Hey guys and welcome to our second blog post about optimizing your LinkedIn environment! Last time we talked about LinkedIn profile optimization whereas today the blog post will be about 360° network optimization tips for you to grow it!
LinkedIn has grown a lot in the past years and the importance of this social network app grew immensely due to home office but also due to the fact that more and more companies are international and therefore need to be connected worldwide! Today, more than 750 million accounts from 200 countries can be found on LinkedIn which will guarantee you to find and grow a relevant network.. If you use the advice that we will give you today!
Before starting, we would like to emphasise once more how important your network is, especially when it comes to a business environment. But – do not forget it is important to make it relevant. In other words, to achieve your goals make sure to create a relevant network!
The Guide for LinkedIn Network Optimization
Personalize your connection message
Reaching out to all of your first degree contacts is super easy! But what happens after, when there are no first degree contacts left anymore? Reach out to second or third degree contacts – but be careful here! When reaching out to them, the probability that they will accept your request is low, simply because they do not know you, right?
What if you add a personalized note to the connection request when sending it out? The probability of the connection to accept the request is way higher! A simple ‘I love your content’ can therefore be more than enough. FYI, do not use the ‘connect’ button which you can find on the “people you might know’ page. Instead, visit the contact’s LinkedIn profile. You will be able to learn more about them but also click on the ‘connect’ button on their page – et voila you can send a message with your request that is personalized and has a personal touch!
Always remember face2face connections
No need to get desperate of not finding more contacts to reach out to, reflect on your real life connections once again! What about your neighbour? What about the owner of your favourite pizzeria? What about clients? We are sure if you think about businesses that come across your path in real life, you can at least find 10 more contacts on LinkedIn to add to your network!
Go tiny steps..
Instead of going huuuuuuge steps and setting your objective high, think again of the smart goal setting method. Go tiny steps and you will probably exceed your own expectations! What do we mean? Instead of saying you want to reach 500 contacts within one month, what about 100 connections every two weeks? It seems way more realistic, achievable, and it will allow you to start slow and test your strategy before going all in! You will make use of the smart goal setting method and you will see how it benefits you. If you want to know more about this method, take a look here!
In addition, it is important to say that quality goes over quantity. So reaching out to 100 contacts in two weeks instead of 500 in a month will give you time to really think through the people you want to connect with. Again, make your network relevant!
Groups
As mentioned in a previous blog post, we once again want to stress the fact that groups can be very beneficial for you! Join groups on LinkedIn and network with people from the same industry, people with the same specialty and interests! Make sure to follow the rules of each group but otherwise you should be good to go! Make use of this advantage! This article on LinkedIn gives you plenty of insights on how to find relevant groups and how to join them.
Post regularly
For engagement reasons, post regularly! If you show your existing network how valuable your LinkedIn contribution is, they will like, share, and comment and this will be shown in their network’s dashboard. Remember to add value and not to post irrelevant space filler. Post, share other’s work, and see how your LinkedIn network grows.
Make it visual - The eyes need food, too!
Making your profile visual will increase the clicks of your post. Add a banner, profile picture, and add pictures to every post you are posting! This way you will give the eyes something to eat and expose content attractively to (potential) connections.
Engage and communicate
Engage, engage, engage with your existing LinkedIn network! Like, share, comment – add value to your LinkedIn connections and turn them into real relationships. Adding value to their posts, will make you show up on their network’s dashboard as well! If you engage you will be exposed to potential contacts and turn your existing contacts into valuable connections to build a relationship!
Promote yourself
Why not promote yourself? If you use other social media channels as well, you can use your customized LinkedIn URL and put it in the other’s media bio. Act like a brand, and to be a successful brand it is important to have a corporate brand image. So, promote yourself, and add the URL everywhere you can, so that people can find you easily on LinkedIn!
LinkedIn Optimization - The importance of keywords
As mentioned in the last blog post, LinkedIn optimization can be handled like SEO. Therefore, keywords are of importance, so that you rank high when people are looking for you! Add all kinds of synonyms of your job title. Sit down, think about it, and think outside of the box. No need to use only traditional job titles – try to put yourself into the head of someone who is looking for you, add the keywords after your last name, into your headline, and/or summary, and you are good to go and will rank high!
Surprise with your content
Lastly, make the difference with your own content! Upload articles written by you! Native content or so called long-story posts are responsible for huge engagement and virality. Important to remember here: Add value, do not ever pitch what you offer. People do not want to buy something – yet – when clicking on your own articles. However, posting your own content will underline your knowledge and expertise and you will definitely convince potential connections that you are a valuable contact to add to their LinkedIn network. If you don’t know how to write an article, this link will refer you to a post on LinkedIn, explaining how to make use of the tool!
Now that we gave you all the tips, be excited to see your network grow!
Thank you for your time and see you next time!
