LinkedIn is the world’s largest online professional network, with over 700 million members from 55 million registered companies, which means that no matter who you are trying to connect with, no matter what country they are in, they are most likely already on Linkedin.

LinkedIn is the only platform dedicated to professional networking, allowing you to connect with other professionals in your industry or related fields. By connecting with other professionals, you can build a network that will help you to learn more about your industry, find new clients or partners, and develop new business opportunities.

As a business professional, you can use LinkedIn for just about anything that is related to growing your brand, your business or your personal/professional networking database.

Even though LinkedIn is known for making connections and building relationships (aka networking), it’s not as easy as it sounds, and it’s certainly not easy for everyone.

I didn’t realize until someone told me a few years ago that it doesn’t come naturally to everyone😲 and that some people find it very hard to network in person as well as online.

So if it doesn’t come naturally to you, I’m here to tell you 5 of the most popular ways to network on LinkedIn:

1. Connection requests

Sending a connection request to the person you want to network with is the most common and direct way to connect with someone new on Linkedin. While this may seem odd at first, it happens all the time and isn’t as uncommon as you would think! In order to request a new connection, all you have to do is go over to the desired person’s profile and click on the ‘Connect’ button.

Once they have received your request, they will then decide if they want to connect with you or not. One of my suggestions to get someone else to approve your request is to include a personalized message; if you have met them in the past or have been at the same conference/networking event, it’s a good introduction.

2. LinkedIn searches

This may seem like an obvious one, but LinkedIn makes it easy to request a connection with people you might never have access to otherwise. LinkedIn makes it easy to filter your LinkedIn search results to connect with even more specific people.

For example, you can filter for people who work specially in one industry or a specific company or province/country that you are looking to connect with.

One thing many people don’t realize about Linkedin is that you can use advanced LinkedIn search filters to narrow down your search results. Depending on your target audience, you can customize these filters and network with only relevant people.

3. ‘People you may know’ section

This is one feature that I absolutely love and use on a daily basis. So what exactly is a people you know section? Well, once you start making some connections, you can use this networking hack to find more people instantly. Simply go to My Network and scroll down until you see the “people you may know” section.

Often you will find:

• People you may know from your university (if your education section is filled in).

• People you may know from similar job roles.

• People you may know from mutual LinkedIn connections/groups.

• People in the same industry as you.

• People you may know based on your profile (LinkedIn’s recommendations).

This is such a great ‘quality over quantity’ approach as you’re more likely to find relevant people worth networking with from your niche.

4. LinkedIn events

LinkedIn events are fairly new but still one of the best ways to network on LinkedIn, because it makes it VERY easy to connect with other people who have attended the same event as you.

Simply go to My Network and scroll down until you find the “Online events for you” suggested section. If your LinkedIn profile is filled in and you already have a couple of connections, LinkedIn should suggest some events for you based on your industry.

At these events, you can network with the people organizing the event and the attendees or share your thoughts during the live event, and people will want to connect with you!

5. LinkedIn groups

Last but not least, LinkedIn groups are another popular way of networking on Linkedin!

LinkedIn groups allow you to reach a targeted audience of professionals and establish relationships with people by having something in common with them. All you have to do is type in keywords related to your industry, and you’ll find loads of LinkedIn groups to choose from.

When looking for LinkedIn Groups, consider narrowing down your search by being as specific as possible if you want to find a group with many members that you relate with.

Whether you are using LinkedIn to gain more connections, start networking, or simply generate more leads and sales, you are one step ahead of where you were yesterday! Like most social media platforms, it takes time to grow and to see results. I fully believe slow and steady wins the race! So if you haven’t done any networking on Linkedin, start today!

Still not sure about LinkedIn and how it can help you and your business? Fill in this Intake form, and let’s book your Discovery Call!