LinkedIn is currently the largest and fastest growing professional network in the world. But, if you’re just starting out, networking on LinkedIn is unnatural and requires effort on your part .
It only takes one misstep to lose a business of a lifetime or make a bad impression that could cost you money and your professional image.
This is why a correct professional image is so important in building and perpetuating your personal brand.
How do I find new people to connect with? How to engage your audience without giving the impression of being a “seller”? What should you write in your connection requests or reminders to get people to respond to you?
These are all valid questions you can ask yourself as a beginner and we’ll explore them in depth below.
But even if you are a die-hard networker and know the platform well, read on as we are going to explore some subtle dos and don’ts that many people forget and how to use LinkedIn automation to explode your networking and your goal.
If done right, networking on LinkedIn can offer a ton of benefits, whether you’re looking for a new job, wanting to start generating leads, or building relationships.
With over 750 million users , LinkedIn is full of leads, connections, and different growth opportunities.
In short, whether you want to make sales or start generating leads, it all starts with the networking process.
The 5 most popular ways to network on LinkedIn
Before we start talking about the dos and don’ts of this professional network, let’s first take a look at some of the most effective methods of networking on LinkedIn.
These methods may seem obvious, but you have to start somewhere.
We’ll cover some advanced networking tactics and mistakes to avoid in the “ do’s and don’ts ” below.
1. Connection requests
Sending a connection request is the most obvious and direct way to get in touch with a member on Linkedin.
To send one, all you have to do is go to a person’s profile and click on the “ To log in “.
However, be sure to always include a personalized note (ideally, a hyper-personalized note )!
This is a common mistake that a lot of people make, even if they already have a lot of connections on LinkedIn. We’ll see what you need to write in the next section, so keep reading.
Now, if you’re wondering where to find a list of people who match your ideal customer persona and how to start networking with them, here’s what you need to know:
2. Research on LinkedIn
It might seem obvious, too, but we can go even further to make sure that you connect with leads that you might not otherwise have access to.
As you may know, you can filter the results of your research on LinkedIn to connect with even more specific people.
For example, you can filter for people who work in marketing and who are based in the same city as you. People who work in a business or one sector specific, or which provide a service particular.
But what a lot of people don’t know is that you can use advanced search filters on LinkedIn to further narrow your search results.
You can use the boolean filters to further specify your searches:
· AND – If you want to see the results which include all the items in a list. For example, “marketing AND agency” for people who work primarily in marketing agencies.
· NOT – To exclude a search term from your results. For example, “responsible NOT sales”.
· GOLD – To display results that include one or more items from a list. For example, “marketing” OR “growth”.
Note that the Boolean operators and the “keywords” search section look for and highlight people with this combination wherever it is in their LinkedIn profile!
Depending on your target audience on LinkedIn, you can customize these filters and only connect with relevant people.
Check out our “ How to Sell with LinkedIn in 2022 ” article for more networking and prospecting tips you can use.
3. Section “Do you know them? “
Once you start making contacts, you can use this networking tip to find more people instantly.
Just go to your profile or that of your professional network and scroll down their page until you see the section “Do you know them?” “.
Here you will find people who:
Work in the same sector as you .
What can know based on your profile ( LinkedIn recommendations ).
That you can know from your studies .
That you might know as part of similar functions .
That you may know from joint LinkedIn groups .
This is a great “quality over quantity” approach because you are more likely to find relevant people in your niche.
Bonus: this same functionality is further developed from the “My Network” tab with the “ People you might know “!
4. LinkedIn events
LinkedIn events are one of the best ways to build relationships on LinkedIn because you can connect with most people who have been at the same event as you.
This is especially true if you’re new to LinkedIn and don’t know where to find people with similar interests.
Just go to “ My network “And scroll down the page until you find the” Online events for you “.
If your LinkedIn profile is full enough and you already have a few connections, LinkedIn should suggest a few results based on your industry.
But if it doesn’t, all you need to do is enter keywords related to your business’ niche in LinkedIn’s search tab and choose “ Events “.
There you will find different types of events bringing together thousands of participants on LinkedIn.
You can establish a network with the people who organize them , the participants , Where share your ideas during aggregation live and people will want to take the legwork to connect with you!
Another important networking tip that we’ve tried with LinkedIn events is scraping from LinkedIn events.
Here we have picked up this event and contacted the people who attended.
In this way, we have reached a 76% acceptance rate and one 35% response rate. Check out our full guide at how to scrape LinkedIn events for more information and the exact message templates we have used and which you can copy.
LinkedIn events are great for networking because you can find just about any type of idea there:
· Networking events for like-minded people.
· Online workshops.
· Online seminars.
· Product launches.
· Meetings, conferences, etc …
5. LinkedIn groups
Finally, the LinkedIn groups are another popular networking tactic.
Why that ?
LinkedIn groups allow you to reach a targeted audience of industry professionals and build relationships with people who have something in common (the group, the same niche, etc.).
Just type in keywords related to your industry and you’ll find plenty of LinkedIn trade groups to choose from, for example:
However, consider narrowing your search even further and being as specific as possible if you want to stand out in a group with a lot of members that you can relate to.
Now that you know some of LinkedIn’s most popular networking features, let’s take a look at the dos and don’ts of networking on the LinkedIn professional network.
Top Dos and Don’ts for Networking on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is constantly evolving.
Let’s start with the things to do when it comes to networking on LinkedIn.
1. Optimize your profile
Don’t know where to start to network on LinkedIn?
The answer is simple: Your LinkedIn profile .
Everyone you want to network with will click on your profile at some point to learn more about you.
They will then review your banner , your profile picture , your section “ Info “, your professional experience , etc.
Check out our guide to steps to prepare before launching prospecting campaigns on LinkedIn to learn how to do this and other ways to prepare well for professional networking on LinkedIn.
To go (much) further, consult our examples of LinkedIn summaries ( paid ebook ) to inspire you with what makes people want to connect with you!
2. Introduce people
It’s here “ based Networking and this is of course the case on LinkedIn!
Presenting relationships to one another creates a form of “ debt »Share capital in your favor.
It shows that you really care people who make meaningful connections that could benefit the industry.
Also, such a much appreciated gesture will appeal to the law of reciprocity .
Indeed, your relationships will most likely return the favor by introducing you to other professionals who they think are good for you.
There’s no better way to build your professional network than positive word-of-mouth. This is the best advertisement for business and it is free !
But it takes time to build relationships reliable and sincere .
So, take a little effort and stick to our recommendations.
3. Take the time to write personalized messages
There is nothing better than custom login that explains what you do and why you want to get in touch with your prospect.
Plus, it’s a great way to stand out on LinkedIn and show your prospect that you are. really interested in him .
Have you ever received something like this?
It is certain that this is an automated message, which shows that they did not take the time to consult my profile. Many people send messages of this type in Hoping that it works.
When sending network connection requests on LinkedIn, be sure to prioritize quality rather than quantity .
You don’t know what to write in your connection request or how to personalize your messages?
Check out our message templates Matchmaking to learn how to connect with almost everyone and use personalization when connecting on the professional LinkedIn network.
4. Make personal connections
Once you get in touch with someone, what happens?
Lots of people move on.
If you really want create meaningful connections on LinkedIn , be sure to engage everyone you connect with.
How to do ?
It’s simple. You browse their profile until you find something specific or from staff that you can approach, then you ask them a question about it.
This will show you that you really are interested and that you take the time to build a real relationship.
It may take a while, but manage your exchanges well with your new connections is one of the strategies of lead generation most efficient on LinkedIn if it is well done.
5. Use prospecting and growth tips
Networking on LinkedIn is as much an art as it is a science.
In other words, you’ll want to take advantage of different growth tips and prospecting strategies if you want to find what works best for you.
You can :
1. Define your audiences and your ideal customer persona
2. Focus on generating demand
3. Build relationships
4. Propose a personalized offer according to your targets
5. Start exploiting demand
And more.
In reality, you will have to experiment with different prospecting tactics and strategies to see what works best.
Check out our LinkedIn best practices to see some strategies that work in any niche and how to engage your ideal personas on the LinkedIn professional network.
Now let’s move on to networking dos and don’ts !
1. Do not share messages
Consider sharing other people’s content if you want to build lasting relationships.
It’s a great way to get noticed and connect with people (however, consider tagging people in your LinkedIn posts in order to direct your audience to their profiles and make them see interest).
Often times, they will reciprocate and share your content back!
Everybody wins.
Note: Avoid using this technique too frequently as LinkedIn tends to penalize the reach of accounts that share content (a social network encourages its members to create engaging content for the overall experience).
2. Do not respond to comments
Every comment is an opportunity on LinkedIn.
If someone comments on your content, make sure you respond to them at least.
You can :
· Thank him for his support.
· Ask him what he liked the most about your article.
· Ask him to share his own experience with you.
· And so on.
A simple gesture, and a good networking habit to start from the start to expand your network on LinkedIn.
3. Don’t personalize your approach
The customization is one of the best networking and lead generation tactics you can use on LinkedIn.
Whether it’s a matchmaking request or a cold message in your auto prospecting campaign to sell your services, you should always personalize your connect messages.
Start like this:
1. Define your ideal customer’s persona and how to find them on LinkedIn (see the first section on LinkedIn searches and Boolean operators).
2. Think about some of the main pain points that your prospects may have. For example, if you are talking to entrepreneurs, you can structure your approach around their weakness , namely the lack of time.
3. Finally, be sure to follow up and follow up on an ongoing basis. Fortunately, you can use automation on LinkedIn (see step 5 below for more on this) to save time.
4. Don’t spam people
Sending messages irrelevant , long and impersonal that do nothing for any of the parties involved cannot earn you a good reputation.
If you keep sending messages that only do spam other users, as soon as you send something meaningful, nobody will be interested read it or reply to you.
Prefer in this case to keep your messages and your InMails for professional contacts important people on LinkedIn .
Your contacts will appreciate hearing less from you but more qualitative concerning your sectors of activity or any other business-related subject.
Generally speaking, when you send connection requests on LinkedIn, be sure to privilege the quality rather than the amount .
An ideal trick to maximize engagement and responses without having to bulk up is, for example, to create as many points of contact with your targets, on the LinkedIn professional network and outside with smart sequences .
5. Don’t speak negatively about your competition (on LinkedIn or elsewhere!)
Social media can be such a space negative, this is also the case on LinkedIn .
People have had enough already and are constantly bombarded with marketing messages.
Not only does everyone want to belong to a community positive , proactive and sharing the same ideas , but posting negative messages about your competition is a sign of bad spirit .
Did you know that when you speak badly about someone, the people who listen to you attribute to you subconsciously all the negative?
In all areas, it is better to treat others with respect, as you would like to be treated … quite simply because people are not fooled!
Here is a good example of what it do not do :
In this example, after viewing this ad and the fake articles hidden therein: hundreds of new prospects and former users, aware that such aggressiveness is not trivial, have decided to discover LeadIn the following weeks!
Also, keep in mind that even when you comment on your behalf, people can attribute your opinion to the general attitude of the company for which you are currently working. Be careful, especially on LinkedIn which is, as we have already said, a network professional .
You represent your Mark , your business and the sector the same time.
6. Do not use automation
LinkedIn automation uses personalization tags to retrieve information from your prospect’s profile, which saves you time by repeating the same information.
For example, you can use the following tags on LeadIn :
·{{FirstName} } – First name
·{{LastName} } – Name
·{{Occupation} } – Job title
·{{CurrentCompany} } – Company Name
·{{YearsInCurrentCompany} } – Number of years in the current company
·{{TotalCareerPositionsCount} } – Number of professional experiences
·{{TotalYearsInCareer} } – Number of years of career
·{{CollegeName} } – Name of the university / school
It is essentially a custom tag that you can use for personalize each message depending on who you are talking to.
Finally, one of the main advantages of automation and prospecting on LinkedIn is that you have access to your campaign results and analytics at a glance. So you can see what is working and what you need to fix to improve your results.
If done right, LinkedIn automation can be a great way to win time , network and of generate leads on autopilot .
Check out our complete guide to automating LinkedIn posts to learn how to set up your first prospecting campaign using LeadIn today.
Conclusion
It’s good for this time!
We hope you have found this guide to LinkedIn networking helpful.
Engagement of people and brands on LinkedIn is the most strong it ever was.
Therefore, LinkedIn is not just your online resume. It reflects the way you do business and communicate with your prospects and your clients .
Everything that happens on LinkedIn has consequences … but follow our advice and you will be fine. 😎
That you want get more connections on LinkedIn , start to establish a network or simply generate more leads , you can start using LeadIn with a 14 day free trial and plan your prospecting campaigns accordingly.
Need help building a network on LinkedIn or don’t know where to start?
