LinkedIn is the world’s most extensive professional network, with over 675 million monthly users in more than 200 countries across the globe. It makes an invaluable addition to your digital marketing strategy – from making connections and improving brand awareness to generating leads and establishing partnerships. But in order for your marketing efforts to be effective, you first need to grow your network.
Building a bigger network on LinkedIn won’t happen overnight. These strategies will help make the idea of growing your connections more realistic and less intimidating.
Make the right impression with your profile photo
We all know that you can’t judge a book by its cover. But let’s face it. If the cover isn’t inviting, people won’t be interested to open the book and read its content.
In today’s digital world, a profile photo represents your sole opportunity to make a strong visual first impression.
Humans are innately wired to make a snap judgment based on appearance. You can’t control how everyone will perceive you. But you can do something to ensure that your picture will portray you in a positive manner.
Use keywords on your profile
A fully optimized LinkedIn profile can ensure your profile is fully discoverable on the platform and even on search engines like Google.
Keywords can make the difference between your profile attracting the views you want or being lost in the digital space, so it is important to understand which keywords matter to attract the right views.
If you work in an industry that has career-specific terms, use those keywords. You can add them everywhere in your profile, but there are 3 main areas that are most important – header, summary, and experience section.
Share content
While building a bigger network is your primary goal, you also want to use LinkedIn to build your relationship with your followers. One way to do this is by sharing valuable, educational content.
Publishing articles is one of the best ways to establish your personal brand and share your expertise in your industry.
It’s common practice to share blogs that you think will resonate well with your audience, but it would be better if those insights are your own. Plus, it creates additional opportunities for engagement since your network will be notified every time you post an article.
Make sure your content mix includes eye-catching visuals. We found that posts with video and visual content heightened the level of engagement on the platform.
Personalize your connection requests
Don’t just hit “connect” when you want to send a connection request. Always go to the person’s profile, hit the “connect” button, and briefly explain why you want to connect with them.
Personalization is the key to getting strangers to connect with you on LinkedIn. Spend a few thoughtful moments to compose a personalized connection request. If you can find a topic to bring up or if you have a mutual connection, that makes all the difference.
Engage with your connections
There are lots of activities that happen on LinkedIn – article mentions, new job titles, birthdays, and more.
Interacting with your connections when they have new things happening is a great way to develop a relationship. So go ahead. Comment on a status update. Say “congratulations” when someone gets a new job. Like new profile pictures. Thank people for their recommendations and endorsements. You never know where a single meaningful connection with another person can take both of you.
Join groups
Joining groups is one of the fastest ways to make hundreds of connections. Please note, though, that there is a difference between simply joining a group and being efficiently engaged.
If you are serious about using LinkedIn to your advantage, then make sure that you join the right groups. Look for 5 to 10 groups you can be active in.
Engaging in group discussions puts you in front of people who are already actively engaged with a particular topic. Spend a bit of time liking and commenting on other’s posts. Once you’ve been in the group for a bit, you can start posting your own content.
By providing valuable information, you’re showcasing your expertise around that subject and build relationships.
Add a follow button to your company’s website
One “set it and forget it” tip is to add a follow button to your company’s website. This simple addition can help turn your website visitors into LinkedIn page followers.
Before you hit the publish button on your next blog post, make sure that you include a CTA that would lead your readers to take action after they finish reading your posts.
