LinkedIn has been a staple in business professionals’ lives for more than 20 years, and during that time, it’s come a long way from simply serving as a digital resume board. Today, it’s also a critical tool for growing your business, especially when you leverage your referral sources for maximum impact and embrace grassroots relationship-building to build your network.
Why LinkedIn is a Powerful Networking and Referral Tool
With more than 200 million users in the U.S. alone, LinkedIn provides an unmatched opportunity to enhance credibility, stay top-of-mind with peers and clients, and generate referrals. That said, simply having a LinkedIn profile isn’t enough, you need to actively engage with your network in a meaningful way. Here are some steps to take:
- First, ensure you have a solid foundation – Before you start building up connections, you need to make sure your LinkedIn profile is complete and the presence you want to portray is established. That means you have a strong headline, compelling summary and detailed experience section to help establish credibility.
- Connect with intention – Throwing out connection requests and seeing what sticks might sound like a decent idea when you’re trying to build up a network base, but there’s a much more strategic approach to establish connections and engage referrals – one that will build meaningful relationships that will help grow your business. Try this instead: If you’re targeting a specific business or industry, begin making connections with lower-level employees first before reaching out to leaders. In doing so, you will build up a large pool of mutual relationships so that by the time you reach out to the other business leader asking them to connect, they will see the dozens (or more) shared connections and referrals you have, which increases the likelihood of them accepting your invitation to meet.
- Make valuable contributions to your network – Another key way to engage your referral sources on LinkedIn is by offering value and meaningful content to your community. Remain visible on the platform by regularly posting content that positions you as an expert as it reminds your network why they should refer business your way. In addition, celebrate wins, congratulate peers and remain generous. When you give, give and give some more, others are likely to return the favor.
LinkedIn can be a powerful business tool when used strategically. Build your network and engage referrals by building trust, ensuring maximum visibility and fostering genuine engagement. If you need help getting the most out of your LinkedIn account, turn to us The Found Gen.
About James Schulman
James Schulman is the co-founder and Managing Partner of TFG Marketing + Design, an Austin-based marketing and design agency founded in 2011. He leads the company's SEO, GEO, and data strategy practices across 16+ US states and 45+ industries. His work has driven results including 1,000%+ website traffic growth for a Florida law firm and a content strategy generating $3M+ in annual consulting revenue for a construction firm.
