How to Grow Your LinkedIn Connections Fast in 2022

The next edition of The Mango Effect is out! 🥭 If you're new, this is where we talk about all things related to growing our businesses and personal brands "the mango way" on LinkedIn -- from personal branding to growing our networks to attracting more ideal clients to optimizing our profiles... and everything in between!

Each week, I share ONE strategy that you can use to optimize your personal brand or grow your business on LinkedIn. Whether you're a subject matter expert at the top of your field, a business leader looking to get on more boards, or a gritty entrepreneur trying to craft an ideal sales & marketing machine -- you'll find one action item you can take away and implement each and every week to get you one step closer to your goal.

No topic is off-limits. We discuss the good, the bad, and the fugly. I do take topic recommendations, too!

My mission is to help more professionals learn how to use LinkedIn, so we can all "up our game" on the platform, build thought leadership, and grow as leaders in our careers and businesses. And, I like to keep things fun, practical, and inspiring.

Now, onto this week's topic!

🥭Grow Your LinkedIn Connections Fast🥭

Want to grow your LinkedIn network FASTER without sending 100+ connections per week and wasting hours trying to find the right people? 🙋🏽

If you're ready build your network the right way, you must learn how to craft connection invitations that get your potential connections to say "heck, yes!"

Hint: It's not as hard as you think...

In this next episode of Mondays with Mindi, we talk about how to grow your LinkedIn network FAST with various types of perfect-fit people, and we'll get to the bottom of connection invitations that convert without feeling icky!

Who doesn't love a bit of show-and-tell to discover which types of connection invitations are working on LinkedIn right now?

LinkedIn Connections vs Followers

Getting connections on LinkedIn is VERY different from other social channels where you’re simply trying to “get followers.”

Let me be clear: connections are NOT followers.

Connections are people you have intentionally chosen to add to your network because there is an obvious mutual benefit for the two of you to be connected professionally.

Followers can still happen on LinkedIn, but they should be treated a little differently than your connections.

When it comes to LinkedIn, should you just sit there and wait for the right connections to ask you to connect? 

Or does it help to be a bit more on the proactive side? We’ve talked about making the first move before, and growing your network is one place where you want to do exactly that.

On one of my recent Mondays with Mindi episodes, someone asked a great question, “How do you grow your network through cold outbound networking as a parallel strategy to inbound content?”

Here’s what could happen if you just “let your LinkedIn network” happen to you...

• You end up on the receiving end of a bunch of LinkedIn connections from people you don’t care to know or are just trying to pitch you something
• Your network turns into a big “following” without the strategic element to it - not a good prospecting or business collaboration tool 
• You never quite hit that 500+ connections mark, which means the people you want to reach are a bit leery in accepting a connection from you or reaching out to connect
• Or, you could have a solid LinkedIn network that lies untouched - while you leave big money on the table because you don’t know how to proactively engage with the people there or how to add the right people to it

Let’s figure out how to get your network growing consistently - we’ll talk about a few of my favorite connection formulas for cold outbound connections, some tips about how to find the right people to reach out to, and a simple way you can keep in touch with your new connections!

And, it doesn’t have to take a TON of time to do.

Protect Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn

Too many people join (or start actually using) LinkedIn thinking there’s a shortcut, an automation that can build their LinkedIn network on autopilot.

They can either find a tool for $49/month or hire someone for a few hundred dollars a month who promises to grow their LinkedIn network by a few thousand, no problem. 

This freelancer will simply run a LinkedIn search and mass blast connection requests.

Little do you know, this is the fastest way to damage your personal brand for good on LinkedIn. 

Once you’re labelled a spammer, many people will write you off for a very long time.

And, it’s very difficult to get this trust back once it’s gone.

 The thing about LinkedIn messaging history is that it NEVER goes away - unlike email. 

 Any time you send a new message to someone in the future, they will see that stream of messages that were sent previously.

Some people risk it all by using a number of LinkedIn automation tools (that are blacklisted by LinkedIn) who are trying to trick the algorithm into sending a bazillion connection invitations and wonder why they’re not getting traction.

It’s NOT worth it to shortcut the system. Your personal brand and reputation is at stake every time you delegate a message, a profile view, or a connection invitation sent via your LinkedIn profile.

Yes, you may get some immediate “wins” when you grow your network, but you’ll struggle when it comes to continuing the conversation or getting it started in a natural way.

There is a better way.

Your LinkedIn Network is a Valuable Asset

When you treat your LinkedIn connection network like your most prized professional networking, engagement, and growth tool… its value exponentially increases.

Instead of treating LinkedIn like every other network where you’re simply looking at the number of followers and kinda’ hoping they’re the right people, your LinkedIn network can be your go-to resource for every people aspect of your business.

Need a great designer? Look up Jessie on LinkedIn.

Ready to prospect? It’s time to use Sales Navigator and start developing relationships with decision-makers.

Looking to hire a new team member? Post on LinkedIn, and see the flood of resumes come in.

Whether or not you’re actively trying to find a new job, launch a product, promote your upcoming book, or reach out to your perfect prospects… you should always be connecting

ABC - Always Be Connecting

When you keep your LinkedIn growing with the right people, you will have just the right ratios of professionals in your network.

Your LinkedIn network is almost like career or business insurance - if anything goes south, you’ve got a number of great relationships already established.

So, how do we go about building a LinkedIn network FAST and in the right way?

Create Connection Invitations That Convert

Let’s start by talking about WHO should be in your LinkedIn network. 

Think about your LinkedIn network right now. Who’s in your network?

Is it filled with colleagues that you’ve worked with in the past? Recruiters you got connected with in order to land a job? Prospects you reached out to ages ago? Business colleagues you’d like to collaborate with?

Think about that ratio right now.

Are there any specific groups missing or in poor supply?

If so, these are a great place to start.

If you’re trying to grow your network FAST, you might want to focus first on people whom you already know on other social media channels or in professional associations or other online groups.

If people are already familiar with your name or share a common interest, they are more likely to accept.

Here’s an example of how I applied this for myself…

I recently joined a course called Digital Course Academy - very meta, I know - and I noticed a number of people in that community whom I felt would be a great addition to my LinkedIn network for a variety of reasons.

I began reaching out to them and started having a HUGE number of one-to-one conversations in my LinkedIn DMs as a result. 

Why? Because we shared a common interest and had something we could immediately talk about that was NOT related to “I want to sell you something…”

Is there a group or community that you’re an active member of where you could start connecting with people there who’d also be on LinkedIn?

One word of caution here - do NOT be spammy in how you approach people. The wording and approach you choose here is KEY.

And, that’s what we’re going to talk about next.

WHAT do you say to people with whom you want to connect?

This all depends on the types of people you are reaching out to. If you’re simply trying to build your network FAST, you’ll want to focus on adding people who are the most likely to say YES and accept your connection invitation.

To get them to accept, your message should be obviously beneficial to them and to you.

First of all, let me be clear that you should rarely send a connection invitation without a personalized message. 

Unless that person has come across you elsewhere (for example, you just were exchanging comments on a LinkedIn post or were in touch via email), it’s always best to send a connection invitation message that’s personalized to the recipient.

What does this LinkedIn connection message look like?

I’ll share a few examples:

1. The Shared Community

This is a connection invitation I used when going through Seth Godin’s altMBA program. Because I sent it while we were going through the program together, most people accepted.

Notice that I’m referencing a common experience we’re sharing, and I’m NOT selling anything here. I merely want to connect!

On a side note, as a result of this outreach, I got connected with a fellow team member who years later reached out with an intro that led me to a project that almost topped $100K

...and I hadn’t tried to sell ANYTHING, just was connected with the right person when they had a need I could solve.

2. The Event Follow-Up

Whenever I attend a live event or watch the replay from an industry event, I always reach out to the presenters or people who are “active commenters” and seem to share a common interest or perspective.

These connection requests tend to get a higher acceptance rate because I time them well - sometimes, I’ll even send the LinkedIn connection invitation while they are giving a presentation to show them I’m actually watching live and paying attention.

I sent this one to Amy Landino during Streamyard’s Livestream Summit. She accepted right away.

If you were on the receiving end of that connection, would you accept? Of course, you would! It’s hard not to accept an invitation from a fan who’s obviously paying attention to your work.

We’re in the same space

If there’s someone you admire or that’s pretty active on LinkedIn or other social channels, then it’s an easy opportunity for you to reach out to them mentioning something they recently discussed publicly.

Here’s an example I received from someone who listened to one of my podcasts and would be a great resource for me to collaborate with or refer business to.

This is a light touch LinkedIn connection request that referenced something I did and also showed that we run in similar professional circles.

Who doesn’t love coming across someone else in the same space? You never know where new business opportunities may come from.

So there you have it, WHO you should reach out to grow your network FAST and a few examples of WHAT to say to get their attention and encourage them to accept your invitation. 

What Happens After the Connection is Accepted?

What happens after they accept? Here’s a quick tip.

Many of these connection invitations may get accepted and no follow-up is immediately necessary. If the other person accepts but does not respond, and you don’t feel compelled to say anything right away -- DON’T. 

You can always reach back out to them later down the line and reference the “how you got connected sometime back” and why you’re reaching out now. It won’t feel odd to people, and it’s better than an awkward “I think I should follow up with something but not exactly sure what to say here” message.

Getting connected to someone is often enough.

If the conversation does lead to a back-and-forth messaging exchange, go with it! Keep it natural, light, and to the point. LinkedIn messages are not the time to get wordy. If it needs to be moved off to email, then do so. If it feels pretty casual, keep it on LinkedIn.

How are you feeling about growing your LinkedIn network now? It’s not that hard, is it? Especially if you’re approaching LinkedIn like a human and starting with people or communities you’re already familiar with. In those cases, it’s much easier to get the connection started… and it doesn’t end there, but that’s a topic for another day!

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If you’re looking for that extra edge to get you started on the right path with your profile, check out my free LinkedIn profile training guide that will help you dial in the most important sections of your LinkedIn profile, so you can start sending those connection invitations that convert!

If you’re still struggling to figure out how to approach your network growth, that’s okay. Post a question below or shoot me a direct message to discuss!