Whether you are a big business owner or on the lookout for a job, LinkedIn is for anybody who wants to create professional relationships, and find new opportunities to grow their careers.
Follow these tips to successfully network on LinkedIn:
- Create a standout profile
- Have engaging content
- Reach out and Interact
- Join Groups
Create a standout profile
Your profile on LinkedIn will be the first thing anybody you connect with will see. Whether they reached out to you, or you reached out to them. And as they say, first impressions are everything.
This is why it is important to make sure you have a standout profile. Think of your LinkedIn profile as your CV, besides making it look professional, it needs to have the following:
- A great headline of what you specialise in.
- Every section filled out and fully optimized.
- A professional profile photo.
An added advantage would be making use of keywords in your headline, summary, and experience. If another user on LinkedIn searches for a keyword that you have used in your profile, you are more likely to come up in search results.
Have engaging content
Showcase yourself as an expert in your field by sharing educational and engaging content. You can do this by publishing an article that you’ve read recently or even better, writing your own.
Creating a voice for yourself on LinkedIn will not only allow you to share your knowledge, but will also make networking much easier.
Reach out and Interact
Connections are everything on LinkedIn. Most times, the more connections you have, the more established you appear in your industry. However, that doesn’t mean you should add people blindly.
Connect with people in your industry that you could see yourself working with in the future, or could provide you with valuable insights.
Always send a personalised message when sending connection requests. Introduce yourself or explain why you wish to connect. If your request is accepted, comment, like and share their content to further engage with them.
Join Groups
A great way to make connections with people in your industry is by joining groups. Do a quick search using your keywords and you will find multiple groups to join. This will help to get your profile seen by hundreds of people in your industry, which will grow your network.
For this to be effective, you need to interact and be a valuable member of the group. Try and participate in discussions, answer questions and share relevant content.
Why is networking important?
The importance of networking might seem obvious, but below we have listed a few of its most invaluable benefits:
- You may gain a mentor
- Rare job opportunities
- Greater learning opportunities
- Professional support
For detailed explanations of the benefits of networking, read here.
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Author: Layla Theunissen
Last Updated: 19 January 2021