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LinkedIn is the oldest and most popular online professional network, with over a billion users worldwide. It offers many benefits to freelancers, business owners, consultants and other professionals to grow in their careers, and is used for different goals:

• Build an influential network.
• Recruit talent for your firm. 
• Look for the right business partner. 
• Find new professional opportunities.
• Establish yourself as an expert in your industry.
• Learn from other professionals to develop your skill set. 

All these goals can be achieved by expanding your network and thoughtfully increasing your LinkedIn connections. 

But, the task of networking is more challenging than it seems! It is a process that requires the utmost effort and thought, especially if you’re just getting started. This blog provides you with 6 proven tips to increase your LinkedIn connections. 

Before we learn how to do that, let’s gain some insights into LinkedIn connections and their importance.

Follower vs Connection - What’s The Difference?

LinkedIn gives you two options - following and connecting. Both options will allow you to view the other person’s posts, but only one will let you initiate a conversation. 

Follower - If you follow someone on LinkedIn, you can view their posts, insights and any articles they publish but your posts will not appear on their profile unless they choose to follow back. Additionally, you cannot initiate a conversation with them if you only follow them. 

‍Connection - Sending and accepting connection requests increases your network and profile visibility. Being connected on LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to have a two-way conversation where you can share posts, updates, and messages, and it means that your posts will appear on your connection’s profile and vice versa. 

When it comes to connections, LinkedIn does more than specify who you’re connected to. It assigns degrees of connection to people who are connected to your connections, allowing you to discover other profiles and decide who you wish to connect with. 

‍1st-degree connection - These are profiles you are directly linked to after you accept each other’s connection requests. 

‍2nd-degree connection - These are profiles that are linked to your 1st-degree connections, but not to you. If you wish to start a conversation with them or add them to your network, you will have to send them a connection request. 

‍3rd-degree connection - As you may have guessed, these are profiles that are connected to your 2nd-degree connections. You can view their profiles and choose to connect with them if you share any similar interests.

Now that we’ve established the distinction between followers and connections, let’s see why networking is helpful for you.

Networking - Why Does It Matter?

Having a large and diverse LinkedIn network can be beneficial for you in many ways. It can help you look for better job opportunities, build relationships with other professionals, connect with potential customers, and establish yourself as an expert in your industry. 

LinkedIn has this special feature that does not allow you to see the exact number of connections a person has if they’ve hit 500 connections. But why is that “500+ connections” impressive?

• It boosts credibility! Having 500+ connections signifies that you must be doing something right. 
• It increases your reach and profile visibility, helping your profile appear higher in search results through mutual connections. 
• Recruiters feel more confident hiring people who are actively engaged on the platform with 500+ connections. 
• If you have a website linked to your profile, odds are you’ll be able to get more traffic on it with the increased LinkedIn connections.

If you’ve already hit 500+ connections, is there any need for continuing to connect with others? The short answer is: yes! 

Reaching 500+ LinkedIn connections signals a strong network, but continuing to connect can help you expand in niche industries, engage actively, and strengthen second-degree ties. Beyond 500, strictly prioritize quality over quantity.

Hitting a benchmark of 5,000+ connections give you additional benefits such as more click-throughs, endorsements, and access to features like LinkedIn Stories - which allows you to create and post a 20-second video that disappears after 24 hours. 

While having 500+ connections is a sign of a good optimised profile, many people consider having 1,000-5,000 connections as a good benchmark of an active LinkedIn user. 

Who Should Be in Your Network?

LinkedIn connections are not achieved overnight, it is a long process that should be approached strategically. 

If you’re just starting out, it is best to start connecting with people you already know. Tap into the “Alumni” feature - use your profile to select your university/school and reach out to your fellow alumni. You can also connect with your current or former colleagues. A common experience encourages people to accept connection requests.

If you find people with similar interests or goals, invite them to connect with you and build relationships with them. Engage in conversations by sharing relevant posts and updates. 

Utilise the “Top Industry Leader” lists from your respective industry that showcase influencers and top professionals. Recognise which leaders you wish to connect with and send an invitation. 

How to Increase LinkedIn Connections in 2025?

LinkedIn is a valuable platform that can help you expand your professional network. Here are 8 tips on how to increase LinkedIn connections:

1. Optimise Your Profile

The first step to increasing your LinkedIn connections is to make sure your profile showcases who you are. Optimise your profile by adding an appropriate banner, your location, writing a clear headline that reflects your designation and services, and showcasing your projects, skills, and endorsements. 

Write a summary that tells a potential connection who you are and why they should connect with you. Offer a call-to-action (CTA) that can be used to contact you or employ your services. 

2. Personalise Connection Requests

If you’re clicking on that “Connect” button, add a personal note to your invitation to tell them how you know them or why you’re reaching out to them. Whether it’s an alum from your university or an author you met at a conference, a personalised connection request would be more likely to get accepted because it offers a purpose to connect.

3. Use Advanced Search Filters

LinkedIn allows you to search for people and filter profiles based on criteria like location, industry, seniority, degree of connection, institute, and past and present company. Search filters like these help identify potential connections and send connection requests based on common experiences, industry, or interests.

4. Break Down Your Goals

Going from 100 to 500 connections is not a task to be achieved overnight, and thus, it is best to break down such growth goals into realistic time-bound tasks. 

For example, focus on getting 20 new connections in the first week, then review your growth and determine what adjustments need to be made. If you are getting positive and steady feedback, then increase the difficulty level and try for 30 connections next week. 

5. Publish Posts to Invite Engagement

Write and publish articles that inspire people to engage with your posts. Decide what you wish to write about and consistently keep up with the content - create visuals and infographics to attract more attention. 

Posts with high engagement are often recommended to 2nd and 3rd-degree connections, increasing your reach and profile visibility.

6. Leverage Keywords in Your Profile

Use your headline to your advantage. LinkedIn showcases a part of your headline under your name, and if you use the right keywords there, more people are likely to click on your profile. 

If your role requires you to perform multiple tasks, give some thought to what you specialise in and showcase keywords based on services. For example, if you’re a content creator, you likely also perform creative writing, editing, or even graphic designing. Determine which of these tasks would attract the most attention based on your expertise and goals and use the keywords strategically.

How NOT to Network?

When building your professional network, certain things should be avoided at all costs to prevent damaging your personal brand. Let’s look into such mistakes and learn how to avoid them. 

1. Avoid automated messages 

Sending out generic and automated messages to your connections can damage a potential relationship. It signifies that you have not put any thought into why you wish to connect with someone and can be harmful to your reputation. 

Give people a meaningful reason to connect with you - write personalised messages with a clear purpose for connecting.

2. Don’t use networking tools to spam requests

Many people find the task of increasing LinkedIn connections very tiresome and end up using automated tools that promise to expand their network. The downside is that these tools usually run a LinkedIn search and mass blast connection requests, thus harming your personal brand and labelling you as a spammer.

Instead of using such tools, find people you have something in common with and connect with them organically.

3. Adjust your expectations 

Increasing LinkedIn connections demands a lot of time and effort, and setting high expectations for quick results can be frustrating. Always remember that if you reach out to someone and they do not respond, it is not the end of the world. 

Every individual does not prefer to connect on LinkedIn or wish to keep a public profile, and that’s okay. Don’t consider such setbacks as personal attacks, and keep an open mind for networking.  

Conclusion

Increasing LinkedIn connections is an ongoing process. The only way to successfully build your professional network is through consistent engagement on LinkedIn. Set aside some time each week to catch up with connections, share posts, and explore new connections. 

The best way to start is by completely optimising your profile and connecting with people you already know. Reach out to fellow colleagues and alums and start engaging on the platform to increase your profile visibility. 

We work with industry leaders and executives to help them create a powerful presence on LinkedIn. If you’d like to discuss how you can build your network on LinkedIn, schedule a call with us.

Uncomfortable interactions with strangers on the internet are common, but you wouldn’t expect them on a professional platform.

Well, guess what? Even LinkedIn has its bad moments.

While LinkedIn has strict policies to prevent abusive behavior, hate speech, and misinformation, and while its algorithm isn’t friendly to scammers, uncomfortable situations can still arise. That’s why LinkedIn provides the option to block (and unblock) profiles.

This article will help you identify which profiles should be blocked, guide you on how to block and unblock a profile, explain the consequences of doing so, and help you manage your LinkedIn connections effectively.

7 Reasons to Block Someone on LinkedIn

If someone is bothering you on LinkedIn or making you uncomfortable, you can report their actions and block their profile to prevent unwanted interactions. Blocking someone on LinkedIn may seem like a significant step, but it can help you maintain a professional and secure social network.

Here are 7 reasons to block someone on LinkedIn:

1. Inappropriate behavior
   If someone is rude or uses abusive language toward you, blocking their profile can prevent further interactions.
   
   
2. Unwanted contact
   If someone repeatedly sends unsolicited messages despite your clear disinterest, blocking them can help you avoid further unwanted communication.
   
   
3. Privacy concerns
   If you want to limit who can contact you on social media, blocking a profile can help protect your privacy and maintain your boundaries.
   
   
4. Hateful or violent content
   If a connection promotes hateful or violent content, you can report their actions and block them to stop seeing their posts.
   
   
5. Over-engaging behavior
   If a connection’s excessive likes or comments flood your profile with notifications, you can either remove them as a connection or block them if necessary.
   
   
6. Harassment
   If someone is using LinkedIn as a dating site or engaging in harassing behavior, blocking their profile is the best course of action.
   
   
7. Fake profiles or scammers
   If you suspect a LinkedIn user is running a scam or using a fake profile—for example, pretending to represent a company without proof—you should report their actions and block them to avoid further contact.

Steps to Block a Profile on LinkedIn

LinkedIn allows you to block people without stating a reason for it. If someone has shown inappropriate behaviour, it is best to report their actions before you block them. LinkedIn will not notify a person when you block them, protecting your privacy and allowing you to maintain a professional network effectively. 

Whether you’re using a desktop or a mobile device, you can follow these steps to block a profile on LinkedIn:

1. Log in to your LinkedIn account.

2. Search for the profile you wish to block. 

3. Click on the option “More” under their profile picture. 

4. A drop-down menu will appear, select “Report/Block”.

5. A pop-up window will appear where you can choose between reporting and blocking the person. Click on “Block (user name)” to proceed. 

6. Confirm your action by clicking “Block” on the new pop-up window. 

‍Note: If you can’t find the profile of the person you wish to block when you search for them, chances are they have hibernated their profile, been removed by LinkedIn, closed their account, or blocked you. 

What Happens When You Block a Profile? 

Blocking a profile is not similar to removing a connection or unfollowing a profile. While it does both these things automatically, it also helps you protect your privacy and maintain a professional environment on LinkedIn. 

Let’s look at everything that happens when you choose to click on that “Block” option:

• The person you block will be removed as a connection automatically. 
• A blocked account cannot view your profile; which includes the headline, profile photo, summary, and all other details. 
• If you block someone, they cannot send you messages on LinkedIn. 
• You can no longer view each other’s posts or any other updates on LinkedIn.
• Any endorsements or recommendations from the blocked account will be removed from your profile. 
• If you try to view the blocked person’s profile, you will not show up in their “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” list and vice versa. 
• In case the person you block was subscribed to your newsletter, they will stop receiving it.
• You can not join an audio event if you have blocked the host or a speaker in that event. 
• You and the blocked account will also not appear in each other’s featured lists such as “People You May Know” or “People also Viewed”.

LinkedIn protects your privacy when you block a profile, but blocked accounts can still access some information. For instance, if a mutual connection shares your content, the blocked person will be able to view it. 

If you’ve set any information as “public”, such as your profile, shared content, or comments, it can be viewed by your blocked accounts on search engines.

To restrict such information from public access, go to your privacy settings, click on “Visibility”, and adjust all the sections of your profile that can be displayed publicly. You can simply turn off the sections you wish to keep private and turn on the information you want to display on search engines. 

Understanding Blocking in LinkedIn Groups

If you are a member or an administrator in a LinkedIn Group and a fellow member is sharing inappropriate content or harassing someone, there are ways to prevent that from happening. Let’s learn about the process of blocking someone in a LinkedIn Group. 

As a group member:

• You can only block admins if their admin permissions have been removed.
• You can not block the manager of a group without first leaving it.
• You can reach out to the manager or admin and request to block a group member. 

As a group administrator:

• If you want to block a member of your group, you will have to remove them from the group first. 
• If you block a fellow admin, you will only see the profile name on the Page admin view. Their profile photo and LinkedIn account will not be visible.  

Can You Unblock a Profile on LinkedIn?

Yes, blocking is a reversible action on LinkedIn. Whether you blocked the wrong person by accident, reconciled with a colleague, or had a change of heart, LinkedIn provides the option of unblocking a profile. However, it is essential to understand that unblocking is not an exact reversal of blocking. 

If you choose to unblock a person, your connection will not be restored. Just as someone is not notified when you block them, they are not notified when you unblock them. So, if you want to re-establish the connection, you will have to do it by sending a connection request. 

Steps to Unblock a Profile on LinkedIn

Unblocking a profile on LinkedIn can be achieved through both your desktop and mobile device. So, if you decide to unblock a person, follow these simple steps:

1. Log in to your LinkedIn account. 

2. Click on the “Me” section on your profile. 

3. Select “Settings & Privacy” from the drop-down menu.

4. On the left side, find and choose the option “Visibility”.

5. Click on “Blocking”. 

6. A list of all blocked accounts will appear. Find the profile you want to remove and select “Unblock”.

Note: After you unblock someone, LinkedIn will not notify them but they can view the content that was previously hidden from them.

The Effects of Unblocking a Profile

When you unblock a profile on LinkedIn, it lifts some restrictions between you and the previously blocked account. While the person is not notified that they have been unblocked, they may start to notice your presence on the platform. 

Some immediate effects of unblocking a profile include:

• The unblocked person can view your profile as long as your privacy settings allow it.
• They can engage with your public content again, such as liking posts, leaving comments, or sharing it. 
• If you re-establish a connection by sending a connection request, you can interact directly with the person.  

If you accidentally unblocked the wrong person, or want to re-block someone due to unchanged inappropriate behaviour, you will have to wait 48 hours before you can do so. 

Conclusion

While LinkedIn is a professional platform, some users may not maintain appropriate behavior on it. Thus, it is important to be aware of the actions you can take to protect your privacy, such as reporting and blocking profiles on LinkedIn.

If you understand how blocking and unblocking work on LinkedIn and their immediate effects, you can maintain your connections more effectively and strengthen your professional network.

At GrowedIn, we help industry leaders build a professional network and establish an influential presence on LinkedIn. Schedule a call with us to discuss how you can manage and grow your LinkedIn connections more effectively.

In 2024, LinkedIn is the largest and fastest-growing professional networking social media platform. Compared to Instagram, X, TikTok, and Facebook, LinkedIn is gaining more popularity by the day as the best channel to find high-performance individuals, initiate conversations that fulfill, and expand circles to greater levels.

It is no wonder LinkedIn has also begun shaping its algorithm to bring to every user tons of networking and growth opportunities. What started as a typical job-discovery platform is today buzzing with CEOs and interns, corporate and entrepreneurial minds, scientists and artists, students and retired officers. Networking on LinkedIn has become a boon thanks to its highly connection-based and community-driven nature.

This blog talks about how you can navigate through LinkedIn and its seemingly complex yet highly advanced features to expand your network. In 2024, make the most of this hangout spot for professionals seeking like-minded peers to connect with and learn from.

Why Should You Network On LinkedIn?

When you talk about “networking”, what exactly is it that you refer to?

Is networking simply adding units to your follower count?

Is networking the act of collecting names of people in high corporate positions so that you can reach out to them when you need a favor?

Is networking merely a one-sided deed of receiving information, commendation, or service?

In the most mature terms, networking is a bidirectional interaction between two parties who are willing to help each other grow. Both offer great conversational prompts, show interest in each other’s work, provide solutions when the other is stuck, and vouch for one another when times are tough.

There definitely are benefits of networking on LinkedIn, like getting endorsed for your skill set, winning life-changing recommendations from leaders, and having a smooth lead generation cycle. However, networking in its truest sense is a genuine connection that two people establish over time for reasons greater than self-fulfillment. For this purpose, you must turn to LinkedIn. Why you should double down your networking efforts on LinkedIn is explained below.

➤ For one, unlike other social media platforms, on LinkedIn, your identity is your designation, company, and professional achievements. You are known for your true self. Your identity is greater than external beauty and materialistic possessions. On LinkedIn, you get to brand yourself based on merit, knowledge, and true personality. This makes LinkedIn a zone to proudly be yourself, display your achievements, and support fellow users. While other social media platforms tend to be about competition, LinkedIn is commonly known for its collaboration.

➤ Second, the network you seek here will consist of professionally driven, entrepreneurial individuals who are passionate about personal growth, just like you, and believe in community growth through relationship management and deep conversations. Most LinkedIn users take healthy advantage of thriving in a community amidst pragmatic minds that are focused on spearheading their way into the future. You can rest assured that less sincere people find no place on LinkedIn.

➤ Third, advanced AI-enabled and technologically developed features that LinkedIn offers for targeted networking, filtered outreach, and ingenuous connection make this platform the best choice for meeting new people. Your networking here can be mindful and deliberate. Of course, people can chance upon your profile, but you can reach out to people you want to talk to specifically through filters and search results. You can choose to reach out to exactly 3 CEOs from New York City who have been working with FinTech for the past 7 years, and LinkedIn will bring you a list of candidates that fit into the description!

Invest heavily in your network, both qualitative and quantitative. After all, your network is your net worth.

How To Network On LinkedIn – Top 6 Ways

Personalized Connection Requests

When you first create an account on LinkedIn, you will come across the option of a “Connection Request”. This button is the gateway to getting to know another person. All profiles on LinkedIn are open to the public, that is, you can view another person’s profile picture, headline, banner, About section, work experience, and education, among the other handful of sections. Access to this information means that you can thoroughly analyze who to reach out to if you wish to expand your network in a deliberate manner.

The easiest way to catch someone’s attention on LinkedIn is to send them a connection request.

A “Connection Request” is a polite proposal to be part of someone’s network and in turn, to have them over as part of yours. A connection is a two-way follow; now, you both can not only view each other’s posts on the main feed, but also can talk to each other via the DMs, leave each other recommendations, endorse each other, and further explore their 1st-degree connections. A connection request is like the first handshake toward nurturing a future relationship.

Now, when you’re extending a hand of friendship, you need to be offering something valuable that the recipient can gain from. Else, there must be a specific purpose behind your connection request. Only then will any high-value profile agree to connect with you. This does not necessarily mean a future deal or a financial benefit. It can mean an eager ear to listen to their experiences, a humble request for guidance, or even gratitude for their business model.

That is why, in your connection request, you must always leave a note, as LinkedIn’s suggestive pop-up shows. Add in context; sending across a blank one might seem like a rude demand.

Here’s how you can personalize your connection request note:

• Start with how you heard about them. When you make them the center of focus, their interest in your message is peeked and you secure their attention for the next half a minute.
• Inform them about the medium through which you discovered them and their work. You could have heard about them through a mutual contact or connection. You might have been drawn towards their business thanks to a webinar you attended. You might have read their newly launched book. You can even congratulate them on their startup’s funding round.
• Mention the intent with which you reach out. It can be admiration, conversation, or simply relatability. You can even authentically inform them about future business possibilities that you look forward to with them.
• Always end with a call to action. Let them know if they can send you an email or a reply with a LinkedIn message. Otherwise, you can end with a simple indication that you would love to hear back from them.

Let’s take a look at a successful connection request note:

Michael did everything right while sending Keyur a connection request. His note began with the recipient’s name, not missing the chance to grab his attention. Then, he introduces the context that drew him towards Keyur’s profile – most probably from a recent post that Keyur put out. He also ended it with a CTA, requesting Keyur to connect back. Thus begins a conversation between leaders. As is evident, Keyur extends an invitation to meet off the platform. What more can you ask for?

However, there are certain social constructs that you must adhere to while sending a connection request to avoid repelling the recipient.

The worst notes force complicated thought-spirals. Complex questions, interrogative suggestions, and news-related opinions are a no-no. Your note must be welcoming and positive, not intimidating and repelling.

Once accepted, your connection request note turns into a DM message – voilà, you found your way into their network.

Consistent Mindful Engagement

On LinkedIn, remember that the best way to find connections is to remain active throughout the year. 

Engagement is a way to get in touch with fellow leaders and potential connections on LinkedIn. Once in a while, leave valuable comments and congratulations on posts of people and companies that you want an in to. By engaging with their content, you are showing your support and encouragement for their work. This way, you can begin adding not just the posting profile to your network but also fellow C-level executives from the comment section!

For example, look at the above connection request sent by someone who found Abha through another LinkedIn user’s comment section. The intent is declared, the source of information is conveyed, and a mutual contact is referred to. All these factors add up to enough incentive providing the recipient of the connection request a fair enough desire to reciprocate.

Over time, such organic engagement can bring you leads if you are looking for hiring or marketing growth, too.

Curious Visitor Tracking

With LinkedIn Premium, you open up the gateway to abundant data metrics that help you network smartly.

One of the most celebrated data points is that you can track who visited your profile. Every few days, you can take a peek into who is interested in discovering your profile and work. The source of intimation will not be known but once you get to know who viewed your profile, you can filter the names that you want to add to your network and reach out to them via a connection request.

The advantage gained here is that you know that your lead is warm – they already have familiarized themselves with you. You have to take it to the next level now.

This is best done when you are at the top of their mind. If they have viewed your profile now and you manage to reach out to them within the next 2 hours, it gives the best networking result since they still might recall your name and work. Any longer than that will reduce the probability of them remembering you.

Outreach Through Filtering

If you wish to add a very specific category of leaders to your network, you can take the help of the filtering option that LinkedIn gifts to every profile.

It’s simple:

• Type in a domain of your interest in the Search bar. You can type in the most commonly used keywords related to the domain or look up companies and names too.
• Choose which aspect of the search results you want to explore further. You can choose between people, posts, companies, locations, degrees of connection, events, and many more.
• Click on “People” to know accounts, “Posts” to find relevant active members, and “Groups” to be part of a community.
• Set a few filters and you will see a list of highly qualified leads for your network. You can begin your connection with them and enhance your circle.

Groups & Events

LinkedIn Groups & Events are mass networking opportunities. Through LinkedIn Groups & Events, you can gain access to communities of people who are connected with one another through a common goal, interest, affiliation, or company. You can become part of a strong entrepreneur leadership network.

Joining Groups can open up doors to partnerships, conversations, deals, and outsourcing possibilities. You usually have to request to join a group and are expected to meet the set criteria to be accepted. Once in, you can post relevant content here, answer questions, hold discussions, and participate in group activities.

LinkedIn Events are live hostings for the public that are free to create and be part of. These include workshops, casual meetups, and webinars. A lot of business leaders launch scheduled LinkedIn Events and send out invitations for special attendees. By partaking in one of such Events, you can gain instant access to 100+ potential collaborators and thought leaders at once (you can view the number of attendees per event).

Events can help you promote your business, find new connections, collaborate with domain experts, and interact with a whole new crowd of people who can take your work forward through word of mouth. You can search for upcoming events from your Home page too, or click on https://www.linkedin.com/events/.

Proactive Organic Posting

The best way to increase your network and add noteworthy personalities to it is by maintaining a reputable digital brand on LinkedIn. How?

The answer is through proactive and consistent organic posting on your profile.

Build a content strategy around your domain of expertise and begin creating content around it. The more you put yourself out there, the better people will know you. You can update your profile regularly, post about your thoughts and opinions, or teach people about the subject matter you hold expertise in. Through this churning out of content, people will begin paying attention to you and your network will expand naturally.

This conversation is a great proof of the benefits of proactive posting. George came across a post that Keyur put out. He reached out and communicated his admiration for Keyur’s content, thereby carrying the conversation forward and leading it to a collaboration opportunity.

As an entrepreneur, regularly writing and posting content can become a time-consuming practice. You can consider a low-volume, high-value routine and delegate the entire cycle to a team of experts – LinkedIn ghostwriters or account managers. These talents understand your personality, format your experiences into stories, and maintain regular activity on your profile. An agency like GrowedIn can partner with executives like you to help you leverage LinkedIn’s potential so that you can build it into a channel for lead generation and network expansion.

Over time, you will begin seeing an influx of messages and connection requests from fellow executives, potential clients, business partners, investors, etc., and thus, you can steadily work on becoming part of an entrepreneur leadership network.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator – How To Leverage It For Networking?

LinkedIn offers the ultimate networking tool that ranks at the top compared to every other social media platform – the LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a powerful B2C and B2B lead generation tool that can transform the way leaders interact with one another. It comes with a LinkedIn Premium package. Over LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you can set even more filters and gain higher visibility than you could with the basic, default account. Here’s how to go about it:

Step 1: Define Who You Are Looking For

A leads list is a tally of profiles that fit into your ICP. A leads list helps you perform social selling better by filtering and categorizing profiles.

To create a leads list, go to Sales Navigator and click on “Leads Filters”. This is what you will see:

Begin inputting the data that relates to your ICP closest. Let’s say that you wish to network with individuals from Google Fiber and Google DeepMind specifically for a certain project. Set the corresponding filter accordingly:

Similarly, you can set other filters and narrow down to a handful of personas that you would want to network with:

‍Step 2: Generate A Leads List

Once your filters are set, add these profiles to a leads list. You will be thus saving these accounts for future reference. You can even create multiple parallel leads lists so that your network-related outreach can be maximized.

Type in your description to help you navigate through multiple lists later and save the list. Now, not only will you be able to go back to these very accounts, but you’ll also be served system-recommended leads along the same lines by Sales Navigator! You can keep track of these profiles’ activities and edit the list as and when your requirements change.

Step 3: Create A Personalized Message

Once you have your leads in place, start reaching out to them with the pure intent of networking and getting to know them better. You must remember that unless you include a purpose, value, and CTA in the InMail or connection request, there are low chances that you get a reply. Personalize the subject line and messaging according to their work, profile, and life. Here’s an example:

By such personalized and deliberate outreach, you can strike up conversations and make your time on LinkedIn worthwhile, by spending it only on people you wish to invest in in the long term.

3 LinkedIn Sales Navigator Networking Secrets

The potential of LinkedIn Sales Navigator is tremendous. LinkedIn Sales Navigator not only brings you a superior channel to connect with great minds, but it also serves you on the platter several data points that you can use to your benefit. It shows you the number of days that a certain profile has been active, the exact people who viewed your profile, the number of searches performed, the rate of acceptance of InMails (direct messages with profiles that aren’t connected yet), and more.

Studies reveal that inculcating LinkedIn Sales Navigator into your network expansion and lead generation efforts produces a 312% return on investment within 3 years. Because of impressive statistics like these, this tool becomes indispensable when you talk about strong networking strategies on social media.

Let’s reveal 3 less-known LinkedIn Sales Navigator secrets that can ensure the best results.

Personalization

LinkedIn Sales Navigator reveals a lot of activities that go on in a certain user’s profile. You can gain access to a recent business update or news item that a profile has been part of and tagged in. What a golden chance to start a conversation with this!

Take this opportunity to stay updated with what’s going on around the world with potential connections on LinkedIn. When you begin a discussion based on updates in their lives, it leaves a good impression and can make the conversation less synthetic. Relatability can be a compelling reason for someone to accept your connection request or InMail. By leveraging this emotion, you can refine your networking capabilities.

Automation

Did you know that LinkedIn Sales Navigator lets you know which leads on your list go on to accept your connection requests and InMails?

This information can unpack loads of conversational opportunities. Look out for this update when searching for potential connections in your leads list. Be it a business competitor or an ally, you can enrich your conversations with this opener.

Utilization

You only get a limited number of InMails per week with LinkedIn Sales Navigator. So it becomes imperative that you use each very deliberately by thoroughly analyzing your leads list and narrowing your outreach list.

Here comes the third trade secret – “Open” profiles do not consume InMails!

Open profiles are LinkedIn accounts that allow you to send them direct messages without having to connect with them first, and without any cost of InMail count.

You will see the tag “Open” next to their headlines as shown below:

Fully utilize these free InMails and increase the number of users you reach out to. The more outreach messages you send, the more networking benefits you profit from!

Conclusion

There is no doubt that LinkedIn networking can lead to benefits like working together and collaborating with fellow entrepreneurs. With LinkedIn, you can put in committed effort in networking mindfully to find your place among an entrepreneur leadership network. If you wish to double down on networking strategies but need a helping hand, GrowedIn can be your best bet. We help leaders like you convert LinkedIn into a networking channel such that you can enjoy maximum business ROI with digital growth. If you wish to make 2024 the most profitable year for your business on LinkedIn, reach out to us today.