How to grow your LinkedIn Network for FREE - 8 essential tips in under 10 minutes
LinkedIn is really the only social media platform for business. Let's face it, posting a business related post on Facebook usually results in crickets, and that makes sense because the platform lends itself primarily to those sharing personal information, not business. There are a few relatively easy things you can do to improve your chances of growing your LinkedIn network and client base.
First, make sure your LinkedIn profile is setup correctly. A poorly configured profile will not convert. For example, if your profile photos is missing, or your headline isn't easy to understand, people will simply not connect with you. Set aside at least a half hour or more to correctly reviewing and editing your LinkedIn profile. This is after all your personal landing page, and is your first impression for any prospective new connections. Once your profile is looking good, consider investing at least 15-30 minutes per day into growing your connections.
Here are 8 essential LinkedIn tips:
Is your profile photo setup? And is it a relatively current photo? If not, upload a good profile photo of yourself before you do anything else.
Have you uploaded a background photo? This is essentially your header graphic on your LinkedIn "landing page", so make sure it looks good and easily explains your business. Potential new connections should not have to dig into your profile to understand what it is that you have to offer them.
Is your headline clear and concise? Make sure your headline text is clear, especially the first 45 characters as they are most viewable in several other areas of LinkedIn, such as when you are making comments on posts (more on that in a minute).
Is your About section well written, easy to understand, and not too long? Think of the about section like the cover letter of your resume. This is where you ultimately sell yourself to a new connection.
Make sure that your Experience and Skills sections are up to date.
If you don't already have any or many connections, focus on making your first 500+ connections. To do this, search for the type of people that you'd like to connect with and click the "connect" button. You may also then be given the opportunity to include a note with your connection request. If you include a note, your greatly improve your chances of them accepting your connection request, but not if your note is a sales pitch. Make the note something sincere and not "salesy" at all. Even something as simple as "Hello _____. I was researching top leaders in __________ and your profile stood out. Hoping to connect and be a part of your professional network". When a connection request is accepted, then you can send a follow up message directly to the connection, thanking them for the connection and also giving a very short explanation of what you do and possibly offer more information if they are interested.
Commenting on others posts is the new LinkedIn growth hack (thanks Jasmin Alić). Find influencers in your field who regularly have posts with a large engagement, and post sincere comments. These could be follow up questions about their post, or simply your own experience related to the subject covered in the post. If you are able to post a comment very soon after the post goes live, your comment and profile will receive a lot of exposure. Regular commenting (when done right) will result in the expansion of your network.
Write posts or articles at least once a week. Even if they don't receive a lot of engagement, your content will help with your overall credibility when someone is considering adding you as a connection. You can also repurpose the content in other social networks, platforms, podcasts, etc.
If you follow those 8 tips, you will be well on your way to growing your LinkedIn network and influence. Good luck and if you haven’t already, click the graphic below to connect with me on LinkedIn. Additionally you can also enter your name and email in the connection form at the bottom of this page to receive my periodic updates including new blog posts and videos 🙌
I hope some of this post & video will serve you well. Now that your LinkedIn strategy is well underway, let’s talk about how your business could benefit from an awesome sales video that does all of the telling and selling for you, 247/365. Send me a message through LinkedIn, or reach me directly anytime!
David Doggett
SalesVideos.com
