Did you know that of the almost 1 billion LinkedIn users globally only 5-7% are active. That means the majority of users are not logging into LinkedIn on a consistent basis. If you are looking to gain more brand or product exposure, position yourself as a thought-leader in your industry or looking for a career move you’ll want to stay top of mind which ultimately results in more opportunities.
You’ve heard the saying the people do business with those they know, like and trust. I believe building trust is key to success and when you naturally put people to the top of your mind, you are nurturing the relationships all while building trust.
Here are 10 Ways to stay top of mind with your LinkedIn network:
- Come from a place of authenticity. “You cannot trust what you don’t believe to be real”
- Log into your LinkedIn account daily and look for 4-5 posts that you can leave a comment on. I suggest you look for posts from people you want to stay top of mind with. Could be past customers, industry influencers, referral partners, people at companies you’d like to work for or gain their business.
- Reconnect with your network. Compile a short list of the top 12-20 LinkedIn contacts you value, if you haven’t spoken in a while send a reconnection message. With the holidays coming up here is an example:
Hi {firstname}, I wanted to take a moment to reach out and extend my warmest wishes as we head towards the end of the year. If there’s anything I can do to assist you on [your service], please don’t hesitate to let me know. Wishing you a very happy holiday season! - Reach out to past clients, thank them again for their business and include a free resource you have compiled or industry article that you thought they would find useful. If appropriate, ask if they know anyone that could benefit from your services.
- Develop a content strategy. When you post relevant, useful information you will stay top of mind and become known for your expertise. Consistency combined with your expertise will keep you top of mind in your network and can have the highest impact. (Limit self-promotion.)
- Give someone in your network an unsolicited ‘Recommendation’ on their profile. Obviously, this would have to be someone whose skills you have experienced and can write about with confidence.
- Look for opportunities to be helpful. Being helpful is not a science, it’s personal and genuine. People are always asking for help, you just need to notice and then put helpfulness into practice.
- Provide referrals. When you build a network of trusted resources, then providing a referral should be easy. I often get asked if I know website designers, sales trainers and business consultants.
- Share opportunities with your network. This could be job or business opportunities.
- Follow-up! I believe following up with past clients, leads and even people who may have been a champion in your job search can be one of the most impactful tasks you can do. In following up you are letting people know they are seen, and you care. I often follow-up with clients I worked with to see if they landed a job or if their marketing efforts have garnered results.
Staying top of mind is a much simpler strategy than always looking for new prospects and building new relationships because that strategy is always about starting over. Nurturing the network you already have ultimately takes less time and feels more authentic.
Remember the network you already have can provide you with introductions, referrals and new business.
