As an early adopter of LinkedIn, our Co-Founder and Managing Partner Mark Schmukler maintains more than 8,500 connections and followers. The platform has been instrumental in helping him tap into existing relationships and form new ones to assist peers, build his career and grow Sagefrog into one of the top B2B marketing agencies in the region.
Like most social media platforms, LinkedIn is constantly evolving and has recently updated its look and functionality. If you’re looking to make more connections on LinkedIn – the top-performing social platform for B2B professionals – it’s important to stay on top of the platform’s updates to take full advantage of new features.
Here are five of Mark’s favorite ways to get LinkedIn views and make valuable connections. Each tip below includes a visual example to help illustrate how to best build your network. To view Mark’s full list of tips, check out his article here.
1. Keyword optimize your profile title using relevant phrases like “marketing” or “B2B marketing”
Including keywords in your title is an easy and resourceful way to get discovered on LinkedIn. This space allows you to freely advertise who you are and what you do in 120 characters. Your LinkedIn title is a great way to be found through search, so be sure to do some research on relevant keywords, phrases and locations.
2. Regularly share useful content
Sharing content has become an invaluable strategy for expanding your reach both on the web and on LinkedIn. Every time you share content on LinkedIn, your connections are notified and reminded that you’re a useful connection. Consistently sharing high-quality information can establish you as a thought leader and go-to resource for a particular topic. After continuously providing relevant content, your connections will be more likely to share your material and introduce you to a larger audience.
3. Change your profile settings from “Anonymous” to “Public” and switch on “Notify Your Network” when updating your profile
Changing your privacy setting to public will make you more accessible not only to the LinkedIn community, but also to anyone who searches for you on the Internet. Making your profile more available to others online will broaden your reach significantly. It’s also important that you turn on “notify your network” so that your connections are alerted of your recent activity, like when you publish new content or experience a work anniversary. These notifications encourage your network to check out your activity or revisit your page, which might lead to more shares of your content and more connections.
4. Add a LinkedIn button to your email signature and other client touchpoints
It’s a great idea to include a LinkedIn button in your email signature to make quick and easy connections with new email recipients and people you reach out to on a regular basis. It’s more than likely that someone you communicate with via email is also someone you might want to connect with on LinkedIn. When reaching out to someone for the first time via email, a link directly to your work experience can also boost your credibility.
5. Cross-promote your LinkedIn profile on other social media channels and add it to account profiles
Cross-promoting on social media is a great way to actively grow your network. If you have followers on other channels who might be interested in forming a connection on LinkedIn, you should promote your profile across these various platforms. Even less formal channels such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Instagram can help you link with new people to expand your network and bring in new opportunities.
LinkedIn has quickly become a very popular, and arguably necessary, social media platform used by the majority of business professionals. If your LinkedIn profile is properly optimized, it can function as a powerful tool that allows you to continuously grow and diversify your network.
Are you interested in B2B social media marketing services? Contact Sagefrog Marketing Group today.
