How to Make Connections on LinkedIn: The Essential Guide

Creating and maintaining a LinkedIn profile is relatively simple. However, you need to develop your personal branding to increase your visibility and facilitate your networking actions in B2B. On professional social networks, the digital strategy is to develop your contacts to be more visible, to prospect and to find potential customers. So how to get connections on LinkedIn to increase the potential of your account? A LinkedIn network with 50 to 100 connections will not help you develop your digital communication. As I advise all my trainees and clients, you should aim to reach 500 L

The importance of LinkedIn

While you can only have 4,602 connections on Twitter, and the same on Facebook, LinkedIn has a capacity of over 340 million, and so the potential is much bigger. Once you have more than 500 connections on LinkedIn, your potential in the market to be found is much bigger. The benefit of having more connections on LinkedIn is that you will benefit from high-quality connections with high status, making them believe that you have been in business long enough to trust you. Moreover, it also helps you attract professional clients. To be able to do that, you need to have a strong digital marketing strategy and be involved in different industry activities.

How to increase your visibility

Facebook made it easy for us to make connections. On Facebook, you can be introduced to people in your network through “People You May Know.” Once you see your friends are linked, you can message your friend to connect with you. You can always go back to the Google search results page to see who your connections are. Google search is the right tool to find your LinkedIn contacts. Even in the LinkedIn search results, you can find most your connections using other search tools such as Contact Search or Press Explore. Facebook’s own search is very popular, so it is not difficult to find connections. How to increase the visibility of your professional page However, the search results on LinkedIn are not always very great for professionals.

Developing a personal branding strategy

LinkedIn is a professional networking site. Therefore, there are some fundamental rules for your LinkedIn network. First, create a profile. You don’t have to post a large amount of data, but you should express your brand and speak about yourself on LinkedIn. You can easily create a brand portfolio by getting the best business cards online. Approach your network with simplicity and professionalism. Have respect for your professional network and avoid posting inappropriate materials. Now that you have created your profile, you should always try to add value to your profile. If you write a useful article, you can provide value to your network. If you get in touch with someone on LinkedIn and invite him to connect, you can increase his network.

Tips for making connections on LinkedIn

Identify the LinkedIn profiles you want to get connected to. First and foremost, you need to understand who the people in your network are. Only then will you be able to develop your strategy for connections. Knowing who you want to connect with is the most important thing to get started. While creating the networking strategy for your LinkedIn account, you should be aware of the most popular networks (meaning you can connect with them easily, like Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.). In order to have more connections in this list, you should create a network for each network that fits your needs. You should also be aware that LinkedIn is quite specific.

Increase the size of your network by connecting with people you know

When you are ready to start connecting with your colleagues or clients, make sure that you create a formal introduction to first start the process. What is a Formal Introduction? Your introduction is a short explanation of your profile so that the person could share your profile on their own profile. This step is important because people can share your profile on their LinkedIn profile if you mention them in the introduction. For example, if you are an SEO trainer, and you are recommending someone for an account manager role, you could use the introduction below for your person: “Candidate needs to be an excellent communicator with excellent soft skills, an expert user of the Search Engine Optimization tools and skills to be in the top of his field.

Use the LinkedIn search function to find potential connections and prospects

This is the first step in online networking on LinkedIn. Try to find others in your industry or geography with similar interests. You will have a better chance of being listed on the 'People Also Viewed' section. If you find no-one in your niche, type "people looking for people with 'name of occupation'". Make an effort to have at least 100 connections. It will be difficult to build up your own network if you start with small numbers. If you reach your goal, you can start with the next step: becoming a member of a group. LinkedIn groups are becoming the main network, making possible to exchange opinions, propose solutions and discuss opportunities. More about Digital Marketing: Post Scriptum Locating companies in your city through Linkedin is not a serious activity.

Join groups to expand your network

Begin collaborating with like-minded professionals from your industry and at conferences and events. To get LinkedIn connections, it’s essential to make connections with other LinkedIn users. Here are some tips and useful pointers for how to make connections on LinkedIn: Signing up for email alerts from companies that you admire and trust. Share and comment on the posts of your connections. Identify the strengths and key attributes of your connections, and share them with your network, their contacts and the public. The name and profile picture of a former colleague, someone you work with often or you respect. Comment on their LinkedIn posts to exchange business ideas and suggestions. Post useful links about the things you are working on.

Conclusion

It is important to remember that Facebook will remain in the upper part of the digital communication ranking. LinkedIn will become more important in the years to come. But Facebook does not need to sell your time and knowledge. Twitter does not need to be broadcasted on all the TV channels and do not care for your personal story. And LinkedIn only needs to be used as your digital platform. With small adjustments and budget constraints you can also build your own online marketing platform and sell your products to the market. Your future depends on you. Do not give up.