Getting Started With LinkedIn: How to Grow Your LinkedIn Network Fast In 4 Steps

4 More Fail-Proof Ways To Significantly Start Building And Expanding Your LinkedIn Network Really Fast

Networking on LinkedIn is about connecting with people (in your industry) you do not know as well as people you already know. In this post, you’ll discover 4 more ways to grow your LinkedIn network fast, with people you do not know (yet). The methods are different for connecting with each type of contact on Linkedin.

In part 1 of this series, we covered 4 methods of adding up to 500 more connections on LinkedIn.  achieves).

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NOTE: The purpose of these LinkedIn tutorials is for you to use responsible marketing by first building relationships with the new connections you make and NOT to SPAM them with unsolicited messages in the name of “marketing” your products, services or business opportunities.

Unlike other social media networks, LinkedIn members ignore ‘irresponsible marketing gimmicks’ and you risk getting banned if you spam on LinkedIn.

If you’re online for business, you’ll be looking to find and profit from your ideal customers on LinkedIn, right?. With this post and the previous one, you should be able to increase your LinkedIn network. The other part of converting those contacts to leads and salesis what is covered in details by Lewis here. I encourage you to

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Grow LinkedIn Network #1: Ask And Answer Questions On “LinkedIn Answers”

Everyone likes to hook up with the ‘smart kids on the block’ and it’s the same on online social networks like LinkedIn. The more helpful you are, the more invites you are likely to receive from others AND business too. Responding to LinkedIn answers in your niche will attract targeted customers, wow them and make them come to your website for more. LinkedIn Answers allows you to enter 3 website URLs as references, for each answer provided.

How LinkedIn Answers Led to $250,000 New Sales [Case Study]: Here’s a YouTube video interview this man who used LinkedIn answers to bring in a quarter million dollars business to his company. You too can, if you regularly add value to your ideal clients through LinkedIn answers. LinkedInfluence goes in-depth on more and detailed how-tos for getting clients and sales from LinkedIn.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feTZWBE8QwI&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Grow LinkedIn Network #2: Join Relevant LinkedIn Groups and Participate In Discussions

#1: Join LinkedIn groups related to your own field or market niche. That’s where you will meet and network other people – who knows where your next deal will come from? LinkedIn allows 50 groups but 15 first for a new account.

LinkedIn groups is one of the strategies to gain more exposure and ideal clients, to you and your brand – the more you get out there and get noticed, the more likely you’ll receive LinkedIn connection invites from others, that is assuming you add expert value to discussions.

#2: After joining LinkedIn groups relevant to your business, start engaging and interacting – that’s how you’ll be noticed and attract your ideal client. Jump  into the discussions – add valuable comments to other people’s posts on the groups, help out other members by answering their questions, ask for help if you need one, send direct messages to group members, share other members’ comments

Another reason to participate in groups is that LinkedIn emails group discussions to group members – so that get your message exposed to more people, meaning likelihood of receiving more invites if you add value to discussions.

#3: To find a LinkedIn group or sub-group (in your market niche) to join, search under “Groups” with your keyword and be sure to look at number of members and activity (number of posts shared;

Grow LinkedIn Network #3: Send LinkedIn Invites to Connect With Other People

While you’ll be getting other people invite you to connect with them on LinkedIn, you can also grow your LinkedIn connection significantly if you invite more people to connect with you. Their first level connections are likely to notice you (via LinkedIn search or other means) and request to connect with you.

Important Note: To avoid being labelled as a spammer and getting banned, only invite people in any of these categories:

• Current and past colleagues: You are colleagues at one of the companies you listed under employment in your profile
• Classmates: You are classmates in any of the schools you listed as attended
• Business acquaintances: You have done business at one of the companies you listed under employment in your profile
• Group members: You belong to same LinkedIn Group (no need to know the person’s email address. Just select the group you both belong to). Can you see why joining groups is a good way of making it easy to connect with people you do not know previously, who may be your target customer.

Note that in some of the LinkedIn invite options, you will be required to enter the person’s email address.

Here are other great ways to expand your LinkedIn Network:

A: Send LinkedIn invitations to:

• Current and past clients (and be sure to request for their recommendations, after they accept). ALWAYS ensure to customize the LinkedIn connection invite note, whenever you invite other people to your network;
• Your blog subscribers, when you email them – place a text link of your LinkedIn profile and ask them to connect with you
• Some of your LinkedIn group members you have interacted with or seen their contributions on the group
• Other bloggers you have become friends with, in the blogosphere
• Your Facebook and Twitter followers

B: Other ways to grow your LinkedIn connection from outside LinkedIn:

• Place the LinkedIn connection badge or button on your blog sidebar so that your readers can see it and follow you on LinkedIn
• Place your LinkedIn connection button or text link as email signature
• Use the LinkedIn people search to Search for old classmates or work colleagues – simply send LinkedIn connection invitation to those you think you have something in common with.

NOTE: To expand your connection with people you do not yet know, it is safer to join groups and add group members OR Join the Open Networkers Group OR find a first level connection who knows the person you want to invite, THEN ask him/ her to introduce you to that connection (via LinkedIn Introduction).

Grow LinkedIn Connection #4: Show Social Proof (Get and Give LinkedIn Recommendation)

Your recommendations display on your LinkedIn profile – that is, the people that endorse / recommend you on LinkedIn and those that you endorse.

Before other people invite you to their LinkedIn network or accept your invitation, they are likely to check out your profile and that has a great deal to do with their accepting or ignoring your LinkedIn connection request. See why it’s important to put up a good profile?

Social proof increases belief, trust and confidence of a prospective customer or client.

Your LinkedIn profile is what people searching LinkedIn for a solution provider (in your field) will see. There’s a section for “recommendation” – it’s a proof of your ability and your claims.

Why is LinkedIn recommendation powerful? In a world where people have to do business virtually, the next best thing to verifying your claims is to check out your recommendation. Many companies who head-hunt via LinkedIn Jobs and direct contacts usually state that respondents with recommendations will be given preferential treatments over others. Are you beginning to see how it works?

Important: Endeavour to request for recommendation via LinkedIn from your clients and customers every time you successfully complete a service delivery or project. A lot of business people are now on LinkedIn, so that makes it easy finding a client on there, to ask for a recommendation.

What about your old, happy customers/ clients? Send them a request for recommendation via your LinkedIn page.

Resources and Tips on Giving and Receiving LinkedIn Recommendation

Also Recommend Others: Do to others as you’d like them do to you – Ensure to also give honest recommendation to others you have provided a service for and vice-versa, when they ask for it. What should you say when writing recommendation for others?

• Here’s a guide to writing good LinkedIn recommendations plus sample.

Don’t Do this: Occasionally, some LinkedIn members ask for recommendations from those they have never had any dealings with. Instead of accepting and writing a vague recommendation, simply decline; also be sure not to request for recommendations from LinkedIn contacts that don’t know you or your business enough.

• Here are examples of the types of ineffective LinkedIn recommendations you should not give or get or accept

Putting It All Together: Your Next Steps

Now is time to take action – put what you’ve read above to practice, to work for you. So, here are your 5 action steps to start growing your LinkedIn Network, beginning from today.

1. Become active on LinkedIn: Participate in LinkedIn Answers – ask and answer questions
2. Join active LinkedIn groups in your field/ market AND be active there. Contribute to discussions posted in the groups and/ or start a discussion.
3. Send out connection invites to people you know, done business with before, belong to same LinkedIn groups etc. And start by inviting Stella (me) to connect with you on LinkedIn.
4. Get Social Proof – ask for recommendations from past, happy customers clients and after every successful project; also ask past office colleagues and past classmates to endorse you on LinkedIn. Be sure to also recommend others you’ve worked with or done business with;
5. Follow the tutorials in LinkedInfluence, if you want to use LinkedIn to generate new sales and new deals.

• Here’s the link to the LinkedIn blueprint Lewis is using to constantly making a kill on LinkedIn, every month

Finally…

What we have covered in part 1, and now part 2 of the “Getting started with LinkedIn for Business” is just like scratching the surface of what you can do to get results on LinkedIn. There’s so much that I cannot possibly cover in 1 or more posts. LinkedInfluence goes into more depth and details of the What to do AND How to do them to build and convert your your LinkedIn connections.

As always, thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments and hearing how your LinkedIn contacts are increasing.

Comment and Share:

• If you enjoyed reading this post, please help get one friend out there to learn how to grow and nurture their LinkedIn network
• Let’s discuss this post – leave me a comment to let me know you came, read and loved this post:)

I’ll see you on the comments side,

Stella