How to Build Professional Networking on LinkedIn in 2024

LinkedIn is more dynamic than ever. It has established itself and will continue to position itself as the best platform for connecting professionals.?

Check out these 9 trends that reflect the constant changes in professional networking and offer exciting opportunities for growth and innovation.

1. Hyper-personalization

This trend involves tailoring your messages and content to the specific interests of the customer, needs, and backgrounds, rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach.?

Beyond basic personalization, there will be a shift to "conversation-based marketing" and "account-based marketing".?

Conversational marketing allows companies to connect with their customers on a personal level by using LinkedIn chat and content interaction. Сompanies can build valuable relationships with their potential clients, leading to deeper engagement and loyalty.

In account-based marketing, businesses pre-select specific companies or groups of companies for customized marketing campaigns, focusing on their unique needs.

How you can implement it:

• Research your connections to understand the client's interests, pain points, and work history.

• Customize your messages to make your communication feel more personal and less generic.
• Group your contacts by common characteristics or interests. Tailor your posts to resonate with each group.

2. Personal branding on LinkedIn

Companies want their leaders to be more active on their personal LinkedIn profiles. Employees usually have much bigger networks than their companies. And personal posts get 561% more engagement than posts from a company's account. Thus, CEOs, top managers, and business owners should use LinkedIn to raise their personal profile as a thought leader in their industries and, in turn, increase the visibility and reputation of their companies.

Here's how you can implement it:

• Showcase your expertise. Regularly post articles and insights relevant to your industry. This demonstrates your knowledge and keeps you visible in your network.

• Engage with posts from your connections and industry leaders. It increases your visibility and positions you as an active professional community member.
• Request recommendations from colleagues and clients.?

3. The strategic use of LinkedIn. What does it mean?

• Instead of connecting with everyone, focus on building a network that is aligned with your professional interests and goals.
• Engage with your network regularly, leave thoughtful comments, share relevant content, and prove your skills.
• Make sure your LinkedIn profile accurately reflects your professional brand and is tailored to attract the right audience.

4. SEO strategy

Recent research from Social Media Today reveals that LinkedIn is looking to refocus efforts around keywords and topic searches and deprioritizing hashtags.

How you can implement it:

• Identify and use industry-specific keywords in your profile, especially in your headline and summary.

• Regularly update your profile with relevant keywords and information to remain SEO-friendly.

5. The need for authenticity

It is a hot trend on LinkedIn right now. Professionals and brands are expected to use authenticity in their communications, moving away from overly polished and sales-oriented approaches. This trend reflects the growing demand for real connections and trust in the professional world. People are sharing their business stories more and talking about the ups and downs of their professional careers and personal lives.?

More than 90% of customers say that authenticity is important when deciding which brands to support.

So, what should you post? You could post about what motivates you or what prompted you to start a business or share stories about your business, daily challenges, or even tips for business success.

How you can implement it:

• When posting, focus on honesty and transparency rather than over-promotion.
• Respond to comments and messages in a thoughtful and personal way, showing a real interest in your interactions.

6. AI and automation

This trend involves leveraging AI algorithms to analyze vast data, identify potential connections, and suggest strategic networking opportunities tailored to individual goals and business needs.?

Here's how you can implement it:

• Automate routine tasks, i.e. responses to messages and connection requests.
• Use AI for analytics to understand the effectiveness of your posts.
• Engage with AI features on LinkedIn that recommend connections based on your industry and existing network.

• Participate in discussions organized by AI that are relevant to your professional interests and global market trends. This increases your visibility in the relevant circles.

7. Providing LinkedIn newsletters

As of the beginning of 2024, there were 143,000 newsletters on LinkedIn. They reached more than 500 million subscribers.?

LinkedIn newsletters are a great way to reach out to your audience. But there's one thing to keep in mind. Publish your newsletter regularly on LinkedIn if you want to build a list of subscribers.

8. Using storytelling?

Storytelling is a very powerful trick in many marketing campaigns. It is 22 times more likely to remember a fact if it’s wrapped up in a story.?

Here are just a few ideas:

• Share your business story. Audiences enjoy learning about it.
• Discuss the sources of your career inspiration (a life-changing experience etc).
• Share insights of your business journey, along with the valuable experience you learned from this.?

9. Using of short-form video

There are more and more user-generated videos. They are a great way to engage, entertain, and inform your LinkedIn audience. Here are just a few ideas for you:

• Share a concise business tip with your audience. Limit your talk to a max of 1-2 minutes.
• Discuss a particular business obstacle and detail your approach in resolving it.
• Offer a step-by-step guide addressing a specific business challenge.
• Conduct a brief Q&A session ?on a relevant business topic.

Consider adding captions to your video because 80% of social media scrollers often watch without the sound.?

By staying informed and flexible, you can harness the power of these trends to boost your professional presence, connect with the right audience, and open up new routes to success.