How to Grow Your LinkedIn Network in 5 Minutes a Day

Engagement is what makes a social network work, and engagement depends on the size of your network. In this article we explain how to grow your LinkedIn network and sharpen your professional profile by investing just five minutes a day, a habit that matters more with every passing year in the business world.

A five-minute LinkedIn marketing plan

What should you do with your first five minutes?

• Spend one minute on connection invitations

Accept your connection invitations

Do you still have invitations waiting in your inbox?

A common misconception about LinkedIn is that you should only add people you already know, or prospects you could do business with right now.

LinkedIn serves many different purposes: you can promote your events, land freelance work, hire someone new, support your sales process, and much more. So why limit yourself when adding connections?

• Spend three minutes on first contact

Send a thank-you message to your new connections

Whether you know your new connections or not, a short thank-you message for accepting your invitation is always a good move.

If it is someone you have never met before, that thank-you note will not only be welcome, it will also leave a positive first impression of you.

1. Accept the invitation request.
2. Click the "Send Message" button.
3. Write your message (add a fitting subject line).
4. Send your message.

• Spend one minute discovering new connections

Add a new connection

LinkedIn will always nudge you toward people you may already know.

Send at least one connection invitation every day and you will see your network grow far beyond what you expected.

LinkedIn surfaces these suggestions for you under "People You May Know."
Once you have done all this, your account will have reached a solid baseline.
What should you do with your next five minutes?

• Spend three minutes on the people who viewed your profile

Check who has been viewing your profile

That includes connections who viewed your profile recently and your entire potential audience. These people may not be your current colleagues, prospects, or employer yet, but the key word is yet.

1. Prepare a message letting them know you noticed their visit. *Hi Michael, I just noticed that you viewed my LinkedIn profile. I work in social media, and I would be glad to have you among my connections. Selina Power*
2. Mention the value you could add once you are connected.

• Spend two minutes sharing content

If you have recently written a blog post, publish it on your profile as well. LinkedIn sends a notification to all of your connections about the articles you publish, and the article is automatically added to your profile too.

1. Check your "Notify My Connections" settings.
2. Go to your profile.
3. Click the "Write a new article" link.
4. Complete your article with a fitting photo, relevant hashtags, and the necessary links.
5. Click "Publish."

If you have followed every step up to this point,
here are the final five minutes that make your profile look truly professional.

• Spend three minutes on the discovery feed

Share a piece of content and get it in front of the "LinkedIn Today" editors

If you think seeing your content on "LinkedIn Today" is about as likely as meeting a unicorn, think again.

Reach out to the LinkedIn Business Development Team and share your content with them as well. You can email them at publisher@linkedin.com

IMPORTANT: LinkedIn weighs a few criteria before selecting a piece of content for publication:

>Does your site already include a "Share on LinkedIn" link?

>Do you share your content with your LinkedIn connections?

• Spend one minute on engagement

Comment on a piece of content or an update shared by someone in your network.

Imagine you are at a party. Someone in your circle mentions a recent job change, or a new post they published on their blog. The natural reaction would be to share your own thoughts and comment on what you just heard. The same applies on LinkedIn.

Pick one person and comment on a status update or a piece of content they have shared, at least once a day.

• Spend one minute on real conversation

Arrange a meeting with one of your contacts

It is a great opportunity to catch up with a connection you have not seen in a long time. Invite them out for a coffee together.

As useful a communication tool as LinkedIn is, you cannot keep your relationships purely virtual forever.

Heading out on a business trip? That is a perfect chance for a real meeting with a connection who lives in another city or country.