What’s the Best Way to Network on LinkedIn?
{ By Wesleyne Greer – Transformed Sales }
You do not need to wait for a networking conference to make great business connections. Check out the following three tips for how you can network on LinkedIn:
Make your LinkedIn profile stand apart
An excellent tip which will help your LinkedIn profile get discovered by recruiters and professionals in your field is to utilize keywords. Utilizing keywords in your summary, headline, and experience gives you an extra advantage while networking. For instance, if another LinkedIn user browses “content marketer” and you have used this keyword in your LinkedIn profile, you are more apt to arrive in the search results, giving you a better chance to connect with industry leaders.
Keep in mind: Profiles including a professional appearing headshot receive more interactions and views than those without.
Interact and connect with people
When trying to make connection requests send a personalized note. It can be a brief message that introduces yourself or explains why you want to connect and helps you establish a relationship.
When requests are accepted, do not stop there, you should start to build relationships. Comment on other people’s posts, share and “like” their content and even occasionally reach out by shooting them a quick message to check how they are doing. Networking is all about creating relationships and if you are a silent connection, those relationships will never blossom.
Try to post engaging content
Do not sit and allow everyone else to post amazing content on LinkedIn. You should present yourself as an industry expert by posting your own educational and interesting content. Sharing an interesting article that you came across recently online is a great start yet if you really want to make critical connections and represent yourself as a skilled industry thought leader, craft your own LinkedIn articles.
Publishing a LinkedIn article won’t just enable you to share your experience with your connections, it also can result in more LinkedIn users discovering you. While publishing your article, use hashtags that attract the kind of connections you want to interact with and expand your network. Having a LinkedIn voice will make networking easy for you and the comment part of your articles is an excellent space to start the conversation.
