I think one of the biggest deterrents of connecting on LinkedIn is access to someone’s email address and the fear of being spammed. CAN I GET A WITNESS? I get very aggravated when someone adds me to their newsletter, etc. and then I have to stop what I'm doing and go unsubscribe. Let me explain why this is poor form and how to change your marketing style .
Facebook: A Great Place To Visit, I Wouldn’t Want To Live There
The recent troubles of Facebook have me wondering when did people stop paying attention to what was right and wrong? Data privacy is a big challenge – and I think there is an unwritten social courtesy and expectation that if I connect with you – you will not abuse my data. However, too many people are doing this very thing and if we learn anything from the Facebook Data debacle it’s this – stop using other people’s information to try and sell them shit.
Stop Asking for Forgiveness Rather Than Permission
As one LinkedIn user wrote in this article titled, “Facebook and the Lost Art of Critical Thinking” – – “Yes, actions by FB came late and the announcement was way overdue. Yes as a social network contributor, we should be furious and we hold FB CEO accountable for what has happened. But we also have a responsibility towards handling these social networks.” What does this mean to all of us?
It means – we hold the right to what we share and don’t share online and what we do and don’t do with the information. I think if anyone in the community should understand and protect the privacy of data it should be all of us in #FinServ . We don’t take people’s information and use it to our advantage. It’s wrong. It needs to stop.
Related: Why You Need to Stop Keeping up With Your Competitors
How do you use information you obtain the right way?
In a word? Permission.
If Facebook can rewrite the rules of how to set your privacy parameters so information to be shared is your choice , then you can take a moment and get someone’s permission to add them to your newsletter. It’s simple and it shows you have integrity.
Be a Person of Action: If you want ideas on HOW to ask clients to connect with you, ask me. I would be more than happy to discuss this with you. In the meantime, please stop adding people to your communication without their permission.