Tips on LinkedIn Etiquette

If you are active on LinkedIn, you may have noticed a certain degree of disregard for your random acts of kindness, like viewing a profile, saying happy birthday, endorsing a skill, and so on. I have developed a set of “rules” I try to follow, though it is hard with nearly 4000 connections. If Coach Jimmy Dugan—from “A League of their Own” [1]—were here he might say, “It is supposed to be hard. If it weren’t hard, everyone would do it. It’s the ‘hard’ that makes it great.”
Here is what I try to do:

1. When someone endorses a skill, I thank them.
2. When someone views my profile, I thank them.
3. When someone likes a post I created, I thank them.
4. When someone accepts an invitation to connect, I thank them.
5. When someone invites me to connect, I thank them.
6. When you thank someone, in the body of the message use their name, write in complete sentences, with no abbreviations, and use your name.

Have I missed some? Certainly and I have not always followed these rules. I have acquired them over the course of time. I would not be as bold as to suggest them as rule for you, though they are for me; rather, I will call them tips.
Why is it important to do this? Well, first it just common courtesy—something we seem to have lost with instant texting. If it really matters, saying “Congratulations” is just as easy as saying “Congrats”. What does congrats mean anyway? It is a shortened for of the noun congratulations: n. 1884, colloquial shortening of congratulations. Further colloquialized in British English to congratters (1906) and among online gamers to grats (by 2000).[2] Congrats is okay for some, but I like the complete word. Other colloquialisms that get under my skin are LOL and K, etc. I had to ask my teenage daughter what “LOL” was and “K” is short for “okay”. Really, one cannot spend three extra letters and write “okay”. That might be fine on Facebook, but is it "K" on a professional network? I may just start using “TYVMFAMITC”, which is short for “Thank you very much for accepting my invitation to connect.” Moreover, in what context would one use “laugh out loud”? it is somewhat derogatory.
Second, things like profile views, post views, and so on, increase your visibility on LinkedIn. That means that recruiters and employers are more likely to find you, and your network can be larger. Just set your notification so that you receive them for profile views, etc. I am certain that I am not the only one who responds to these triggers, but I this morning someone told me, “You are one of very few people that respond to these events and it does distinguish you in a very positive way.”
Third, why should either you or I care? Well, other than it is common courtesy, potential employers, recruiters, etc. can gauge you professional interaction skills based on what you do or do not do on LinkedIn. I get job opportunities on LinkedIn often. My present full-time job came from someone finding me on LinkedIn. I also have some part-time stuff I am working on—LinkedIn again. I was once unemployed, submitted 300 applications through usual channels, and after four months I was still unemployed—recruiters on LinkedIn found me.
References
1. A League of Their own is the story of the WWII era Women’s Baseball League.
2. Source: Dictionary.com