7 Ways to Say Thank You on LinkedIn for Thanksgiving

What does Thanksgiving mean to you? Thanksgiving is a day that has no religious boundaries, political views or any underlying message that may contradict one’s ethos over another. Thanksgiving is a day to recognize the goodness in our lives, to be grateful for family and friends, food on our tables and the many exciting journeys life brings our way. And, although Thanksgiving is a US holiday, it is a day that can bring meaning all over the globe.

I believe this is a time to show thanks to our professional network.  For many of us, our careers have grown through the people that support us every day and LinkedIn is a great way to express gratitude and thanksgiving!

Here are 7 ways you can thank your network!

1. Endorse your connections on LinkedIn – Be sure to choose skills that you know your connection has and that you have personally experienced. Below is how to do this:

• Visit your connection Profile
• Scroll down to the Skills section of a connection’s profile.
• Click the name of the skill, or the + symbol next to the skill.
• Rate them Good, Very Good, or Highly Qualified
• Choose how you worked with them

2. Make warm introductions to your connections that can benefit from knowing each other. It can be in a LinkedIn message or in an email. Just copy them both with a small description of each ( you can pull information right from their LinkedIn summary) and explain why you think it would be a positive connection for both of them.

3. Engage on and with their content, like their discussions and publications, tweet and share their posts on LinkedIn. Make sure you add your thoughts in comments as well. Your network has spent a lot of time and energy in putting their content out, the fact that you spent the time to read it and participate is very much appreciated.

4. Recommend your connections on LinkedIn – there is not much more that is appreciated than a testimonial on LinkedIn, but again, make sure it sincere. This is a fantastic way to thank your vendors this season!

5. Give them a shout out! Everyone likes to be mentioned! In your update status on LinkedIn or on Twitter, thank your clients and vendors in a message and type @TheirNameorCompany and select it from the drop-down. They will receive a notification and appreciate the time you took to recognize them!

6. Create a Thank You Video mentioning one or more of your connections that have had an impact on you professionally this past year. Whether they are a mentor, a cheerleader, a resource, a vendor, a peer or client – a quick video can go a long way. Upload this to Native Video, mention them all in the post and make others feel great because you are thankful to have them in your world.

7. Give Kudos. There is a new feature that allows you to show your appreciation for your connections publicly.

There are 10 kinds of Kudos at the moment on LinkedIn, each represented by a little colorful picture that shows the type of Kudos:

1. Thank You
2. Going Above and Beyond
3. Inspirational Leader
4. Team Player
5. Great Job
6. Making Work Fun
7. Amazing Mentor
8. Outside the Box Thinker
9. Great Presentation
10. Making an Impact

STEPS

•  From their profile click on the More Button
• Choose Give Kudos
• Choose the Kudos You’d Like to Give
• Customize Your Message
• Post
• This will be public for both of your networks to see

I am very thankful for my team, family, friends and network. Happy Thanksgiving!