7 Ways To Earn More Followers on LinkedIn

Published: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 | Tags: audience, LinkedIn, networking, social, social media

IT'S NOT ME, IT'S YOU

The secret to engaging your audience is to make it all about them. Avoid excessive self-praise, and provide your followers with relevant, interesting, valuable information.

LinkedIn is no exception to the rule. To earn more followers on LinkedIn, you must provide your audience with valuable information that will help them do business.

Status updates aren’t the only way to connect with your followers on LinkedIn. Here are 7 more ways to build and engage a following on LinkedIn!

Table of content:

1. Add the LinkedIn button to your website.

2. Invite people to follow your company page.

This can be done via regular email or LinkedIn messages. When you send an email to your constituents, invite them to follow you on other social networks, too. Use LinkedIn messages when you want to send a quick invitation to your LinkedIn connections. I have drafted an email template for your use - click here to download.

3. Write targeted updates.

Boost the marketing power of your posts by writing targeted updates that are visible only to specific audiences. Choose your audience based on seniority, geographic location, industry, etc.

4. Interact with relevant and local businesses.

One of the best ways to earn followers for your chamber is to be active in the LinkedIn community. Connect with local business owners, comment on their company status updates, and – after a relationship has been established – invite them to follow your chamber page. Check out this article by Social Media Examiner to learn how to use LinkedIn company search to expand your network.

5. Participate in LinkedIn Groups.

Groups are created by LinkedIn members and are used to have discussions about a particular topic, industry or organization. As a representative of your chamber, you can contribute to discussions in relevant groups and, as you gain the status of a thought leader, you can work your chamber page into the conversation. To find groups to join, use the search bar and filter results by Groups. Begin by typing in your city, then add a term like “business” or “professional” and see what groups show up.

6. Create your own LinkedIn Group.

Establish yourself as a thought leader by creating your chamber’s own group. Your own group will allow you to mediate discussions, keep members informed, and understand your constituency’s challenges and needs. The Minnesota Chamber’s group is 400 people strong and generates frequent conversations among chamber members.

7. Advertise on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has its own robust advertising platform that allows you to create simple ads that link back to your LinkedIn page or to an outside URL. You can set up an audience based on the same demographics provided for targeted status updates. (This is useful because you can create a whole campaign by aligning your status updates AND ads to target one specific audience). Check out these LinkedIn advertising tips for beginners and stay tuned for an upcoming post on social media advertising.

As you begin to execute these 7 tactics for earning LinkedIn followers, remember to keep your target audience at the center of your focus. When you send an invitation, explain how following your chamber will benefit your audience. When you comment on a group discussion, share a link to an informative article. Provide your LinkedIn followers with value, and you’ll enjoy a great return on investment!