How To Get More Connections On LinkedIn (And What To Do With Them)
You know LinkedIn is a professional social networking site - and - you set up a profile. When you think of it, you scroll the feed and like some posts. Then deep overwhelm sets in because you’re not really sure what you should be doing on the app so you close out the tab. Or you leave it open with the “promise” you’ll get back to it. #notastrategy
LinkedIn has become too important of a networking tool to be ignored. In fact, LinkedIn is becoming the new resume - and - it already serves as an extension of your current resume. (If you don’t have your LinkedIn URL as part of your resume header, add it. Make sure it’s short. Here’s how to customize your LinkedIn URL.)
Nearly 90% of recruiters use the platform to find candidates with 122 million people receiving an interview through LinkedIn, with 35.5 million having been hired by a person they connected with on the site. The top 5 countries by number of LinkedIn members are: U.S., India, Brazil, U.K., and Canada. If you have a business, Hubspot found that LinkedIn is 277% better for generating leads than Facebook or Twitter. It’s also considered “the most credible source of content.”
LinkedIn is not to be one more browser tab gone ignored (and to feel guilty about ignoring). It’s a place to actively search for jobs, promote yourself professionally, meet interesting people, and get to know the actual humans who work for companies on your watch list. I have seen firsthand how LinkedIn can open up whole new doors for careers. And it takes a consistent strategy. Let me show you how to get more connections on LinkedIn and what to do with them.
Getting more connections on LinkedIn starts with your LinkedIn profile.
Your LinkedIn profile is the way people get to know who you are and what you have to offer. I cover how to create a profile you’ll feel proud of in my micro-course, Your Profitable LinkedIn Profile. For now, I give you the cliff notes version. I recommend the course for a deep dive and “hand-holding” approach to build your profile.
Your LinkedIn profile photo matters.
If you still don’t have a profile picture, let’s start there. It needs to be professional (no friends/partner posing with you), we need to see your eyes, and you don’t want to look like you hate people. So a smile is a nice addition.
Use your LinkedIn cover photo real estate to express yourself.
Your LinkedIn cover photo (the photo behind your profile picture) is a billboard. What would you want your professional billboard to convey? A couple ideas: an inspiring quote on top of your favorite colors or a photo that aligns with your career goals with a link to your portfolio site, business site, or another social site you’re active on. You can create your LinkedIn cover photo on Canva.com, a free design site that makes you feel like a talented graphic designer. It already has LinkedIn cover photo templates to give you a headstart.
Your LinkedIn headline needs to go beyond your current role.
Your LinkedIn headline is the space below your name and will be what helps a potential connection decide if you’re worth their time or not. LinkedIn will automatically populate your headline with your current or latest job title. Don’t settle for this.
Use this space to share aspirational keywords about what you have to offer. If you want to be a speaker and attract speaking opportunities, add the word “Speaker” to your headline. If you want to write more, add the word “Writer.” Have some fun with your headline! We’re now getting into the strategic part of LinkedIn.
Your LinkedIn About section has less to do with you and more to do with who you want to connect with.
This has less to do with you and more to do with your reader. Which means you need to figure out who you want your reader to be.
Are you looking for a new job in healthcare administration? The readers are healthcare recruiters.
Are you looking for new leads for your service-based business? The readers are the clients you’d like to serve.
Are you on LinkedIn to meet interesting people in your industry who are also looking to further their careers? Those are your readers!
You can’t be everything to everyone. Nor should you want to be. Focus on the emotions and mental state of the folks you DO want to attract and connect with through LinkedIn. Speak to those in your About section while talking about your:
Background
Expertise
Skills and Strengths
You can even pepper in a quote or two from people you’ve worked with and helped. Look at your LinkedIn recommendations to see if there’s a line or two you can borrow to add to your About section. Don’t have LinkedIn recommendations? I wrote about how to ask for and use recommendations and reviews here.
At the end, make an offer to connect. In marketing speak, this is your “call-to-action.”
Example: “Like what you read? Let’s connect for a virtual coffee chat. Feel free to email me at lindsey@lindseylathrop.com to set up a time.”
Yes, it’s okay to include your email address IF you’d like people to email you. In fact, I encourage you to make it super easy for the reader to take the next step with you. Have an online calendar like Calendly? Include the booking link. See! You’re being strategic already.
I’m going to stop there because there’s so much more to get into when it comes to your LinkedIn profile. As I mentioned, I’ve created a resource to help you craft a LinkedIn profile you feel proud of.
What to do with the LinkedIn connections that you’ve made.
Before we talk about finding more LinkedIn connections, let’s talk about the connections you already have. If you’ve ever worked retail, you know it’s easier to sell to people inside the store than it is to get people to walk through the door.
The people already walking around your store are your existing contacts. They’re waiting for you to initiate the next step. Just like a retail salesperson.
A note about sales: If the word “ sales” makes you uncomfortable, that is something you’ll want to dig into. When you’re “selling” something, whether that’s a product, service, or your skills, it simply means listening to understand whether what you have to offer is a good fit for them, and if it is, making the actual offer. It does not mean pressuring them to buy. You can’t make anyone do anything, even if your brain tells you that’s what sales means.
Your existing LinkedIn connections are there for you to interact with. Otherwise they wouldn’t have accepted your request to connect.
How do you initiate a conversation with your LinkedIn connections?
Before you initiate a conversation with any LinkedIn connection (using LinkedIn’s messaging feature), head to their profile and check out their Activity. If they haven’t been active for 90 days (LinkedIn will tell you that), the platform isn’t going to be a good way to get in touch. See if you can find their email which some people list in the Contact Info. section of their profile.
If you do find Activity, see who and what they’re commenting on and writing about. There may be a good nugget or two there that you can reference in your message.
For example, if they published a LinkedIn article about how companies can make the most of hybrid work arrangements, your message to them could be something like:
“Hey [name]! I enjoyed reading the article you recently published on hybrid work. Your point about _____ stuck out to me because ______. If you’re up for it, let’s catch up in the next week or two. A few options to get us started are: [date and time], [date and time], and [date and time]. Any of those possibilities for you?”
Do your research. People will be way more likely to reply if you reference something they’re a part of. It shows you’ve done your homework.
If it’s someone you don’t know or don’t know well, be straightforward about why you want to connect further. Don’t bury the lead. People will not respond to you. If you want to know what it’s like to work for their company, message something like:
“I just applied for the _____ position at your company. I am so curious to know what it’s like to work in your department. Would you be open to sharing a little about your experience over a 20 minute call? A few options to get us started are: [date and time], [date and time], and [date and time]. Any of those possibilities for you?”
How do you stay connected with (and leverage) your LinkedIn connections?
The overwhelm is real when it comes to staying connected with your LinkedIn connections. It’s not realistic to try to stay current and in touch with all your contacts. My advice here is to think about who is most important to your current career goals.
Looking for a job? Prioritize recruiters and connections who work in the industry / company you’re aiming for.
Looking for client leads? Prioritize connections who fall in your ideal client zone.
Looking for speaking or writing opportunities? Prioritize connections with your ideal audience.
Have a list of 5-10 people you are actively working on building relationships with at any given time. This list is meant to evolve. It’s not meant to remain static. However, if there’s someone you really enjoy, make a note on your calendar to check-in with them again in a few months. Add notes to the calendar event you’ve created about what you talked about so you can easily pick up the conversation again.
How to add value to a LinkedIn connection to strengthen your relationship.
If you have no idea what to message to a LinkedIn connection, you’re not alone. This is what stops most of us from reaching out in the first place. It feels inauthentic to message “out of the blue.” I want you to think about the last time someone contacted you to let you know they were thinking about you. How did it feel? I know for me, I appreciate these messages. It’s nice to be thought of!
It’s even better if someone sends me an article, podcast, book recommendation or tells me about someone they think I’d be interested in meeting, with an offer to make the introduction. However - this is important: they need to tell me why. Why are they recommending I listen to this podcast? Or meet this person? What made them think of me?
Please provide context when you send a resource to your LinkedIn connections. Also remember - no one likes to be blindsided by an introduction that was not requested. It feels like getting assigned homework that you don’t have time for. That’s the last feeling you want to create for your LinkedIn network.
How to leverage your LinkedIn connections without feeling like you’re using them.
It’s absolutely okay (and normal) to leverage your professional connections as long as you have a relationship with them. In fact, in the book How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, or Job - Habit #4 is “Building Rather Than Leveraging Relationships.” Women are socialized to not want others to feel like they’re using them. Women are taught that it is self-serving to ask someone for help, while discounting all the times they’ve helped others and all the ways they show up for others. Bottom line: women downplay their power (and their help).
The authors of the book, Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith, point out that leveraging relationships is different from building them in these four ways:
1. Leverage is always reciprocal, based on a quid pro quo. You both get something out of it. That should be very clearly stated. Example: "By partnering, you get experience facilitating a workshop and I get your help promoting the event.
2. Leverage is used to achieve both tactical and strategic goals. I think of tactical goals as "right now" goals and strategic goals as future/vision goals.
3. Leverage is highly intentional. You know what you both want out of the relationship. If that's not clear, you'll both be in the resentment zone in no time.
4. Leverage brings distinctive rewards. You get something of value out of it.
If you're a natural connector and helper, put these superpowers to work by finding out what strengths, skills, and networks your LinkedIn connections have to offer you. You'll not only get the support you need, you’ll make the other person feel good about being able to offer you something. Win win!
5 prompts to find more connections on LinkedIn that add value to your career.
If your inbox is anything like mine, it’s full of LinkedIn connection requests - some from people you recognize and others from total strangers. How do you know if you should accept a LinkedIn request to connect? If they don’t include a note (ALWAYS include a note in your LinkedIn connection requests) - check their profile out and see if you can spot any potential commonalities. You get to decide whether to deny the request or take the extra step to ask what motivated them to reach out.
You do not have to accept every request you receive. The last thing you want is for your LinkedIn network to be filled with people you don’t ever intend to connect with.
Beyond your existing connections, how do you find more connections on LinkedIn that add value to your career? I have five prompts for you to consider:
Given your career goals, what kind of people are important for your next steps?
Who is someone intriguing from the last event/webinar/masterclass you attended?
What are your favorite topics to research and read about right now? Who is speaking and working on them?
Who is someone you work with (or in your industry) you’d like to get to know better?
What is a company or organization you’re curious to get to know better?
LinkedIn makes it easy to search for people. You can search by:
Actual names (if you have it)
Job title
Company name
Topic
Groups
Events
For example: you are searching for the recruiter of a company you’ve had your eye on. Go to the search bar of LinkedIn and type in the company name. View the company page and click on “People” and type in “Recruiter” in the search bar. There you go!
Another example: you are looking for a conference to attend that aligns with your professional interests. Go to the search bar of LinkedIn and type in the interest + the word “conference” and see what comes up.
The goal here is to give yourself time to explore. You never know who you will find that could open a door for you.
How to network in LinkedIn groups.
LinkedIn groups are a great way for people to get to know you and to expand your LinkedIn connections. My advice with groups is to go deep, not shallow. Choose 1-2 groups to add value in, instead of trying to be part of 3 or more. You will quickly burn yourself out. Here are some ways to be active in a LinkedIn group:
Answer questions. Scroll through the group to find questions you can answer or provide perspective on.
Post resources that you think would add value to the group’s members.
Ask the group what they’re hoping to get out of it.
Let them know why you’re there and ask for their help. If you have a specific request, ask it. You will find that people respond to you the more specific you are.
How to build a networking habit on LinkedIn.
To build your comfort with networking on LinkedIn, you must block time to do it.
The math is simple: time on LinkedIn + strategy I just covered = your reward.
Break down the tasks that I listed above and block time on your calendar right now.
Need to update your profile? Find a friend who also needs to do this and buddy up. Meet on Zoom and co-work together for 90 minutes. 45 minutes are for updating (I have a course for this) and 45 minutes are spent giving each other feedback. Voila!
Need to determine who among your existing LinkedIn connections are most important to network with right now given your career goals? Okay. Set time aside to do that.
Need to actually message those people? Okay. Set time aside to do that.
Need to find 3 job opportunities to apply to? Okay. Set time aside to do that.
This will not get done on it’s own. You have to prioritize it. And when you do, you will see results.
Looking for more LinkedIn profile support?
If you’re still feeling stuck on crafting your LinkedIn profile, I suggest you invest in my course, Your Profitable LinkedIn. It walks you through each step from your LinkedIn cover photo to your recommendations and groups to create a profile you’ll feel confident networking with.
