VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[ChrisMezzolesta]

What is the accepted protocol (if any) on requesting connections to ad folk on LinkedIn? Or is it something that "isn't done"? I mean, it's there, and it seems to be there for a reason, and networking is part of marketing, or has a taboo been put on it at all? Last thing I want to do is alienate people, but then again I need to work!! (don't we all)

Any thoughts? I'd rather err on the side of caution and proceed cautiously.....
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Chris Mezzolesta, Voice Talent
800.356.5519 www.voiceatile.com

[asnively]

On LinkedIn, the protocol seems to be to connect with people you know and with whom you've worked in real life. Then you have access to their network in the sense that you can ask if one of the people in your 1st tier will introduce you (there's a button you click to initiate the introduction request feature).
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[Deirdre]

It's not a social club. You aren't supposed just try to connect with anyone whose profile is similar to yours, so you can have a million connections.

I don't connect with everyone who asks. I check out people I don't know.

It's tacky to ask someone for a recommendation.

The object is to find people in your field with whom you might collaborate and to help folks you know hook up with people who need their talents— directly or indirectly. Some of the groups are quite spiffy, and very professionally oriented.

It has gotten a little FaceBook-y in the last year or so, but the overall mission and feeling of the place hasn't gotten lost.
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DBCooperVO.com
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[ChrisMezzolesta]

Right, I realize it isn't like Facebook, I didn't want to jump in and begin hitting tons of people, but am trying to find an acceptable way to reach them (some of them anyway). My wife has already gotten unsolicited job interest from a company thru her network (!!!!!!!), so hopefully I can find a way that isn't tacky. I shall tread wisely.
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Chris Mezzolesta, Voice Talent
800.356.5519 www.voiceatile.com

[audio'connell]

While I completely get and respect the “don’t spam me” attitude of Linked In, something in my brain finds it odd that you should primarily have to link with people you know. I already know the people I know…sure I’d be glad to get to know their friends but I also like to make my own friends too.

I guess the A type in me says “let me introduce myself professionally, politely and see if there an opportunity for a business connection.”

I know there are ways around the system but that’s not the point. I could get 500+ connections if I wanted by now but I am still primarily looking for quality.

What the LinkedIn system says to me in a way is we still can’t trust each other to be professional…and I’m sure everyday somebody goes out there, does something stupid via a LinkedIn connection and supports that lousy truth.

I think I’ve thought too much about this tool today.
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- Peter
audioconnell Voice Over Talent
Your friendly, neighborhood voice over talent

[jrodriguez315]

Love Facebook, Linkedin not so much. Here's a link to my Facebook in case anybody wants to connect.
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Joe Rodriguez, Bilingual Voice Actor | The Voiceover Thespian Blog

[Lizden]

I actually got a very nice gig from contacting someone that I didn't know on LinkedIn.

Every once in a while I check the "Answers" section doing a search on "voiceover"

A while back there was a question that was posed by someone asking whether it was really worth using a professional VO in their projects.

Well, by the time I saw the question, it was closed, so I couldn't comment, but there was one woman who gave a GREAT answer about how YES it is important and she went on to make some great points. So I went to her profile & sent her a message saying that I was a VO & that I really appreciated her comments and I'd love to connect with her.

She was very nice, accepted my invitation (& it seemed knows both Peter & Bob Souer! - BONUS!)

Turns out that THE NEXT DAY that we connected she called me saying that a client of hers was looking to do a big IVR job in French for Canada & she'd love to submit me...would I be willing to do a custom demo?

"Sure!" I said.

I booked the job! and we're in the process of making updates & revisons.

The thing with LinkedIn, just like any othere networking venue is that you need to bring something to the table besides "Hi, I'm a VO...gotta job for me?"

So although I like Facebook for the more social aspect, LinkedIn is much better, IMHO for business.
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Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
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[Mike Cooper]

I'm just getting my head around the whole LinkedIn thing at the moment, having read some excellent materials from Chris Brogan (Google him, he's really clued u.

Brogan's attitude, which I sort of agree with, is that you should be able to connect to whoever you like. You're building a network, after all. But don't go recommending people whose work you don't know, or asking for recommendations from people you've not dealt with, because doing that mkes the whole thing worthless.

Primarily I've asked to add the people I've worked with and know personally, either now or in the past, but if someone from one of my groups asks to connect it seems unhelpful to just say no.
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MIKE COOPER VOICEOVER |
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[ccpetersen]

I've taken it slowly on the people I link to in LinkedIn. Same with the recommendations. I see no problem with asking for them from people with whom you've worked closely, but really I'd be careful about that, too. I have swapped recommends with one person so far and it was agreeable on both sides to do so.
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[Deirdre]

The key phrase is "with whom you've worked closely".

I was surprised to find that VO-BB is a kind of "experience" at Linked In!! I had to create some kind of connection to it, myself.
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DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

[Lee Gordon]

LinkedIn does give you the option to limit connection requests to those people who already know your e-mail address (presumably they really do know you and are not just "fishing"). However, I have found that the majority of people with whom I have requested connections do not have that option selected.
I find I get very few connection requests from people I don't know, either in real life or from boards such as this one. And, of course, anyone is free to decline a connection request sent to him.
On the other hand, I get all kinds of requests to join the LinkedIn Voice Over Professionals Group from people who appear to have no connection with our business but are just looking to access more people to sell mortgage refinancing or insurance, as well as some who merely seem to want to join as many groups as possible. Currently the group has just over 800 legitimate members but there are another 50+ whose requests to join have not been accepted and won't be unless I get an indication they actually are in some way connected with Voice Over.
I think another approach is to use the discussion area to reach out to the other members of the group. If you post a question or comment, I think it is perfectly reasonable to then attemp to connect with anyone who replied to your message.
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

[mcm]

I've found LinkedIn to be extremely valuable as a way to figure out where people are and to keep up to date on their job titles. I've connected in the past, directly, with people at certain companies and then they leave and I don't always know that they've left. I can look them up on LinkedIn and figure out if they're still in the business and make a decision about whether to keep up. Then I will contact them again directly. I don't tend to make new connections through LinkedIn - it's just a tool to cut down on the time it takes to keep up. I'm with Peter - if you join LinkedIn that suggests you want connections. But I will only use LinkedIn if there is somebody I really want to know and can't figure out how to reach them otherwise - and so far there has always been another way (telephone or email). I think of LinkedIn as one of many ways to cement a business relationship, but not as a way to start one.

I do get a lot of LinkedIn connection requests from people I don't know and who don't give me a reason why I should want to get to know them nor is it obvious from their profile. If they can't take the time to explain their wish to connect by use of a personal note then I don't know why they should expect me to take the time to figure it out.

[Lee Gordon]

Sometimes you don't even have to check LinkedIn to find out if someone you've done business with has changed jobs. Most of the time they will change their profiles to reflect a new situation and LinkedIn will alert you that one of your connections has changed his or her profile.

What I use most of the social networking sites for, primarily, is tracking down former colleagues or classmates. The "daisy chain" aspect of the sites is especially useful for that. And Facebook is actually even better for that purpose than LinkedIn. When I first joined Facebook I thought it was pretty juvenile (and in many ways it is) but in just the past few weeks I have managed to use it to reconnect with nearly a dozen old schoolmates I haven't seen in more than 40 years, including my girlfriend from my senior year in high school.
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Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

[ChrisMezzolesta]

Exactly, Lee - I got onto Facebook in order to try to network, but it has turned into a social thingy with lots of HS friends and friends from my comedy music exploits chatting me up....so that's fine, it's a fun thing, but I was trying to use it mostly for business reasons; more than ever why I am hoping to try to figure out a way to "politely, professionally" (as was stated earlier) introduce myself to potential clients on Linked In, which as also stated earlier, is designed for business. Seems that anything unsolicited is thought of as spam anymore, but that is not my intent - hard to rise above the damage done by spammers thus far.
_________________
Chris Mezzolesta, Voice Talent
800.356.5519 www.voiceatile.com

[mcm]

So Chris, why don't you call them? Seems to me that approaching via LinkedIn would be a pretty oblique way to start a business relationship. If you're squeamish about calling them, you could email. Otherwise, I'm guessing that there are lots of other people who might be better prospects than ones with whom you have no way to connect except via LinkedIn. (I hope that makes sense).