The Many Ways to Increase LinkedIn Followers

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It is well known that LinkedIn is a fabulous professional social media channel. Many professionals swear by it. LinkedIn has made updates to the many features of LinkedIn and increasing the followers of your LinkedIn page is a wonderful result of that.

The fruits of your labor

There are many different things that you can do in order to increase the number of followers to your LinkedIn page. You alone have the power to make it happen. If you use employ them, you can pretty much count on positive results and your ultimate end result of that will be increase revenue because you will be acquiring more clients. Some of those ways include:

  • Request that the person follow you: As you are mentally going over what you can do to increase the number of followers of your LinkedIn page, you may easily skip over the most obvious (and simplest). The way to start the process of getting people to opt in to your LinkedIn page is by sharing your page with your first-tier connections. You can accomplish that by simply asking them to like your page. You will be surprised at how many people will agree to doing that.

  • Include your staff: During the process of focusing on acquiring new prospective clients and actual clients, you may lose sight of the fact that you have other extremely rich resources at your fingertips. Not only is your staff talented and experienced but they may also have some amazing connections (friends, family, colleagues outside of your business) that you can leverage.

  • Share your LinkedIn page on additional social media channels: If you are not already, you should take full advantage of as many of the popular (and appropriate) social media channels as you possibly can. In addition to your taking advantage of that, you can ask your staff to do the same in an effort to multiply your efforts.

  • Insert “share” buttons on your LinkedIn page wherever possible: Doing this is an easy way to get people to opt in to your business through your LinkedIn page.

  • Follow other people in return: If you consider the fact that social media can only be successful if you have flourishing relationships with other people, it makes perfect sense that you will need to follow other people and like their LinkedIn page if you expect (or hope) them to like yours. Relationships are only successful if they work on both sides. Otherwise, they are not relationships at all. You can start with your first-tier connections on LinkedIn. Start to follow them and then work on your second-tier connections. Also, you should follow your clients and prospective clients.

  • Include your LinkedIn page’s URL in your Email signature:  Probably, you send many Emails for business each day. If you were to add your LinkedIn page’s URL to your Email signature, it will get a great deal of exposure and at least some of the recipients of your Emails will click on that URL. There are many different ways in which you can give your LinkedIn page the proper exposure. You can also include your URL on LinkedIn Answers, if you happen to interact in that way. The more, the better, as far as your sharing your page is concerned.

  • Share a blog post or blog article:  A blog post is a great way to get your message across in a credible manner and to get people to notice what you have to say to respond to it. Your blog can appropriately include your LinkedIn page’s URL. When choosing your blog or article topic, you may wish to choose something that specifically applies to LinkedIn and using some aspect of that social media channel. People will most likely respond positively to that. Also, there is a great deal about which to write.

  • Work hard at ensuring that your LinkedIn page is top quality on a regular basis: An effective LinkedIn page is one that compels its traffic to return to that page over and over again. In order to do that, it is important to gather constructive feedback from your online connections.

  • Gather analytics: Gathering analytics is extremely important because it gives you a clear sense of what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. It also allows you to track everything that you are doing and make adjustments as needed.

Conclusion

There are many creative ways that you can increase your number of LinkedIn followers. Remember, LinkedIn is one of the top social media channels for professionals. You have to tools to make them a part of your inner circle and the more effective your LinkedIn page is, the closer you will get to your ultimate goal, which is more relationships and more clients.

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Author

  • Michael Cohn

    Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has decades of experience in IT and web technologies. Michael founded CompuKol Communications to help small businesses and entrepreneurs increase their visibility and reputation. CompuKol consults, creates, and implements communication strategies for small businesses to monopolize their markets with a unique business voice, vision, and visibility. Mr. Cohn earned a Master’s degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master’s degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.

15 Responses

  1. Tsufit says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Step Into The Spotlight!
    Discussion: What Is Your Strategy for Linkedin Followers Growth?

    Are you guys into “number of followers” on Linked in? I know this was a big thing on Twitter when Ashton Kutcher got to 1 million.
    By Tsufit

    • Michael Cohn says:

      Tsufit, it is not about “number of followers” but about “number of qualified followers”. With LinkedIn Company Pages in order to be able to do targeted messages you need to have a minimum of 100 followers that you specifically targeting.

  2. Steven Tulman says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Social Media Marketing
    Discussion: What Is Your Strategy for LinkedIn Followers Growth?

    I personally find that posting in groups, updating your profile ensuring that you’ve added as much relevant detail as possible, and sharing interesting and thought-provoking articles with your network are the best ways to grow your follower base.
    By Steven Tulman

  3. Kevin Perry says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Networking for Business Professionals & Doctors
    Discussion: What Is Your Strategy for LinkedIn Followers Growth?

    Another way that was not mentioned in the article is belonging to groups like this. Of course it’s not enough to simply join the group, you must contribute so that others from the group see your updates.

    Another easy way to build connections is to use the search tool at the top of the page and search for “LION”. LION stands for LinkedIn Open Networker. If anyone has that term in their name or description they will accept any invitations.
    By Kevin Perry [LION 3300+]

  4. Traci Reynolds says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Step Into The Spotlight!
    Discussion: What Is Your Strategy for LinkedIn Followers Growth?

    I am going to preface by saying that I am discussing a personal page, not a business page. I am on the fence about this one; quantity vs. quality. I know that we certainly want to connect with quality leads that can lead to meaningful business relationships, but what about the LinkedIn search? If someone searches for “virtual assistant”, it benefits me to have a larger network in order to be exposed to a broader audience.
    By Traci Reynolds

  5. Karen Klein says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Networking for Business Professionals & Doctors
    Discussion: What Is Your Strategy for LinkedIn Followers Growth?

    But is accepting every invitation really the answer? It is great to have lots of connections, but most folks won’t help others in their network with referrals (for clients or jobs) unless they know them …not just a name. Many times, I have asked for introductions to a linked in person and am told that my LinkedIn person “friend” doesn’t really know the other person. Others have this experience? We need a way to separate our true colleagues and friends from those that just add numbers to their LinkedIn profile.
    By Karen Klein

  6. Kevin Perry says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Networking for Business Professionals & Doctors
    Discussion: What Is Your Strategy for LinkedIn Followers Growth?

    Having more connections helps tremendously with the vitality of anything you post. If something you post is liked or commented on by one of your connections, that post is then visible to everyone connected with that person. Then another comment from another person and it could snowball from there.
    By Kevin Perry [LION 3300+]

  7. Henry Rosenberg says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Networking for Business Professionals & Doctors
    Discussion: What Is Your Strategy for LinkedIn Followers Growth?

    Good points Karen. Google+ allows you to categorize your connections. I wish we could do that here too.
    By Henry Rosenberg

    • Michael Cohn says:

      Henry, You can categorize your connections in LinkedIn using tags. However, note that this article is primarily geared toward LinkedIn Company Pages “Followers” rather than LinkedIn Connections.

      Like any other social networks, you can control your connections but you cannot control your fans/followers. You can communicate one-on-one with business connections, however, you can only communicate with fans/followers in broadcast mode. LinkedIn Company Page allows you to target your broadcast messages using several criteria’s if your target has more than 100 followers.

      As an analogy think about a celebrity or musician. They cannot choose who their fans/followers are and the only way they communicate use their fans/followers is via broadcast.

  8. John Nemo says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
    Discussion: What Is Your Strategy for LinkedIn Followers Growth?

    Great topic!

    One suggestion I have: I would set up your own unique Group that caters to a SPECIFIC audience you want to reach. Make sure it is branded with your logo/artwork, has a link to your website, etc. Then I’d suggest you invite your best prospects and all new connections to your Group. Stock it with your best posts/tips/strategies and do NOT let competitors in. Instead make it an exclusive Group where you basically get to share your BEST insight, advice and tips with your ideal prospects. Think of it like your own personal fishing pond that you stock by hand with your ideal prospects!

    Meanwhile, you should also keep sharing in all the other Groups you’re a part of (Groups where your ideal clients/customers are hanging out) along with your own branded Group. However the big benefit of your own Group is that you’ll basically be building a targeted list of several hundred (or thousands!) of your ideal prospects/audience that you have all to yourself.

    Inside your personal, branded Group, they are more of a captive audience. You control everything, you control all the posts, you keep out the spam and sales pitches, and you get to feature your best posts/content whenever you want and show off for these guys.

    Having your own Group also means you get to email everyone in your Group every 7 days with whatever content you want to share, events, announcements, etc.

    Plus having your own Group gives you a good “ask” to include in your invites to new prospects/clients.

    Example invite: “Hi John – I’d love to connect and also invite you to my new Group on B2B Sales & Marketing Tips! Would love to have your insight and input, and I think you’d find the content and discussions really helpful considering what you guys are up to!”

    Hope that helps!
    By John Nemo

  9. Ed Drozda says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
    Discussion: What Is Your Strategy for LinkedIn Followers Growth?

    I am with you Maria. If you want the numbers, go for it but if you want “connections” it takes a lot more work. On average I receive about 7 requests a week to connect. To each of these folks I send a note requesting that we chat to learn more about how we can benefit from connecting on LinkedIn. My response rate is far less than 1%. Why? Because I imagine these folks want simply to raise their connection level and don’t give a $%^$ about me. That is not what I am here for.
    By Ed Drozda

  10. Maria Marsala says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
    Discussion: What Is Your Strategy for LinkedIn Followers Growth?

    Good for you Ed! Ya, I have a letter, too. I think that 1 of 10 actually are willing to “talk”.

    When I cleaned out my list, I sent notes to everyone. Let me tell you that people were actually highly pissed that I would ask them to talk to me! I mean 25 or so very angry notes back about being controlling, and those were the nice ones 🙂

    I went from 2500 to 86… I mean, give me a break! Don’t connect unless you really want to connect. 🙂
    By Maria Marsala

  11. Ed Drozda says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
    Discussion: What Is Your Strategy for LinkedIn Followers Growth?

    Yes indeed I failed to mention that among the responses that I do get there are a number who take the opportunity to remind me what I am missing out on. But even then they do not wish to chat. And for the record I do have a small number of folks I do not know (because in the beginning I was indeed caught up in the numbers game) and while I have never cleared them out I always remind those who request introductions that there are some people in that boat.
    By Ed Drozda

  12. Maria Marsala says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
    Discussion: What Is Your Strategy for LinkedIn Followers Growth?

    After amassing 2500 subscribers, in 2010, I came to the conclusion that for me quality is better than quantity. So now I have 100 connections on LI… all of whom I’ve spoken to at least once.
    By Maria Marsala

  13. Amitash Pradhaan says:

    Yeah! Interesting! As you said LinkedIn is the fabulous social media channel for all professionals. After creating LinkedIn account you mentioned many steps to increase followers. Thanks for sharing this.