Outdated contact information on LinkedIn is like trying to network from the Bermuda Triangle. If you’re an avid LinkedIn user (and you should be) then you have probably been posting and connecting with people for some time. In that time, how often has your phone number changed? Did you have to create a new email address at any point? When was the last time you updated any of this on your contact information?
The truth is, no matter how often you use LinkedIn, you’re not going to be on it 24/7. If you were then you would have already updated your contact information. Realistically, there need to be various ways for prospects, customers and other professionals to contact you. Otherwise, you’re going to miss out on a lot of opportunities.
Networking
Whether you’re part of the ‘LinkedIn isn’t Facebook’ crowd or not, it is a social networking site. There is so much potential to make positive connections in your industry, both in your area and on a global scale. These relationships could go toward your business’s growth or they could result in a learning experience through shared knowledge and expertise.
While these professional relationships might start on LinkedIn, there is a variety of ways that they can continue. If you’re really against using LinkedIn in a similar way to Facebook then you might want to move things over there. Or, there will be times when you think it’s beneficial to share your personal phone number or work email.
How are you going to do that if your contact information hasn’t been updated recently? Sure, you could manually send this information every…single…time. But why not just update your contact information instead?
Successful networking on LinkedIn doesn’t happen overnight. Filtering through the right connections and then starting a meaningful conversation takes significant time and effort. However, it’s all wasted if you don’t update your contact information.
Lead Generation
Just like when you are building your connections within your industry on LinkedIn, you might not be the one to make the first contact. Outdated contact information causing you to miss out on connecting with like-minded individuals is one thing but ruining potential lead generation is another.
Including a CTA (Call to Action) in your LinkedIn posts is important to encourage engagement and contact. It’s also useful because if anyone ever comes across an old post of yours they will still know how to get in touch but only if you have updated your contact information. Some people don’t use Linkedin for networking and are just simply looking for a solution to their business’s pain. Therefore they will want other options to contact you.
Prospects will not do much searching to find your contact information. Whether they are regular LinkedIn users or not, they will more often than not check your profile’s contact information for the best way to get in touch.
Not Everyone Uses LinkedIn
Believe it or not, not everyone uses LinkedIn as their first point of contact. Every social media site has various creator tools for interaction and some people just prefer the more direct email or phone call approach. Updating your contact information on LinkedIn ensures that if people would rather contact you via another channel then they are able to do so with ease.
Choosing not to update your contact information on LinkedIn doesn’t just leave you with an incomplete profile. It will limit your potential for growth and practically hand prospects over to your competitors who did update their contact information.