Want to expand your network on LinkedIn?
Here are 6 Ways to help you do just that.
LinkedIn is a powerful social media tool if you are looking to grow your network online. LinkedIn offers you the ability to connect with professionals, business owners, potential clients, or find qualified employees.
In order to get the most out of LinkedIn try these 6 ways to grow your connections:
1. Industry Connections
Get started by going through your current company, previous positions or companies, and adding connections. As your list begins to grow, the site will automatically suggest other people in the same industry. Be mindful of competition, but not overly so. Think of it as networking and building your list of power partners. Every new connection made will give you access to their circle of connections ? expanding your overall reach.
2. Join Groups
Another great way to meet people on LinkedIn and become more visible is to join some LinkedIn groups. Pick a few groups which relate to your industry and join. Post in the groups occasionally so members get a feel for who you are. Engagement is the key to making group connections. Be cautious of coming across as spammy ? LinkedIn users don?t like that! Try to be a resource as much as possible to establish yourself as the expert in your field.
3. Optimize Your Profile
Are you an All-Star? It may not seem to be super urgent when the goal is to expand your network, but maximizing your profile is critical. A completed profile page, filled with your information, branding and keywords, will attract new connections. LinkedIn has its own search engine and when people search for your keywords, your profile will come up in the results. Nothing better than people asking to connect with you!
4. Prospecting
LinkedIn prospecting is the process many marketers use to grow their lists. There are different prospecting techniques, but the general idea is to take a block of time each week and request new connections. Using the search engine, marketers will look up specific keywords to create a list of potential individuals worth connecting with. The follow up part of this process is essential so be sure to message your new connections! A great tip here is to create a customized message to send new connections. Be sure to include a question about them or what they do. This will encourage them to start a conversation with you.
5. Share Content
As with any other social media site, the goal is sharing consistent content in order to stay relevant. This will help you maintain a presence within the site and build your like, know, & trust relationship with your connections. Good content will then be re-shared by other users making it more likely to attract new people to your network.
6. Publish on Pulse
LinkedIn?s article feed, Pulse, does more than just showcase your content. Pulse articles help establish users as experts or influencers in their industry. Everyone wants to follow an expert. This is a powerful way to grow your network organically. Plus, you can use your existing blog posts for Pulse. Yes, you read that correctly. Simply take your blog post & publish them to Pulse. No need to recreate the wheel here. You may want to change it up a little for LinkedIn, but you can copy your content & Google won't punish you for posting the same information.
Spending time each week working on these six areas will find your connections growing at a rapid rate.
Having a consistent plan and setting aside time for this task will help. Schedule 10 minutes per day on your calendar to work strictly on LinkedIn & you will be surprised by how effective the platform can be for you.
Let's connect on LinkedIn!
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