Here Are The Steps You Need to Take in 2022 for LinkedIn Success

By Wayne Breitbarth, Andersen Alumnus and CEO-Power Formula LLC (Author of “The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success: Kick-Start Your Business, Brand and Job Search’)

Whether you've had lackluster results this year or great results and you want to keep things rolling in the new year, I've got good news for you. If you follow these simple LinkedIn tips, 2022 just may be your best year ever.

And these suggestions are not just for salespeople and business owners. If you're looking for a new job, in need of volunteers or donors for your nonprofit, or interested in growing a strategic network to accomplish your professional goals, these tips are perfect for you, too.

And here's the really good news. You can do it all with a FREE LinkedIn account.

Outlined below are the "low hanging fruit," the strategies that will produce the most significant results in a short period of time. "Pick" a few and get started today.

Five LinkedIn strategies that bring big results

After the broad comments, you'll find a link to an article with step-by-step details for executing each strategy..

1. Reach out to targeted members of your network

This strategy works well if you've done a good job of building a network that includes some people with whom you have a high level of trust and will thus be more likely to respond to your request.

Do a search of your first-level connections, and use filters like location, title, industry, current company, etc. Then you'll have a great list of people you can contact with a LinkedIn direct message or by email, phone, etc. and invite them to an event, share important industry news, let them know you'll be in their area, or ask for help with your job search.

I find that many people don't take advantage of this strategy because they don't know how to use LinkedIn's advanced search function.

Additional Resource: Your LinkedIn Network is a Gold Mine of Opportunity

2. Leverage the networks of your current clients or other referral sources

This is the ultimate referral strategy on LinkedIn. Once you see who knows whom, you can ask for an introduction.

Start by identifying your connections who are well networked and love connecting people with each other. Next, do filtered searches of their networks, and put together a list of six to twelve people you think could improve your chances of landing a new client or that new job. Then contact your connections and ask them to introduce you to the people you've discovered.

Additional Resource: LinkedIn Is the Best Referral Tool You've Ever Had

3. Improve and expand your profile Headline to 220 characters

Headlines are meant to draw attention to the full article or in this case your full profile. Have you taken advantage of the 100-character expansion of this section? If not, get this done right away, including things like additional descriptions of your products and services, your job skills, or a specific call to action (more on that next).

Additional Resource: How Much is Your LinkedIn Headline Helping You?

4. Revise your profile to include specific calls to action

Most people's LinkedIn profiles look like resumes—and many times they aren't even good resumes. Don't be one of those people!

Start by thinking of your profile as your main online marketing tool or your weapon to win the professional battle. No matter what your current LinkedIn objective is, you should have several specific calls to action strategically placed in your profile to move readers from being interested to taking action—visiting your website, downloading resources or your resume, viewing video, listening to a podcast, etc.

Additional Resource: Great, You Viewed My LinkedIn Profile...Now What?

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5. Engage directly with LinkedIn users who have viewed your profile or invited you to connect

You'd be surprised how many people do absolutely nothing when others attempt to engage with them on LinkedIn. Granted, there will be spammers who check out your profile or invite you to join their networks, but most people are legitimately interested in engaging with you.

If you're already connected to people who viewed your profile, you may want to send them a note to ask how you can help them.

If you notice that interesting people outside your network have viewed your profile, invite them to join your network and offer them something of value (free quote, white paper, informative video, etc.) or ask if they'd be interested in a phone call or meeting with you.

When you receive an invitation to connect from people you'd like to have in your network, accept their invitation, thank them for reaching out, and propose one of the next steps outlined in the above paragraph.

Additional Resource: Are the Right People Waiting to Hear From You on LinkedIn?

Now that you know about the "low hanging fruit" on LinkedIn, get busy and put some of these strategies into practice.