Building a LinkedIn network

Tips, strategies and common mistakes when building a network

A profile in the world’s largest professional network is commonplace in today’s business world. Instead of business cards, more and more digital contact requests are being exchanged on LinkedIn at business events. But how does Networking 2.0 actually work? What should you pay attention to and what mistakes can you make when setting up your own LinkedIn network?

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Introduction to LinkedIn

With over 850 million users in more than 200 countries, LinkedIn is considered the largest professional network in the world. Founded in 2003, the company has developed into a global player in the online cosmos over two decades. Similar to other social networks, you can create your own profile on LinkedIn, like pages and articles, post updates and - above all - network with other people and communicate via private message. Other users can be found via a search field using their name, employer, place of residence, educational institution or similar criteria. On the one hand, this makes it possible to add already existing contacts to your own LinkedIn network. On the other hand, it also makes it easier to find new contacts who have similar interests or work in the same industry, for example.

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5 tips - building a LinkedIn network made easy

Tip: Optimize your profile

There is no second chance to make a first impression - this also applies online. That's why you should first focus on your own profile. In addition to a professional profile picture, a profile slogan, current position, education and region are essential. In the summary you can describe your career to date in even more detail. For example, describe your past activities, tell us something about your strengths and weaknesses and spice up the text with a little personality. Make sure that you use relevant search terms so that your profile can also be found by other interested parties.

Tip: Follow LinkedIn etiquette

Cold calling is also a real no-go on LinkedIn. Therefore, build a connection with new contacts. This starts with a contact request. Don't just randomly send requests to as many people as possible. Instead, look at the profile of your potential contacts in advance and add a personal message to your request. Perhaps you have things in common, for example you attended the same university or have common contacts. Be open and interested and you will quickly establish a personal relationship. For contacts you already know, you can also briefly talk about the last time you met. This immediately creates a good basis for discussion.

Tip: Create and share content

Content is king – even on LinkedIn. Active users who create content or interact with other users’ content get more visibility. As a result, your posts will subsequently be suggested to others. The more interesting your content is to potential contacts, the more likely they are to interact with it. In this way, in addition to your existing contacts, you can primarily reach second-degree contacts (= contacts of contacts). Anyone who posts regularly will be rewarded by the algorithm and will be shown to even more people. However, always pay attention to the quality of your posts. New contacts will follow you primarily because they hope to gain added value or interesting insights.

Tip: Recommend other people

Networking is not a one-way street. If you want to benefit from good contacts, you should also be prepared to give something back in return. It can take place either on a personal level in the chat, publicly as a post or using the “endorsement” or knowledge function in the LinkedIn profile. In this section, everyone can indicate which skills they have. Classic skills include Microsoft Office, time management, teamwork or communication. First-degree contacts now have the chance to confirm this knowledge with their contacts. So if you have worked with a professional photographer and were very satisfied, you can confirm “photography” as a skill on the profile. By the way: this is also a great way for managers to show digital appreciation to their own employees.

You can find further insights into the topic of building and maintaining business networks in another article.

Tip: Use advanced LinkedIn functions

LinkedIn is constantly developing and has now created an entire business cosmos. Take full advantages of these features to gain more visibility. In addition to standard posts (text, image, link), you can also create your own blog articles directly on the platform. This function offers the opportunity to delve even deeper into the subject by giving your network an insight into your expertise. It is also possible to send “newsletters” to your contacts via LinkedIn. Publishing content directly on LinkedIn has several advantages. In addition to increased visibility on the platform, you also generate visibility beyond it. Because such posts can be found on Google, for example. This in turn increases the chance that new contacts will come across your profile.

Network building strategies

Of course, all of the tips mentioned above are not a systematic strategy, but rather just an aid to building your own LinkedIn network. If you want to approach network building more strategically, you have several options. On the one hand, LinkedIn offers some premium features that make it easier to build networks on a large scale. Depending on the subscription model, it includes the extended InMail function (allows contact via message without prior networking); viewing all users who have visited the profile in the last 90 days; extensive basic information; no daily limit when searching for people; access to the LinkedIn Learning portal with video courses; lead generation via sales navigator and some recruiting tools. It is also advisable to keep a list in the background. As with networking in “real life”, you enter the name of the person, information about the first contact, the reason for the contact and other data in this list. Once you have sent a message, you can set a follow-up deadline.

In our article “Learning to network” you will find further helpful tips for building networks – offline and online.

Common mistakes

Even on LinkedIn, no action is inherently wrong or right. Try it out and see what feels right for you and your own network. Naturally, there is usually a different “common sense” in the financial sector than in the marketing bubble. However, you should definitely avoid the following mistakes. No-gos on LinkedIn are: an incomplete profile, poor image quality in the profile picture, little or no content, addressing the wrong target group, too many posts (spam), sending a contact request without a message, ignoring comments, posts without personality, etc. So if you have a complete profile, post regularly, interact with other contacts and maintain respectful exchange with your contacts you will build your LinkedIn network with ease.

Current trends

LinkedIn is a dynamic social network that moves with the times. Those who adopt the new functions early and follow current trends will be among the winners on the platform. One of today’s mega-trends is the medium of video. Whether for leisure or business, videos have long since replaced images. LinkedIn, for example, offers the option of sending a short video to your contacts. In 1:1 chats such tools are a brilliant way of adding even more personality. Real-time video streams are also possible on the platform. What has long been known from Facebook or Instagram is now also finding its way into the business world. Definitely a LinkedIn update with great potential. Other current trends include sharing documents or presentations, the customized button for company profiles and a lot more. Simply try out which new functions best suit you and your communication strategy or philosophy. Building a LinkedIn network – thanks to all these tips you can do it in no time at all.