How to grow your LinkedIn network like a boss

With the expansion in remote working and the establishment of social selling in the sales cycle, growing your network on LinkedIn has never been more important.

So, we chatted to our best networkers at Sopro to give you the tips you need to make sure you can grow your network.

Like a boss.

Now topping 800 million users in more than 200 countries, LinkedIn certainly isn’t short of networking opportunities, whether you are looking for B2B prospects, potential hires or business partners.

But after you’ve run through your own contacts list, it can be tough going to know how best to reach out.

That’s why we are about to show you how to grow your LinkedIn network on LinkedIn and ensure that your new contacts remain relevant to your business goals.

1. Get personal

Generic requests are far less likely to succeed than a personal message.

After you click the “connect” button make sure you use the box that allows you to add a personal note.

Try: “Good to see you online at the SEO event. Let’s keep in touch.” 

Or: “As a fellow production director I thought we both might benefit from staying in touch.”

Or: “I’ve seen your posts on automation and really appreciate your perspectives. Would you be up for connecting?”

2. Get on the case

Sometimes the old-fashioned meet and greets can still throw up new connections. As we move back to the good, old days of doing business in person, you’ll have more face-to-face opportunities to capitalise on through LinkedIn.

3. Get SMART

If your goal is to get from 200 connections to 1,000 you have set yourself a brick wall to bang your head against.

Growing your connections is best done gradually so see if you can get to 250 connections by next week and 300 connections in a fortnight.

Such realistic goals will help prevent you from making valuable connection requests to resorting to spamming tactics: where your LinkedIn network is concerned quality definitely trumps quantity every time.

Remember, many members will only accept requests from those they feel connected to. This is where your personal note comes in: it can highlight if you share a connection, have worked with their company, share similar topics or are in a sector and market where they do business.

4. Get grouped

LinkedIn Groups are topic-specific spaces where you can build relationships, share information or seek advice.

By joining groups that contain your target audiences you can learn more about their concerns and demonstrate your knowledge and thought leadership.

Each group is moderated by its own rules – so be sure to review these begore you start posting and commenting.

5. Get engaged

When a connection likes, shares or comments on your posts their connections are more likely to see your original post in their feed.

This is an ideal way to encourage 2nd-degree connections to interact and invite you to connect.

Quick tip: the LinkedIn algorithm favours sharing posts that get responses soon after being posted. Always post during business hours (and tee up some buddies to place a comment or drop a like shortly after the post is made).

Posting more often simply creates more opportunities for engagement. But for even more engagement you’ll need to publish an article natively using LinkedIn’s article tool (see below) which notifies all your network.

6. Get visual

Posts with images get twice as many views — and posts with video content are much more likely to be re-shared. 

7. Get commenting

Every time you engage with your current connections you place your profile directly in front of their networks. No need for going over the top, just a simple “Thanks for sharing” can help you get noticed.

However, commenting with your personal insights or questions will increase your visibility even more. The most incisive comments can attract as many replies as the original post itself.

8. Get promoting

Use your bios on other social media to drive people to your LinkedIn profile where they can connect. You can also make a status update that explicitly invites your followers to connect on LinkedIn.

Don’t forget to use your email signature either – or any other online spaces that you use.

9. Get found

LinkedIn searches your profile for keywords when returning search results – so make sure all of your key terms are prominent.

If you are a Content Manager your role may include those of copywriter, website editor, creative writer, communications specialist, blogger, and so on. Make sure each aspect of your role is covered in your profile.

Many people will search for connections who carry out specific functions rather than make a search by formal job titles.

10. Get publishing

We all share blog posts from our company by posting an update on LinkedIn and sharing the URL.

But how many of us publish our own articles on LinkedIn?

Publishing articles as native content is also known as making a long-form posts. It offers you one of the best ways to establish your authority in your chosen area.  

Each piece of native content published has a notification sent to all of your network, vastly increasing the chances of engagement and brand exposure.

Make sure you include a simple call-to-action to get in touch or connect at the end of the article.

Start growing your LinkedIn network today

Whether you are publishing, promoting, engaging, joining or getting personal with your invites, there are plenty of opportunities to grow your LinkedIn network.

Use these tips from our Sopro team to do it like a boss!