two) category in which you want to broadcast your question in.  Don’t choose a category that is totally irrelevant to your question…you’d be surprised how many people do this.  In your home page you have the option of “subscribing” to Answers categories where these questions are broadcast, and the “experts” (more on that below) are diligently looking at questions in their category daily.  If you want to earn their trust and receive intelligent answers, make sure you categorize correctly!
• Close your question!  Many people answer questions so that they can get a “Best Answer” rating and acquire expertise “stars” in that category.  If you ask a question, be sure after a week or so to manually close the answer, pick good answers (if applicable), and pick a best answer (again, if applicable).  It will make the person who asked this question very, very happy

Tips for answering a question on LinkedIn Answers:

• Be real.  Be genuine.  Be deep.  Don’t just provide a few word answer.  Everyone can see your answer, and your answer can also be found on your profile.  It is a part of your brand.  Answer questions in a way that you would want to represent yourself to the world.  Be thoughtful.  Add evidence.  Provide a meaningful answer that will make you stick out and help you connect with new people.  I have made some solid new connections through the Q&A section.
• Look at the other answers before you answer something.  If you don’t have any value to add, don’t answer.  Even if you want to say the same thing, at least put a different spin on it or add more detail than the person before you did.

There is a tremendous amount of value that can be had through the LinkedIn Answers feature, and you may find that it also one way to help grow your LinkedIn network.  If everyone followed the above tips on etiquette recommendations it would provide even more value to all that are involved.  I plan to write a blog post on “What is the Value of LinkedIn Answers?”, but until then check out this feature and try asking and answering questions.  You’ll be surprised how quickly you are hooked!