A complete guide for how to network on LinkedIn

LinkedIn has established itself as the front-runner for social media when it comes to professional relationships. It opens up the opportunity to meet people from different groups, companies and industries. However, connecting with people on LinkedIn takes some strategy in order to optimize the overall experience. Refer to these three helpful hints to learn how to network on LinkedIn.

3 key ideas to boost your networking

There are a lot of things you can do to improve your networking. However, it’s important to note that a better network is different from a bigger network. Use these three unique tips to improve the quality of your network:

1. Professionalism matters, but keep it approachable

Our profile acts as a way for potential connections to see what we’re about and decide whether or not they should send a connection request. Consider the manner in which our profile is filled out. Does it seem like we were filling out a job application with our answers? Is our profile rigid and matter of fact? Is it fully filled out, giving others as much information as they need? Are we following the recommended LinkedIn image size? It’s an observed idea that a full profile is much more likely to attract more connections, so make sure yours is complete.

Another thing to consider here is the extent to which our profile is approachable. In order to ensure this, add necessary details but make sure they are backed up by some sort of story or intriguing narration whenever possible. This gives potential connections better insight into who we are further than our job title or work history. To help get started, think about some of the most interesting connection profiles you’ve seen on LinkedIn. Consider what drew you in about them and try to emulate these positive traits.

2. Explore the different groups for a while

You’d be surprised at how many different groups there are available on LinkedIn. The system often automatically recommends us groups, though there’s certain to be some you’re unaware of that could be beneficial. Chances are that a lot of groups that interest you also interest people you may have already met or known from the past. These are some of the easiest connections to add to your network!

One measure you could take is doing a search for new groups. Decide first what types would potentially open up the possibility of meeting exciting, helpful connections. Similarly, make sure the groups you search for and join have some sort of relevance to you – we’re not just blindly trying to enter groups in order to pack on numbers to our network.

3. Set some standards to guide you along the way

While it’s certainly important to have a broad network of connections, you won’t truly boost your network by filling it with every possible person encountered. As the saying goes, less is more. This is definitely true for LinkedIn networking. This doesn’t have to mean deleting network connections that you haven’t interacted with enough. In fact, it should urge you to improve upon the current state of your connections. That is, if your network is overflowing with unknown people, try changing this by reaching out.

Of course, the goal isn’t to create a giant network of meaningless connections and attempt to get to know everyone in the group. That would be too much work and not purposeful. Instead, it’s important to create specific standards or guidelines to help determine how you want to grow your network. For example, you could decide to accept requests from only two different groups: people you’ve met in person and people who are from similar fields/industries.

With these tips to boost your process, it should be easier to better handle your overall LinkedIn experience. Remember that it’s important to remain consistent throughout this entire process. It will enable you to continuously locate new and important contacts to add to your network.