Is Bigger Better?

No, I'm not talking about that thing... I'm talking about the size of your network on LinkedIn.

It seems like, almost, everyone is looking for a larger network with as many connections as possible, and for a good reason.

Now, you have probably read a few tips on how to grow your network on LinkedIn, but I think that you will find this article a little bit different from others…

Why's That?

Because bigger is not always better (I'm still talking about networking…), and as much as it is important to get more connections (and for good reasons), it's even more important how you do it, and what you do with them!

The following tips will help you grow your network and do it properly. For each tip I added a side-note which is necessary for establishing great connection with your network.

By the way, I offer you a bonus tip at the end, so make sure not to skip it. Let's begin!

1. Full Profile

In real life "We are, what we say", but on LinkedIn we have to say it more clearly and be relevant. We do so with our LinkedIn's Profile.

By completing your profile on LinkedIn, you simply gain two important things that will benefit you for the long run;

- The first, is to be "liked" by LinkedIn. The algorithm of LinkedIn puts big emphasis on a full profile, and therefore gives you better exposure to others. Make sure you fill in all the sections in your profile, including summary, skills, recommendations and so on.

- The second is to be relevant to your network. People tend to approve requests based on your profile, so if you have a full and interesting profile (including photo and banner), then chances are higher that you get approved, or asked for.

Pay attention to why you write what you write, and include top keywords that are relevant to you and your professional experience.

2. Who Looked at Your Profile?

So, you're in a party, and you noticed someone is "checking you up". Wouldn’t you approach him/her and start a conversation? You are right, I wouldn’t do it as well :-) but on LinkedIn you should do it.

This simple feature of "who viewed your profile" can be a powerful tool if you use it correctly. Basically, it shows you the people who recently (in the last 90 days) viewed your profile, and if they looked at your profile, why not approach them?

Keep in mind that this feature works in reverse as well, so if you view others profiles, you will show up in their section, and even if a only few of them will approve your connection request, then it would be great for your network growth.

Set yourself in advance a few short and clear messages to your invitation note.

For example;

"Hi, I've noticed your profile and it seems that we have mutual friends and common interests. It will be great if you can join my network".

3. Import Contacts

How many emails have you sent today at work? How many connections do you have in your personal email? You see where I'm going with that...?

We all send thousands of emails from our private email and from our work email. You can import your contacts to LinkedIn, and by doing so you can invite them to join your network.

By the way, you don't have to be concerned about adding someone that you don't want to add, since you can easily moderate the list of your invitations.

Someone just joined your network? Great! Now, be kind and send him/her a short welcome-message.

This will be great ice-breaker to startup your relationship.

4. Groups & More

At the end we are talking about social networking, so why not get socialized with others?

I'm sure that you have at least one or two groups that you are involved in, but are you really maximizing these groups to grow you network? If you write comments and give value to others in the group, you most likely will get bigger exposure and therefore higher chances to grow your network.

So now that you are engaging in groups, you can use hashtags (LinkedIn loves that!) and if you are commenting on someone's post, make sure to tag him which will increase your visibility to his 2nd level friends (of the one you tagged).

DO NOT SPAM!

If you are tagging someone who is not one of your friends (An influencer for example), then make sure to ask them politely first.

5. Find Relevant Audience

Yes, you can hit the "connect" button on random people, but wouldn’t it be nice to connect with people from your field / occupation / job title?

Well you can do that by simply writing in the Search Bar a job title, or an expertise and then click on "People". For example, I searched the other day "VP Sales", clicked on "People" and found great new connections :-)

You can adjust additional filters in the Search Bar, like connection from 2nd or 3rd degree, country, language and more.

6. Few Small Tips

Like any good algorithm, LinkedIn also give priority to certain events.

-  Celebrate an Occasion. When you click on "start a post" you can choose "celebrate occasion, which will allow you to create a designated content for it, and since LinkedIn love's it so much, he will give it a better exposure than other posts.

-  Create a Poll. I really love this feature! By creating a poll on a relevant topic which gives big value for your connections, you can get great exposure and a follow-up to contact with the people who participated in your poll.

- Offer Help. LinkedIn wants you to help others, and if you can do so than it will be amazing and you can earn "extra points" for that along the way. By clicking on the "offer help" button, you will get few options to offer to other users (introductions, resume review, volunteer work etc.) and by posting those real offers to help others, you will be doing good as well as get bigger exposure to your content. 

- Joint Post. This is such a cool thing to do! Two of my friends (Anat Pessate-Schubert & Roie Engel) wrote together a post, and each one of them shared it with his/her network. Double the fun – Double the exposure!

Always remember to ask yourself this:

Who is my audience?

How can I give them real value?

Conclusion; How Big Is Your Network?

- Just for comparing, an average user has about 400 connections, and by the time you finish reading this sentence another 15 new members will join LinkedIn

- Super-Connectors are known to have at least 3,000 connections in their network

- Make sure to have a good professional headshot on your profile, it will probably give you 14x more views than others, and if you list at least 5 skills or more on your profile, you will get 17x times more views

- Make sure to add a nice photo to your posts. It will give you 98% higher comment rate! 

Growing your network is important. Growing it wisely by providing value to others is even better.

Do good with your network, and may it grow as high as it can be!

Bonus Tip

As promised at the beginning, I have a secret-cool-tip for you.

I would love you to share your thoughts about this article in the comments below, and I will send you the bonus tip in a private message.

#EladShimoni #DailySalesTip