LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over 660 million members worldwide. Having a strong LinkedIn presence and networking skills can help you build connections, find job opportunities, generate leads for your business, and much more. However, networking on LinkedIn goes beyond just connecting with people – you need to nurture those relationships and engage meaningfully as well. Here are some tips on how you can improve your LinkedIn networking skills:
Optimize your profile
Your LinkedIn profile is often the first impression people will get of you on the platform. That’s why it’s crucial to have an up-to-date, informative profile that effectively communicates who you are and what you have to offer. Some ways to optimize your profile include:
- Having a professional headshot photo
- Crafting a compelling headline and summary section
- Highlighting your skills, experience, education, certifications, awards
- Obtaining recommendations and endorsements
- Including media like images, presentations, videos, blog posts
- Customizing your profile URL
An optimized profile shows you are serious about networking on LinkedIn and allows viewers to quickly learn about you. It also helps you come up in LinkedIn searches.
Expand your network
The foundation of networking is making connections. On LinkedIn, focus on quality over quantity – aim to build a network with relevant contacts you want to create or nurture relationships with. Some ways to expand your network include:
- Connecting with colleagues, clients, partners, peers in your industry
- Following relevant companies to keep up with news and job postings
- Joining industry-specific LinkedIn Groups to meet like-minded professionals
- Following LinkedIn influencers, thought leaders, experts in your field
- Using the “People You May Know” section to find mutual connections
- Importing email contacts who are already on LinkedIn
A bigger network gives you access to more insights and opportunities. But focus on connecting meaningfully rather than indiscriminately mass connecting.
Engage with your network
Networking is a two-way street – you need to engage with your connections to build rapport and demonstrate your value. Here are some ways to engage with your network:
- Congratulate connections on big milestones like promotions, birthdays
- Like and comment on connections’ posts to show you pay attention
- Share insightful content like articles, videos that your network would find value in
- Recommend connections for jobs, projects, opportunities you come across
- Write personalized messages when sending connection requests
- Follow up after meeting someone new on LinkedIn
By actively engaging, you become a more valuable member of your network’s community. This builds social capital that develops mutually beneficial relationships.
Join LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn Groups are a great way to connect with professionals in a specific industry, niche, or common interest area. By joining relevant Groups, you can:
- Tap into a targeted network to generate leads or recruit talent
- Establish yourself as a subject matter expert
- Give and receive advice by crowdsourcing perspectives
- Learn about events, job openings, and industry news
- Find answers via Group Q&As
But avoid being spammy – add value by sharing insights and contributing thoughtfully.
Follow companies
Following companies you are interested in or have worked with is a low-effort way to keep up with their news and job postings. Benefits include:
- Learning about new products, services, projects at these companies
- Gaining insider perspective into company culture from employees
- Seeing company achievements and milestones
- Staying on their radar for future job opportunities
- Getting introduced to employees at these companies
Following relevant companies allows you to deepen relationships and be the first to know about potential partnerships, collaborations, or openings.
Use LinkedIn’s tools
Take advantage of LinkedIn’s expanding array of tools to maximize your networking. Useful tools include:
- LinkedIn Jobs – Receive recommendations for relevant job openings based on your profile and activity.
- Open to Work – Signal that you are looking for new job opportunities to recruiters.
- Elevate – Share posts that showcase your expertise and perspective.
- Content suggestions – Discover trending content in your industry to share.
- Creator mode – Publish your written, audio, and video content on LinkedIn to build authority.
- Events – Attend or host virtual events to connect, learn, and grow your network.
Leverage these tools so LinkedIn can work even harder for your networking needs.
Ask for recommendations
Recommendations on LinkedIn function like testimonials for your skills and work. By asking trusted connections to write you recommendations, you can:
- Showcase your qualities and achievements through others’ perspectives
- Strengthen relationships with those connections
- Build credibility that you are a top player in your industry
- Highlight skills and competencies to recruiters
- Return the favor by writing recommendations for your network
Quality recommendations add social proof and validation about the value you bring. But avoid asking strangers or distant contacts.
Stay engaged with content
Commenting on and liking content posted by your network shows you are paying attention and care. Doing so helps you:
- Get onto the radar of relevant connections interacting with content
- Spark meaningful exchanges by responding to insights
- Position yourself alongside thought leaders by engaging with their content
- Increase likelihood your content will also be viewed, liked, and shared
- Demonstrate expertise and perspective when commenting with value
This drives active engagement that nurtures relationships, rather than passive consumption of content.
Share and post strategically
What you share and post shapes how others perceive you. Be strategic about what you share to:
- Build your brand and areas of expertise through relevant industry articles, insights
- Inspire and entertain your network with motivational and humorous content
- Curate content from influencers and thought leaders to stay connected
- Drive discussions by posting open-ended questions and polls to engage your network
- Get on the radar of connectors by sharing their content and recognizing them
This establishes your thought leadership and gets more eyeballs from the right people on your content and profile.
Personalize connection requests
Taking the time to personalize connection requests sets you apart from spammy automated invitations. You can personalize by:
- Mentioning where you met them or a shared connection
- Referencing their background that intrigued you to connect
- Explaining specifically why you want to connect with them
- Posing a unique question to continue the conversation
- Structuring invites like a thoughtful email introduction
This makes the outreach more meaningful and genuine, increasing the likelihood they will accept and engage.
Follow up after meeting someone
Following up after connecting with someone new on LinkedIn helps move the relationship forward. Useful follow up tactics:
- Connect on LinkedIn if you only exchanged business cards
- Send relevant articles, resources based on conversation topics
- Mention something specific you enjoyed talking about
- Reiterate any shared plans made for collaborating, connecting further
- Express interest in continuing the conversation over coffee or on a call
Following up while things are still fresh establishes you are interested in an ongoing relationship.
Give back to your network
Look for opportunities to give back and add value to your network by:
- Recommending connections for openings, gigs, projects that would interest them
- Writing recommendations for connections who you respect
- Offering advice, mentorship, or other support to developing professionals in your field
- Congratulating connections on major milestones and achievements
- Sharing connections’ content, amplifying their personal brand and thought leadership
Giving back fosters goodwill and motivates others to also add value to their network.
Don’t overdo it
While an active presence on LinkedIn is key, avoid going overboard. Tactics to avoid:
- Spamming all connections with frequent, duplicative messages
- Aggressive following and messaging people you have no relationship with
- Posting too much repetitive content
- Making every post sound like a sales pitch
- Only discussing surface-level topics like the weather
- Inundating feed with motivational quotes and overused content
The key is balance – engage actively but selectively with quality over quantity approaches.
Listen more than you talk
Resist the temptation to talk about yourself. Instead, focus on listening and learning when networking:
- Ask thoughtful questions to understand connections’ experiences
- Listen without thinking about what you will say next
- Share connections’ content to demonstrate you paid attention
- Avoid making every conversation about you and your accomplishments
- Comment on posts by highlighting insights that resonated with you
Good networking is about give and take. Master the art of active listening.
Keep an open mind
Networking exposes you to diverse perspectives and unexpected opportunities. Maintain an open mindset by:
- Connecting with people outside your immediate industry or niche
- Following companies in adjacent spaces to expand horizons
- Joining Groups beyond your core interests
- Engaging with connections who think differently than you
- Exploring trending topics on LinkedIn Learning to broaden knowledge
You never know where a new perspective or chance connection may lead.
Don’t make it all about networking
While networking is important, avoid treating every LinkedIn interaction as a calculated networking ploy. Ways to develop more organic relationships include:
- Congratulating milestones simply because you’re happy for someone, not just to connect
- Praising someone’s work or ideas because you genuinely appreciate it
- Commenting on posts to share a reaction, not just to be visible
- Following companies because you are a customer who finds value
- Joining Groups aligned with personal interests, not just professional ones
Networking should feel like developing real relationships, not just transactions.
Track your progress
Measure your LinkedIn networking efforts over time to see what is moving the needle. Metrics to monitor:
- Profile views
- New followers
- Accepted connection requests
- Engagement on published posts
- Growth of Groups you’ve joined
- InMail response rate
Course correct what isn’t working. Double down on tactics that generate results.
Make use of analytics
Tap into LinkedIn’s analytics to get insights about your networking impact. Analyze:
- Who is viewing your profile
- Which types of posts attract the most engagement
- How your page views and followers have trended
- What content resonates most with your audience
- Which Groups and companies you interact with generate the best leads
These insights help you optimize approach and strengthen relationships.
Don’t get discouraged
Networking and relationship building take sustained effort. If progress stalls, stay motivated by:
- Remembering networking requires patience and persistence
- Focusing on smaller wins like quality new connections vs quantity
- Exploring new tactics if current approach isn’t working
- Taking a break to avoid burnout
- Measuring progress from a long-term perspective
Ups and downs are normal. Stick with it and your network will steadily grow.
Make use of premium features (optional)
LinkedIn’s premium paid tiers unlock features to take your networking up a level. Useful premium features include:
- Seeing full profiles of anyone, even if not directly connected
- Knowing who viewed your profile
- Seeing how you rank on profile searches
- Removing LinkedIn ads
- Accessing more advanced analytics
- Sending unlimited InMail messages
Premium isn’t mandatory, but gives you an added edge if networking is a priority.
Stay up to date
LinkedIn frequently rolls out new features and ways to connect. Stay current by:
- Regularly checking notifications and digest emails
- Following LinkedIn’s Pulse blog
- Reading help documentation for tips
- Participating in LinkedIn user research surveys
- Subscribing to relevant hashtags and creators
- Exploring your homepage and profile for new options
Mastering the latest features lets you network seamlessly and effectively.
Don’t forget basic etiquette
While networking on LinkedIn has unique aspects, general etiquette rules still apply:
- Be polite and professional in messages
- Respect others’ time by keeping communications focused
- Follow up when promising to connect or send information
- Express gratitude for help and opportunities
- Give credit when sharing content from others
Good manners make positive impressions and are noticed.
Conclusion
Mastering LinkedIn networking is about consistency, strategy, and genuine relationship building. Focus on nurturing quality connections, engaging thoughtfully, and adding value for others. Be patient, leverage tools strategically, and focus on listening more than talking. By improving these networking fundamentals, you can build a thriving professional community that fosters opportunities.