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Three Simple Steps To Building A Powerful LinkedIn Network

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LinkedIn is an important tool for building your personal brand, but you can only tap its real value if  you have a clear strategy for building and nurturing your connections.

Before adding connections or accepting requests, make sure your profile is up-to-date, authentic and compelling. Here are some tips for doing this. You don’t want people checking you out and deciding not to connect because your profile is musty, has no photo or just plain turns them off. Once you have polished your profile, develop your strategy for managing your fans.

1. Accepting Requests

You need to decide where you are on the networking scale, which ranges from extremely selective (you only connect with people you know well) to completely open networking (where every connection is a good connection). I lean toward the open networking end of the scale for a couple of reasons:

  • What I do for a living connects me with people every day, but I may not get to connect with them personally. I am a public speaker and am happy to connect with members of the audience. I may not know them, but they may have read one of my books or attended a presentation, so I want to continue the relationship. If you have a significant social media presence, speak publicly, have a Blog with lots of followers, etc. you too may have many people who want to be part of your network. You may not have ever met them, but they feel as if they have met you.
  • Your visibility is proportional to the number of connections you have.  The more 1st level connections you have, the greater the chance you will show up higher in keyword searches. Also, you can see the complete profiles of your 1st and 2nd level connections. The more connections you have, the more full profiles you can view.

Once you know where you are on the scale, it will be easy for you to decide which connection requests to honor. If you choose to be a closed networker, just be aware of what you are giving up.

2. Adding Connections

After you decide what your connection tolerance is, it’s time to start adding connections. Here’s the process:

  • Take a trip down memory lane. Link to your existing and past contacts by reaching out to people from previous jobs, school, volunteer service, etc.
  • Get them all in one place. Connect your email addresses at LinkedIn so you can reach out to those contacts and add them to your LinkedIn connections. This will help you use LinkedIn as your single contact management system.
  • Perform a gap analysis. After you know who is in your network, ask yourself, “Who’s missing?” Identify the people you would like to have in your network.  You can categorize these people by job title or other demographics. Some of them might not be members of LinkedIn, but your example may inspire them to join.
  • Build your network. In LinkedIn, you can do this by reaching out to individuals directly through a search, or connect with them through groups. When you reach out directly, send your connection requests through search instead of using the “connect” button in their profile. If you connect through a person’s profile, LinkedIn requires that you show how you are connected  (via a company you worked for or a school you attended). That step is not required when use you use search. Search for the person you want to connect with, and click “connect” next to their name in the search results. Remember to customize all LinkedIn requests.  Groups are the single best way to expand your network with the right people. Groups are designed to link people around a specific topic. Find and join the groups related to your area of expertise and interests. But joining the group delivers limited benefits if you don’t also join the conversation and reach out to those group members you’d like to add to your network.
  • Make it a habit. Every time you meet someone you would like to have in your network, reach out immediately. This will keep your network complete and up-to-date. If you have the LinkedIn app, you can connect with them in real-time.

Once your network is up-to-date and you are regularly adding new members, you can use LinkedIn as your contact management system by importing information from your iPhone and email.  Use the tagging system to organize your contacts.

3. Nurturing Your Network

Your network will have little value if you aren’t interacting with members regularly. Here are some things you can do to deliver value to your network connections, ensuring that you stay top of mind.

  • Share content. One of the best ways to add value to your network is to post expert commentary and opinions that will make readers more successful. You can do this through your activity feed, by adding longer form content using the LinkedIn blogging platform in your profile and by sharing content with your groups. Remember to personalize what you post by including your point of view.
  • Engage in conversations. In addition to posting your own content, it’s important to acknowledge the content of others and to engage in relevant discussions.
  • Use LinkedIn’s Connected App. This app makes it easy to reach out to network members on dates that are important to them (birthday, work anniversary, promotion, new job). The app automatically lets you know what’s happening with your connections, so you won't miss an opportunity to connect on a personal level.

Follow me on Twitter and check out my latest book, Ditch. Dare. Do! 3D Personal Branding for Executives.