10 Tactics to Grow Followers:
- Share an industry-related post or article once per week, tagging relevant influencers.
- Post a poll on a trending topic in your field to encourage engagement.
- Comment on popular posts from industry leaders to increase your visibility.
- Share career or personal milestones to show authenticity and draw attention.
- Write a short post sharing a key insight or tip from your field of expertise.
- Write a post asking for recommendations on new industry trends, then connect with people who comment.
- Share a story or lesson learned from a challenge you’ve overcome at work.
- Post about new industry trends or technology and ask for feedback.
- Share an opinion on industry news and encourage others to join the conversation.
- Share a short list of key resources (books, podcasts, tools) and ask others to add their recommendations.
- Engage with followers by responding thoughtfully to comments on your posts.
10 Tactics to Grow Followers:
- Share content consistently (at least twice a week), tagging key industry players or companies.
- Create a series of posts (e.g., weekly tips or insights) to keep your audience engaged.
- Share a LinkedIn post summarizing key insights from a recent webinar or event.
- Use LinkedIn Stories to share daily insights or “behind the scenes” content.
- Post a thought-provoking question or industry challenge and encourage discussion.
- Record and share short video tips or advice on common industry challenges.
- Share success stories from your work, showcasing measurable results or learnings.
- Write an article on LinkedIn about a niche subject in your industry, then promote it across your network.
- Collaborate on a joint post or project with a peer to cross-promote and attract followers from their network.
- Share a list of influential people you follow in your industry and tag them in the post.
10 Tactics to Grow Followers:
- Host a LinkedIn Live session regularly, encouraging your connections to follow you for updates.
- Share in-depth industry insights or case studies in long-form articles to attract high-quality followers.
- Organize a series of LinkedIn Events, inviting your connections and encouraging them to follow you.
- Collaborate with another influencer or thought leader on a co-authored post or article.
- Run a LinkedIn challenge (e.g., "Share Your Story" challenge) and encourage followers to participate.
- Post weekly videos offering quick tips or industry advice, encouraging your connections to follow for more.
- Host an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session, promoting it across your network to attract followers.
- Offer exclusive insights, reports, or whitepapers through your posts, encouraging people to follow for more valuable content.
- Tag industry thought leaders and key players in your posts, expanding your visibility to their followers.
- Create and lead a LinkedIn group around a key topic or trend, inviting members to follow your updates for more insights.
Sure! Below are the actions (e.g., searches, posting, optimizing profiles) that each group can take to increase profile visibility and attract more connection requests, followed by the tactics for growing connections from earlier.
Group A: Inactive with less than 500 connections
Bonus Actions to Increase Connection Requests (Inbound):
- Optimize Your Profile for Keywords: Use industry-relevant keywords in your headline, summary, and job titles and experiences to appear in more search results.
- Complete Your Profile (100%): Make sure you’ve completed every section, including skills, certifications, etc. According to Linkedin, achieving "All-Star" status (fully completed profile), makes users 40 times more likely to be found in searches. Also, profiles that are fully completed receive 20 times more profile views compared to those that are incomplete.
- Set Your Profile to ‘Open to Opportunities’ if you are actively seeking a new job or if you are discreetly open to opportunities (Linkedin has both options): This makes your profile more visible to recruiters when searching for people matching your skills and experience.
- Create content on Linkedin: Linkedin posts of course, but you can create articles, newsletters, carousel (pdf)… the greater the frequency and the engagement, the more impressions your content will get and the more profile visits you will receive some leading to people wanting to connect with you
- Use Industry-Specific Hashtags in Posts: Posts with relevant hashtags will help your post in searches and attract profile visits.
- Engage with High-Visibility Posts: Comment on posts by influencers or thought leaders to increase your profile's exposure.
- Use LinkedIn Analytics: Study your post performance and focus on what drives profile visits and engagement, optimizing future content.
Tactics to Grow Connections:
- Send personalized connection requests to former colleagues, classmates, and acquaintances.
- Join industry-specific LinkedIn groups and send connection requests to active members.
- Send connection requests to people who engage with your comments on posts.
- Attend virtual events and send connection requests to attendees and speakers afterward.
- Send connection requests to people you meet at industry conferences and webinars.
- Engage with your current connections' posts by liking and commenting to stay visible.
- Message existing contacts to re-engage and reconnect, potentially asking for referrals.
- Write a post asking for recommendations on new industry trends, then connect with people who comment.
- Send connection requests to 2nd-degree connections (mutual contacts).
- Regularly use LinkedIn’s "People You May Know" feature to expand your network.
Group B: Moderately Active with 500-1000 connections
Bonus Actions to Increase Connection Requests (Inbound):
- Post Original Content Weekly: Create consistent posts (e.g., industry tips, challenges) to stay top of mind in your network and appear in the feeds of new people.
- Engage in Industry-Specific Hashtags: Comment and like content under relevant hashtags to show up in those searches.
- Optimize Your Headline for Searchability: Use terms that describe your expertise, and include a call to action for people to connect with you.
- List Your Professional Services: If applicable, use the "Services" section to make it clear what you can offer, which invites relevant people to connect.
- Join and Post in Niche Groups: Actively participate in industry-specific groups to gain visibility among professionals who might send you connection requests.
- Ask for Recommendations and Endorsements: Request these from colleagues or clients to increase credibility and drive more profile visits.
- Tag Influencers and Colleagues in Posts: This boosts your visibility in their networks, prompting connection requests from new people.
- Write a LinkedIn Article on Industry Trends: Articles provide value and stay visible longer than posts, attracting profile views and connection requests.
- Share Event Updates: Post about industry events you are attending, prompting connections with people interested in the same events.
- Add Skills Related to Trending Technologies: Adding trending skills makes you appear in searches for professionals in those areas.
Tactics to Grow Connections:
- Participate in discussions within LinkedIn groups and send connection requests to active participants.
- Send connection requests to people who like, comment on, or share your posts.
- Attend LinkedIn virtual events and send personalized connection requests to attendees and speakers.
- Host a virtual networking event or coffee chat, then connect with participants.
- Post about industry-related topics and ask your network to tag relevant professionals to join the discussion.
- Send connection requests to individuals who frequently engage with industry hashtags you follow.
- Send personalized connection requests to industry influencers or thought leaders you admire.
- After a successful collaboration or project, send connection requests to all team members.
- Write a post or article about a trending topic and send connection requests to those who engage.
- Leverage mutual connections by asking for introductions to relevant professionals.
Group C: Active with more than 1000 connections
Tactics to Grow Connections:
- Host a LinkedIn Live session on a hot industry topic and connect with attendees afterward.
- Launch a LinkedIn Newsletter and invite your connections to subscribe.
- Regularly send connection requests to people who engage with your posts and articles.
- Send connection requests to attendees of webinars, industry conferences, or workshops where you’re speaking.
- Collaborate on projects or initiatives with professionals in your network, then connect with their contacts.
- Send connection requests to influencers in your field who have engaged with your content.
- Create a community challenge (e.g., weekly content challenge) and connect with those who participate.
- Host a panel discussion or webinar on LinkedIn and connect with all participants and attendees.
- Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify and connect with highly relevant people in your industry.
- Create a niche LinkedIn group around a key industry topic and connect with the most active members.
These bonus actions will help each group gain profile visits, which is a critical step for increasing connection requests received. Combined with the connection growth tactics, these strategies are geared to increase your network on LinkedIn.