Ah, LinkedIn—the perfect place to connect with clients, partners, and industry peers... if you can wade through the deluge of “Hey there, fellow IT professional, can I interest you in a product demo?” messages while you’re trying to actually do your job.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what MSPs really deal with when navigating LinkedIn during a natural disaster:
Before the Storm: We’re On It (and so is every LinkedIn spammer!)
- Client Check-Ins: “Hey, just a quick message to make sure your disaster recovery plan is solid before the hurricane hits.” But wait, what's that? Oh, just another “I help IT companies 10x their revenue with this ONE weird trick!” message. Delete. Move on.
- Networking Chaos: Trying to touch base with partners and colleagues about backup protocols, but LinkedIn keeps suggesting that maybe we’d like to connect with Greg, a ‘Thought Leader’ who’s ready to transform our sales funnel if we book a call.
- Inbox Overload: Important messages from clients get sandwiched between “Need more leads?” and “Expand your network with our B2B solution!” LinkedIn: where everything looks urgent, but only half of it actually is.
During the Disaster: Riding the LinkedIn Wave 🌊
- Actual Support vs. “Just Checking In”: While we’re helping clients manage data recovery in real time, LinkedIn hits us with: “Hey [First Name], just following up to see if you got my last message about scaling your MSP business.” Buddy, I’m just trying to scale my power grid right now. Priorities!
- Connecting Through the Noise: Amidst setting up remote workstations and handling tech triage, every notification seems to be from another ‘Digital Growth Specialist’ promising to help us “connect with more clients.” Spoiler alert: not the kind of connection we need right now.
- The LinkedIn Pitch Avalanche: “It looks like you’re in IT—so am I! Let’s collaborate!” Sure, let’s collaborate—just as soon as I’m done keeping actual clients online through the storm.
After the Storm: Surviving the Spam-pocalypse
- Catching Up with Colleagues: Finally, a moment to catch our breath and check in with industry peers about lessons learned... except, oh look, 25 unread LinkedIn messages. “Hey, just wondering if you’re still interested in our IT automation software?” No, thank you. Still not interested.
- Debrief and Debunk: While reviewing what worked and what didn’t with clients, we try reaching out to partners. But first, we navigate through LinkedIn’s “Upgrade to Premium to reach more people!” prompts. Perfect timing, LinkedIn—now’s really the moment to upsell us.
- Dodging LinkedIn’s Persistent Peddlers: The storm’s over, but the LinkedIn spam is forever. “Are you the decision-maker for your company?” Yes, and the decision is to ignore this message.
Final Thoughts: LinkedIn During a Crisis—A True Test of Patience
So, while we MSPs are out here handling real crises, LinkedIn spammers are still pounding away, ready to sell us the next big thing we didn’t ask for. To all the IT pros who manage to find genuine connections amidst the noise—cheers to you. And to the rest of you LinkedIn spammers: maybe sit out the next disaster?
