Three Hacks to Grow Your Network

At its core, LinkedIn is a social media platform, and that means the primary goal should be to socialize. The platform’s Velocity algorithm prioritizes content that it believes people find relevant, and the key to getting heard is to get as many interactions as you can on your post, in the shortest time possible.

While there are growth hacks for growing your network size significantly, such as connecting with LIONs or joining groups, the key to having a sustainable and engaged audience is to build positive relations within your connections. Here are three actions that you can take to make meaningful connections on Linkedin.

One, Connect.
LinkedIn’s search algorithm allows you to find people of interest fairly quickly, so make full use of that. Other than just searching for the name, you can also try finding alumni associations or industry groups. Linkedin allows you to send direct messages to people from the same group, so this lets you take a massive step towards getting that introduction opportunity. When you connect, make sure to send it with personal messages, so that the other party will be able to make that association, which in turn helps you to leave a deeper impression. One of the things that made a big difference to my network is to make connecting a habit. Whenever I finish a meeting, or end a project with my peers, I always send them a connection request, along with a few lines about how we met. In addition to helping me make a strong impression on them, this allows me to arrange faces in my head, and to match them to the occasion I met them in. An unintended benefit to come from this habit is that these connections started leaving me endorsements and recommendations, which I welcome.

Two, Comment.
The search bar in LinkedIn is so powerful, yet so underutilized. Because the algorithm pulls out posts with the keyword that you searched, arranged according to relevance, it allows you to zoom into hot topics that you might find closer to heart. You can easily find articles that you are a subject matter expert in and leave insightful comments to improve your credibility. Make sure to leave personal thoughts and anecdotes, instead of some cliche quotes or politically right statements. The more genuine you are, the more likely you will find like-minded people whom you can form a natural connection with. Always bear in mind that LinkedIn is a social media platform and not an academic circle. There is no correct answer for any statements or posts, so be open-minded when you are commenting. A method I have found useful is to begin by acknowledging the original posts before value-adding with my comment. Always go in with the mindset to share, and not to argue.

Three, Contribute.
Having an opinion on a trending post is different from having an original insight. By contributing original content, you are showing anybody who looks at your profile that you care deeply. This passion will be the catalyst with which many others will join your conversation. When you have a strong opinion on a hot topic, don’t hide under the piles of comments that make up any other posts. When you write your post or article, you are taking on an active role in building your network. Linkedin is a repository of insights, and if you pay attention to what people are saying, you can become a knowledgeable person too. If you are someone that needs a bit of inspiration from other sources, consider sharing some articles that you came across. Tap into the knowledge already present on LinkedIn, and curate it to your connections’ needs. Start discussions on your sharing with your own opinion or interpretation, arguing either for or against the article. Having two sides means you get twice as many eyeballs on your post.

Connecting blindly is not the way to build a meaningful network. With the 3 Cs listed above, you will take on a more active role in finding like-minded people to connect with, going from having tons of blind connections to an actual community.