5 Subtle Ways to Grow Your LinkedIn Network
You don’t have to have the loudest voice on LinkedIn to build your professional personal brand on the platform. Try these low-key LinkedIn networking tips.
Growing your network on LinkedIn doesn’t always need to be a loud display of your personal brand expertise and value. For a more subtle way to expand your network, aligned to your professional personal brand’s interests and expertise, consider the 5 low-key LinkedIn networking tips in this blog.
Are you an introvert trying to grow your personal brand on LinkedIn? Or perhaps you’re someone who fears more overt attempts to put your personal brand out there? Maybe sending invites to complete strangers feels too forward for your style? Try these LinkedIn networking tips for a more discreet way to grow your personal brand on LinkedIn.
1. SEO your LinkedIn Posts
Networking isn’t always about who you know. Sometimes it can be about who knows you. But first, your professional personal brand must be discoverable to your potential network and industry. So, SEO your LinkedIn posts. Consider what your potential network is searching for on LinkedIn and target these keywords in your posts.
I personally prefer to keep this simple. You don’t want to be pulling up your list of target SEO words every time you post on LinkedIn. Decide what piece of real estate you want to own in your audience’s mind. This might be a phrase or two. Work those into your posts as naturally as possible. Hashtags have become less relevant across all social media as discoverability technology has advanced. And on some other platforms, like X for example, it has certainly become less chic. But, while it’s still the norm on LinkedIn, it doesn’t hurt to add this extra optimisation to your LinkedIn post.
2. SEO your LinkedIn Profile
Your LinkedIn profile is where you can get a little more sophisticated with your LinkedIn SEO strategy. Determine the keywords you most want to target your LinkedIn profile to. Highlight these in your headline and your ‘Top Skills’ and weave these smartly through your ‘About Me’.
Outside of your top skills, expand your target SEO words further in your ‘Skills’ section. Like in Tip 1, when you SEO your LinkedIn profile, you become discoverable to other people.
Further to this, LinkedIn has one of the highest domain authorities of any site. Meaning, it’s trusted by Google. So, a well-optimised LinkedIn profile can pop up for search queries related to your expertise if your potential contacts decide to search via Google instead of directly on LinkedIn.
3. Engage with Industry Influencers
Follow the leader. Industry influencers have created a community around their personal brand’s focused field of expertise. Meaning, the people who follow them are interested in this topic. Engage with these industry influencers with thoughtful or insightful (not generic and forced) comments to increase the chances of your personal brand being discovered by those already actively interested in your area of expertise.
4. Connect in Niche Communities
Sending unsolicited LinkedIn connection invites can be daunting for some. Find common ground to make making connections much easier.
In You Are A Brand, Catherine Kaputa describes ‘The Similarity Principle’. Kaputa proposes this is one of the factors that influences your likeability in your network, saying:
“Finding common ground or relevance is a good networking tool and it also influences likeability. We like people who are similar to us in some way, whether it is personality, lifestyle, political beliefs, or an old-school tie.”
Join groups on LinkedIn that are more closely related to your unique personal brand value. If you went to university or college, your alumni group can be a great place to start, as you always have a shared experience that is easily recognisable at a glance of your profile. You become more than a stranger. You could also consider groups more specific to your industry. Apply the mindset in Tip 3 to build your personal brand presence in this more private space. You might also send connection requests to others in the group.
5. Convert Connections Across Platforms
Your LinkedIn network doesn’t have to start on LinkedIn. If you want to grow your LinkedIn network, make sure all your personal brand touchpoints continue to point to LinkedIn as a part of your key call to action. Where applicable, have a LinkedIn call to action on your personal brand website, YouTube channel, Podcast, blog and other social media accounts.
Growing your professional network on LinkedIn doesn’t always need to be about having the loudest voice for your personal brand on the platform. Over time, subtle social skills can build your LinkedIn network, forming a solid foundation for your personal brand to flourish.
