LinkedIn For Marketing: How To Make Valuable LinkedIn Connections
LinkedIn is an incredibly valuable professional social network.
It provides you with the opportunity to deepen existing network connections. It also allows you to capitalize on the networks of others in order to broaden your reach.
The powerful concept behind LinkedIn is that it allows us to find the right people for our business and careers AND connect with them.
It reveals the networks of the people we know, and also shows us our second and third-level network of people and how to connect with them as well.
Do you constantly receive LinkedIn requests to “connect” with people in your network and even some people you hardly know?
There’s a chance you are not into social media and do not want to put yourself out there for everyone to see.
On the other hand, you are also hearing that you have to be active on LinkedIn to make the right business and career connections.
You heard right.
Linkedin is an important social network to add to your arsenal and I talk more about why Linkedin is ONE social media network you don’t want to ignore in this video.
One Key Element of LinkedIn is MAKING CONNECTIONS.
Having people willing to connect with you is effectively an endorsement of your professional capability, so it’s definitely worth building your connection count.
This is where many people start to ask questions:
- Outside of the people you know and have worked with, how do you go about ‘building’ connections?
- How many connections do you need to be seen as a good prospect?
- Should you accept connection requests from anyone and everyone?
While the answers can vary, there are a couple of things you need to look out for as you go about building your extended LinkedIn network.
Making LinkedIn Connection
Making LinkedIn connections is a core fundamental of LinkedIn.
The ‘social’ in ‘social media’ dictates that establishing connections and interacting is an important element of the process.
The logic behind building connections is sound: Someone with a long career history but only twenty connections would probably suggest something’s not quite right.
While the actual number isn’t the be all and end all, it definitely is something to build on.
The number of connections you have basically informs the perception of any party looking at your profile the value and authenticity of your profile.
Having only a few LinkedIn connections suggests that other professionals aren’t willing to connect with you, and it’s not a great look.
It’s similar to a follower count on Twitter or Instagram.
Even though two thousand followers does not necessarily mean you’re influential, it is social proof that people are willing to connect with you and hear what you have to say.
How many connections do you need to ensure you’re representing yourself in the best possible way?
Various studies have been undertaken on the average number of connections on LinkedIn.
Most indicate that there’s about a 50-50 split between those who have more than 500 connections and those who don’t.
However, almost everyone agrees that 500 is the magic number.
LinkedIn doesn’t actually show how many connections you have beyond this. The public views number of connections you have will switch to ‘500+’ once you cross that 500-mark.
This is because LinkedIn’s intention is not to have it become a popularity contest, but to use the Linkedin connection count as some indicator of professional standing.
One of the best guidelines on how many LinkedIn connections you should have comes from social media marketing thought leader Neal Schaffer. His theory is that you should aim to have 10 times as many connections as your age.
This theory is built around the idea that you’re likely to meet well over ten people per year. In that case, you should be making the effort to connect with at least some of them.
If you are, then it’s not a stretch to imagine that ten connections per year could work – and if it doesn’t, it may be something to aspire towards.
Ultimately, your connections should matter, but the number itself is not the critically important point.
You should be seeking to establish connections with the right people and interacting with them.
There’s no point having two thousand connections if you’re not interacting with any of them either way.
In this video, I talk more about the value of new Linkedin connections.
The Key To Building Valuable Connections.
People tend to use LinkedIn in one of two different ways.
- Some connect with everybody to grow the largest network they can (open networkers)
- Others connect only with people they know well (exclusive networkers)
Ultimately, the way you use LinkedIn depends on what you are trying to achieve with it but for most people, being an open networker is the best way to go.
You never know what connection you will make that will transform your business or career.
The Right Way To Make New Connections On LinkedIn
When reaching out to connect with people on LinkedIn, timing and context are important.
It is good practice is to send people a message soon after you send them a connection request.
Here is a simple connection request message I use every time I send out a new connection request:
Download Your LinkedIn Connection Request Template
You’ll notice I am sure to establish common ground with them by telling them we’re in the same group, or know the same person or have the same interests, etc. This gives me a reason or basis to reach out to them.
This will also open the door to future conversations when the time is right.
(Related post: 3 Ways To Grow Your Business Using LinkedIn)
Using this connection request message template, I have built a network of over 1,800 connections from all over the world.
Who Should You Connect With?
My advice is that you should connect with everyone.
Even if they’re a competitor, if they reach out to connect with you, add them as a connection.
Anyone that reaches out to connect with you, add them.
It’s only going to help you get a larger network. It’s going to allow you to be found more.
When people search for keywords, you’ll be showing up higher on the search engines when you have more connections.
The more Linkedin connections you make, the more leads and opportunities that will come your way.
In the end, we’re all about growing our businesses.
LinkedIn provides a great marketing platform for professionals and organizations who want to:
- Spread awareness of their brand,
- Showcase their work, and
- Develop expertise and authority.
(Related Post: How To Use Proven LinkedIn Techniques To Generate More Leads)
What You Should Do Now
The first step is to update your profile.
(Related Video: How To Set Up A Complete LinkedIn Profile)
Next, start making connections and interacting with them.
Search for people in your industry on LinkedIn and connect with them.
Search for people that you want to do business with and can provide value to and connect with them.
In addition, send a connection request message to everyone you connect with using the template I shared. Download it here.
Make sure you are sharing your profile account as you interact with professionals outside LinkedIn.
Keep your profile updated and turn professional connections into opportunities to tell your business’s story.
