Top 12 Ways To Get More Connections On LinkedIn And Grow Your Network

LinkedIn has consistently offered an ideal platform for businesses, working professionals, and job-seekers to build their respective networks and get their work done. LinkedIn is about growing your network and making new connections like the corporate world. While maintaining its professional and sophisticated approach, LinkedIn has catered to a large user base that keeps expanding. 
As an entrepreneur, it is advisable to use LinkedIn as one of the essential tools for marketing your offering, making hires, and building connections with parties that share your interests and goals. 
Here are 12 of the most effective ways to get more connections and grow your network on LinkedIn:
1. Send Personalized Connection Requests
Most LinkedIn users no longer entertain genetic connection requests, especially from people they do not know. If you are willing to add an individual to your network, always make sure you personalize your request instead of simply clicking the “connect” button when LinkedIn shows you “People You May Know.”
Putting in a little more effort would make your connection requests more authentic. Visit the LinkedIn profile of the individual you want to connect with and click on the “connect” button; this will allow you to send a personalized message to the concerned user and your connection request, increasing the chances of them accepting the same. 
2. Try Meeting Your Connections In Person
While LinkedIn allows you to discover people having similar interests and start professional relationships with them, you can permanently solidify these relationships by meeting your LinkedIn connections in person. If a link lives in the same city as yours or you happen to visit the town they live in, try arranging a business meeting with them, irrespective of how brief it is. 
Meeting your LinkedIn connections in person helps your professional relationships last longer and facilitates mutual trust. 
3. Set Small And Realistic Goals
It is never advisable to take a giant leap in growing your Linked network and connections. If you try jumping from 500 to 1,000 contacts, it wouldn’t be possible to achieve such a feat. Even if you do, it is not a sustainable way to grow your LinkedIn network. 
Instead, set goals that are smaller and more realistic. Instead of jumping from 500 to 1,000 connections, try reaching 600 reliable connections first. Stay steady in building your network without being in a rush. 
4. Join Relevant LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn allows users to create and join groups that contain members who are like-minded and share similar professional interests. Make sure you join suitable LinkedIn groups based on the kind of users you are willing to connect with. You can join a group of entrepreneurs or customers to understand their needs and preferences. LinkedIn groups are great places to discover like-minded individuals and build strong professional connections. 
5. Drive Engagement By Being Consistent
LinkedIn requires its users to consistently make posts to drive engagement like any other social media platform. When you always post quality content from your account, your connections will likely like, react, or comment on it.
When your connections take such actions, their connections are notified about the same, making them view posts. This way, you can reach out to such second-degree connections on LinkedIn and increase the chances of building a good network on the platform. 
6. Post More Images And Videos
Over time, people's attention span on social media is reducing, especially when reading text. Your LinkedIn connections are less likely to scroll through a long text-filled post. Instead, it is advisable to convey the same message using an image or a video. 
Visual posts will likely drive more engagement on LinkedIn as it successfully grabs more eyeballs. Moreover, if you post an engaging video and can hold the viewers’ attention for the first few seconds, they will likely watch the entire video and give you decent engagement. 
7. Keep Engaging With Existing Connections
When you consistently like, react, or comment on the posts of your existing connections, LinkedIn’s algorithm would automatically pushes your posts to the top in your connections’ feeds. This strategy will improve your engagement on the platform organically and sustainably. 
Moreover, when you comment on your connections' posts and share your valuable insights, they can be read by their respective connections, increasing your chances of building second-degree relationships.  8. Share Your Linked Profile On Other Social Media Platforms
Businesses and individuals often ignore posting the URLs to their LinkedIn profiles on other social media platforms. If you are willing to have more people discover you and your business on LinkedIn, make sure you add the URL of your LinkedIn profile in your bio on other social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and more. 
9. Optimize Keywords On Your Profile
Just like SEO allows internet users to find your website on SERPs, using the right keywords in your LinkedIn bio and job title would make you more discoverable on the platform. Try using different variations of your job or business profile to make it easier for people (searching for users with specific job titles) to find you. 
10. Share Articles On Your Profile
If there is a published article written by you, if a noteworthy media house has published an article about you or your company, always post it on your LinkedIn profile. When users visit your profile, they see a section dedicated to the articles you wrote or on you. These articles allow your existing and potential connections to know more about you and persuade them to engage with you or your business. 
11. Use Relevant Hashtags In Your Posts
Just like using the right keywords in your bio and job title, it is advisable to use the relevant keywords in your LinkedIn posts. These hashtags allow LinkedIn users who are not your connections yet to find your posts and engage with them. However, always ensure that the keywords you add are directly related to the content of your post.
12. Tag Suitable Accounts In Your Posts
If you are making a LinkedIn post that involves a specific individual or a business, do not hesitate to tag them in it, whether they are your connection or not. This tactic will notify the user about the post and increase your chances of earning another LinkedIn connection.
The Final Word
These were some of the most effective ways to get more connections and grow your LinkedIn network. If utilized to its fullest, the professional social media platform allows you and your business to reach far and wide without spending a fortune on conventional advertising tools.