Defining your contact strategy on Linkedin means creating a really useful network that goes far beyond a simple accumulation of contacts. Based on Valérie March's book, "Linkedin, Twitter to develop your business", we give you 5 best practices for creating and maintaining your Linkedin network.
1- Make people want to
Your Linkedin profile will be viewed by potential employers, employees and partners. It must therefore be catchy, in order to make these people want to continue reading.
To do this, we advise you to:
- fill in all the information that makes up your profile
- Detail your experiences precisely
- Highlight your professional recommendations
If you don't know what to wear exactly, don't hesitate to check out profiles similar to yours and get inspired by them.
2- Define your contact strategy
To establish your contact strategy, you should choose between a small or extensive network.
By opting for a restricted network based mainly on your physical network, you will have an easier time maintaining this network and reacting to different publications.
By choosing to work with an extensive network, you will have the opportunity to promote your expertise. This means that you'll have to be proactive and post on a regular basis. You will be looking to expand your network by thousands of contacts, there is plenty to do knowing that the limit is located at 30,000 contacts on Linkedin.
3- Define your ecosystem
This notion of ecosystem is really very important and it gives you the opportunity to guide the development of your network. You need to define which businessmanager, what function , what area of expertise, and which geographical areas you are going to target.
4- Who should I contact?
At first, you can focus on people you know and use Linkedin's contact suggestions. You can get back in touch with former colleagues, service providers for whom you have worked. Then, select people related to the ecosystem you've defined. Are you interested in these people, but not part of your network? Work on a common point that you can highlight for a first approach. We strongly advise you to send a personalized message for any contact request.
5- Handle contact requests
In order to grow your Linkedin network, you need to be strategic.
It is customary to accept a request that comes from someone you know in real life. However, you have the right to refuse it. When you don't know this person, you have to find an interest in them, you can accept it if they are part of the previously defined ecosystem.
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