It’s interesting to see how many people miss the value of LinkedIn (LI). Not so long ago, I was an FTE like many of you. I knew it was important to have a LI profile (it’s the new digital resume), but didn’t realize the importance of networks.
And then I was unemployed, starting a new business, and had barely 500 connections.
My first question was why I needed to be active and build my LI network, since it takes some effort and we all have more to do than time to do it. What I learned was even if you are happy at your current job, not planning on going anywhere, and are confident it’s a lifelong spot, you will find LI is a simple way to get great ideas every day.
And just in case that job decides someday it doesn’t need you, or you don’t get the growth you were hoping for, a network will be invaluable.
Every business needs a product that adds value to the world and customers who need that value. LI will help you find both.
For your original idea, being on LI,
– As an FTE, reading LI each day will give you new ideas of what is working for others
– If you are thinking about starting a business or side gig, reading feeds will give you ideas of where people need help, so you can see where you could add value
– Once you get an idea, LI lets you test what people are interested in and what doesn’t get much attention
– If you run into a tough question, people here are happy to give feedback
The thing about networks is that they don’t necessarily take a ton of effort, and the daily investment is low, but that effort needs to be spent each day to payoff. To build that network, all you need to invest is 15 minutes a day. Here’s what you do with it.
1) Take time to comment on three people’s posts. A key value of your network is reading other people’s ideas and then getting ideas from them. Reading helps you see what people are thinking about. Commenting forces you to think deeper. It also adds value to others. People will be more likely to answer a question, or comment on your posts if you have been commenting on theirs.
2) Post something every day. This sounds overwhelming. It shouldn’t be. Go find a good quote. Google it and find a picture. Post that to start with. Posting forces you to think about what you want to share with others. It helps you from the beginning to focus on adding value to the world. It also will get you in the habit of thinking every time you read something about if it’s worth sharing and encourage you to read more. Also, if you have a good comment on a post, save it for later so you can build it out a little more and then post. You don’t need a book, just a good thought, and a simple sentence is often enough.
3) Not enough people do this last step, and it’s really important. Invite other people.
– Start by looking at your own feed. When somebody else shares something you like from someone you aren’t connected with, go connect with that person. Don’t overthink it, send something simple, like “I saw your quote on wisdom and thought it was worth connecting”. Most of us are building networks and are thrilled when someone reaches out. These are the best connections, since they are likely active. The hardest part about connecting with others on LI is finding people who are actually active more than once every 3 months.
– Next, think about who would add value and search for them. If you’re an accountant – go to the search bar in LI and type accountants. Click on people, and you can filter it by People. You can also change the connections to 2nd (people who know people I know), or change the geography if you’re looking for someone close.
For your message, keep it simple. I often use something like “The more people I connect with, the more interesting my feed becomes, so just growing my network”. The biggest thing people want to know is that you’re not a financial planner or some other sales person connecting just to get them a pitch, which is probably the biggest pet peeve on LI.
Don’t invite more than 20 people a day. Also, clear out your existing connections of anyone who hasn’t connected in a week. (LI has a jail where you can’t invite anyone for a while if you invite too many or leave too many invitations for too long).
If you’re inviting 20 a day, and only a quarter accept, that’s still 25 people a week or 100 a month. You may double that and get half which would be 200 a month. With the commenting people will also reach out to you, so that could add another 1-2 a day. You can see why someone with a network of 2-3 thousand has been working for a while, and how hard it can be to get 10K+ (the 10K are often people who add a lot of value through writing or great ideas, so they get far more invites).
Either way, if you’re wondering, try an experiment. Invest 15 min each week day for a month. See what you learn. See how your network grows. My feeling is that for your long term success, either as an employee or if you decide to start a side hustle and move to an entrepreneur, there isn’t a much better way to spend that time.
The hard part about networks is like so many other good habits, you need to give it a try to see the value.