We all know that having 500+ connections in LinkedIn makes a psychological impact on the viewers of our profile. We know this because we ourselves make judgments about others based on their number of connections. As it stands, you can have 20,000 connections and your profile will still say 500+. Getting to the magic 500 needs to be the goal if you want to be taken seriously.
There are many ways to get to 500+ and they are all surprisingly easy to implement. Even if you are a more selective networker and don’t want to open up your network to people outside your industry or area of expertise, you can still rack up the connections.
There are two fundamental approaches. Combining them is the fastest way to reach 500+ and beyond:
1. Do it yourself
2. Get others to help
Here’s how to put them into action.
1. Do it yourself
The best way to grow your connections is to take charge of it yourself. Use these tried-and-true methods to expand your network with the right people – from the past, present and future.
Past – Get up-to-date: Link the past with the present. Add to your existing contacts by reaching out to people from your previous companies, schools, internships, volunteer activities, and other formative experiences. Next, make LinkedIn your contact hub. Connect your email addresses and iPhone contacts through LinkedIn. This will allow you to reach out to a large number of contacts at once, no matter how long you’ve known them.
Present – Feed it to the LIONs (the relevant ones): LIONs are LinkedIn Open networkers. This is not a designation that was bestowed on them by LinkedIn. Members decide for themselves whether they want to be a LION or not. LIONs – as their name implies – are delighted to accept connection requests from virtually any other member. To find LIONs, perform an advanced search on individual people and enter “LION” in the last name field. (I can hear what you are thinking right now: “But I don’t want just anyone in my network; I only want relevant people.” Not to worry. Read on.) To get to just those LIONs who are relevant to you and your career or business, add content to the keywords, title, company and/or location fields. Then your search will yield a list of open networkers who would be valuable to add to your network. Send connection requests to add them to your growing list.
Present – Build your network deliberately: To get the right people in your network – those who are decision makers or influencers and those in your community of thought leaders, begin by performing a gap analysis. Know who is in your network so you can identify missing links. You might identify these missing connections by name, job title, industry, etc. Then it’s time to start building your network. In LinkedIn, you can do this by reaching out to individuals directly through a search, or connect with them through groups. When you reach out directly, send your connection requests through search instead of using the “connect” button in their profile. If you connect through a person’s profile, LinkedIn requires that you show how you are connected (via a company you worked for or a school you attended). That step is not required when use you use search. Search for the person you want to connect with, and then click “connect” next to their name in the search results. Remember to customize all LinkedIn requests; avoid the generic one.
Future – Make it a habit: Every time you meet someone you would like to have in your network, reach out immediately. Or better yet, keep the LinkedIn app open on your phone and add them as soon as you meet them. Turn this into a ritual so you will always keep your network up-to-date.
2. Get others to help You can accelerate the path to 500+ by enlisting others in your mission. For best results, you need to make it easy for people to add you to their connections. Here are four great ways to do that:
• Add a direct link to your email signature. Here’s how to customize your profile URL so you can easily direct people to it:
• Ask people to link to you during presentations. You can include a slide at the end requesting that the audience members connect with you on LinkedIn.
• Put your LinkedIn address on your stationery system – business cards, letterhead, thank you cards, etc.
• Put a direct link to your LinkedIn profile on your web site or portal.
And one last thing. 500+ has been the magic number for a while now. But that’s likely to change, especially since the new LinkedIn long-form publishing platform has added a new twist. If you have posts, LinkedIn shows your number of followers (which is your total number of connections plus those who just subscribe to your content).
By. William Arruda
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THE MARK CONSULTING & MARKETING