How To Supercharge Your Networking With LinkedIn!

“Shall we connect on LinkedIn?”

It’s what we do now isn’t it when we meet people at networking events. And thanks to QR codes on the LinkedIn mobile app it’s easy to instantly connect.

With networking and word-of-mouth referrals often quoted as the No. 1 way of generating new business, anything that can help us maximise our networking efforts is a good thing, right? ??

Which is where LinkedIn comes in.

As the closest thing to face to face networking we have online, LinkedIn is working for us 24 x 7 to help continue conversations and facilitate recommendations and referrals.

But LinkedIn is more than just connecting. That's just the first step.

As Michael Edwards from The Northern Affinity shared recently on a LinkedIn LoveIn Live about how to use #LinkedIn to complement and enhance your networking by building meaningful connections.

Michael is an avid LinkedIn fan and has used LinkedIn to successfully grow The Northern Affinity community and bring business owners together for support and collaboration.

You can watch the LinkedIn LoveIn here with Michael Or check out the breakdown of what we talked about below.

Networking means different things to different people and there is a myriad of networking events we can attend. There is no wrong or right way to networking, it’s just about finding the right one for you and your business.

Michael’s preferred method of networking he calls ‘organic networking’ which focuses on building long term relationships. Which of course fits perfectly with LinkedIn!

The Missing ‘Middle’ Piece

One of the biggest challenges with networking, is the time in between events.

You might meet someone at an event and have a great conversation and then that’s it. You don’t see them or speak to them again until the next event which could be a week or a month away or even longer if you miss an event.

So, there’s a piece in the middle that’s missing. One which keeps the relationship building going in between meetings.

And it’s this missing piece that LinkedIn fills by providing a platform for consistent relationship building so that when you do meet again at a future event you don’t have to start all over again.

It's one of the things I love about LinkedIn that you can actually get to know someone without ever having met them, because of the conversations that LinkedIn facilitates.

How To Supercharge Your Networking With LinkedIn

First thing to understand is that everything you do on LinkedIn sends a signal to the LinkedIn algorithm. Who you connect with, what you comment on, the hashtags and people you follow.

So, we need to tell LinkedIn what and who you want to see to help keep those networking relationships going after a networking event.

This means interacting with the people that you want to hear from. Whether that’s friends, networking contacts, ideal clients, partners, suppliers, influencers in your sector etc.

And LinkedIn will help you.

When you have a new connection, LinkedIn will tell you if they share a new post. If you engage with those posts you’re telling LinkedIn that you’re interested in this person so LinkedIn will put more of that content in front of you.

If you’re not happy with what you’re seeing on your newsfeed it’s because you have curated that newsfeed by connecting and engaging with people who are not right for you.

One thing Michael is a strong advocate of is being purposeful with who he interacts with.

He wants to maintain relationships with members of the Northern Affinity and as such will engage on NA member posts so they get priority in his feed.

Keeping The Relationship Going . . .

Another way to keep the relationship going is celebrating your network's work anniversaries or birthdays. Send them a quick message to congratulate them. These usually come up in notifications OR check out the 'Celebrations link here' to see who in your network is moving jobs, celebrating a birthday or work anniversary.

On-Demand Networking . . .

Sometimes its the things that you do on LinkedIn that engages people such as posting and LinkedIn Lives.

Michael calls this on-demand networking where you might not be having a conversation as such but they are still hearing you or seeing you on LinkedIn which is still all part of relationship building because you are staying top of mind.

Which brings us to posting. Posting is a key activity on LinkedIn for sure . . . but remember engaging is just as important. We want two way conversations not just simply pushing our stuff out there.

“I’ve seen you on LinkedIn!”

Many times I’ve heard people say they were contacted by someone who loved their content yet had never engaged with their posts. Which goes to show that even if you don't get great engagement or impressions you are still being seen on LinkedIn even if you don't know it!

Making LinkedIn A Habit

Success comes from committing to using LinkedIn on a consistent basis. But what does that actually mean?

As an avid LinkedIn fan Michael regularly spends 10-15 minutes on LinkedIn first thing in the morning.

But he also aims to maximise his time by using spare time he has in between meetings for example, or travelling on the train or when he’s early for the school run so he can get parked up. He uses these opportunities to keep his visibility high and his relationships going.

In Summary . . .

The key to supercharging your networking lead generation starts with connecting and then interacting with your new connections and the people you network with on a regular basis as a way of building meaningful connections.

?? Send them a direct message after connecting saying how good it was meet them in person at the networking event.

?? Look out for their posts or look at their activity feed and comment on their last few posts

?? Check out any celebrations that may be coming up

?? And finally, post content they will be interested in.

 How will LinkedIn support your networking efforts? 

LinkedIn is rarely done in isolation. For me it's very much about how can LinkedIn enhance other marketing activities to deliver even better results.

And networking of course is no exception. They are the perfect bedfellows.

So try these tips and let Michael and I know how you get on!

Join the LinkedIn LoveIn group

Join the LinkedIn LoveIn Group and keep up to date with the latest LinkedIn tips and tricks!

?? If LinkedIn isn’t working hard for you or you’re not sure where to start with using LinkedIn, email [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn to chat about how I can help.

Or book a virtual brew here and let’s make LinkedIn work for you . . . ?

JUDY Parsons, Celebrating 10 Years As #TheLinkedinLady

#LinkedInTips #LinkedInTraining #Yorkshire #Networking #Marketing