One of the questions I am often asked by people is what do you do differently when you network on LinkedIn to what you do when you network in real life face to face. The truth of this often causes people to pause, reflect and sometimes shocks people.

LinkedIn is no different to real life, you really need to treat everybody the same, just talk to people, you know speak (on LinkedIn you might share a status, like or comment, but mobiles, telephones or just talking works great), meet (a hangout, Skype or face to face) and share thoughts, coffee and more.

Share the small talk, acknowledge others success, keep track of others career changes, remind people what you do and engage with the people you know – just like you would in a networking event or mixer.

Treat people like people, imagine you’re with them and act just the same whether it’s on LinkedIn or in real life – there is no difference, same people, same interactions – just more efficient and, if done well, more success.

Do you treat your LinkedIn connections differently to real people?

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