Marketers love LinkedIn. And rightfully so, because it can be a powerhouse of new connections and business opportunities.
But you don’t have to be a marketer to use LinkedIn like a marketer. In fact, LinkedIn is one of the easiest social platforms to master, as long as you’re consistent with your efforts.
As I tell folks, a powerful LinkedIn presence is built one connection and one day at a time.
Well, working toward that goal of daily LinkedIn mastery, I’ll share 5 habits that the best LinkedIn networkers use on a daily basis.
These habits will not only help you increase your profile visibility, but also enhance the quality of your current and future connections as well.
So, let’s dive right in!
1. Use the LinkedIn Connected app
If you haven’t done so already, download the LinkedIn Connected app right now. It is available for both iOS and Android, and it is distinct from the regular LinkedIn app (which I’m assuming you’re already using).
Here’s how LinkedIn describes Connected:
Connected is all about providing genuine opportunities for you to strengthen your relationships. It helps you reach out to people in your network when it matters most, so you can keep your network active and warm.
What is so great about LinkedIn Connected is that it allows you to engage with your network in a matter of minutes. Recently, I started incorporating just two minutes of using the app right into my morning routine.
In this small amount of time, I can swipe and tap my way through a number of job updates, work anniversaries, and more. By saying congrats or liking an update from my network, I can quickly and easily keep in touch with more folks than ever before, especially those who I don’t frequently interact with.
After all, what good is it to have a vast network of connections on LinkedIn if you don’t know what these folks are doing and they don’t know what you’re doing?
You can grab the iOS app here and the Android app here.
2. Recommend at least one person per day
Recommendations are very powerful on LinkedIn, much more so than endorsements. Why? Because giving someone a recommendation takes time. You actually have to write something meaningful. Ugh!
And the best way to get recommendations–yep, you guessed it–is by giving recommendations, so start typing.
I’ve tried giving five recommendations a day to five different people, but quickly burned out. That takes quite a bit of work, especially if you want these recommendations to be meaningful (which they should be).
So start by giving just one per day. That’s totally manageable. We’re talking about maybe two to five minutes, depending on how well you know the person you’re recommending and how much you enjoy writing.
After one month, that’s about 30 recommendations. If just a quarter of those folks reciprocate by recommending you back, you’ve just acquired around 7 new recommendations. Good job!
3. Engage in your favorite groups
Groups are another very powerful feature of LinkedIn, but only if you use them. You can begin by setting a timer for five minutes, and using that time to browse through a couple of LinkedIn groups that you’re a member of, and commenting as necessary.
You won’t believe what you can accomplish in just five minutes of activity. From new connection requests, to higher profile visibility, this small act will not only allow you to stay updated on the latest happenings in your industry, but it will help you position yourself as a thought leader in your space.
4. Connect with people you may know
LinkedIn has a nifty feature that recommends connections to you based on an algorithm. Called “People You May Know,” this can be accessed here.
As described by LinkedIn’s Data Team, it is quite a powerful tool:
People You May Know (PYMK) is LinkedIn’s link prediction system and one of the site’s most recognizable features. As the name implies, it tries to find other professionals you might know, allowing members to growth their networks. PYMK is now responsible for more than half the connections on the site and is a principal component of engagement.
It’s not a bad idea to spend one minute per day going through this list on a daily basis, and adding the connections that matter.
Whatever you do, don’t send a connection request to someone unless you actually know them. Again, it’s not about the number of connections you have, but the levels of awareness, authority, and trust you’ve built up with your connections.
5. Explore who’s viewed your profile
Lastly, as you know, LinkedIn shows you who has viewed your profile (unless they choose not to be shown). This has always intrigued me, as I wonder how differently we’d all use Facebook if a similar feature was in place.
Anyway, what I’ve noticed is that a lot of people will view my profile, but I’ll never hear from them after that. However, if I then click on their picture and view their profile, this will occasionally spark a conversation, because they’ll know that I know that they viewed my profile.
Huh? Read that last line again and it’ll hopefully make sense.
This is so simple when you think about it, but it works. So next time you see that someone has viewed your profile, go ahead and click on their profile. What do you have to lose?
Ready to give it a try?
Well, all of this might seem like a lot of work, but it really isn’t. You can get this routine down to 10 or 15 minutes a day, and if that lands you just one new job opportunity, client, speaking gig, or meaningful connection, it will have been worth it.
So give it a spin and let me know how it goes. And if you want to chat more about LinkedIn, I’m here to help. Send me an email or a tweet and I’ll get back to you with some more tips. Happy networking!
