Slay the LinkedIn Game

Read Time — 3 Minutes

There is one thing in life that instills fear in most people.

Skydiving? Nope.

Public speaking? Getting closer.

Any guesses?

It’s….networking!

Did your heart immediately sink? Did you hear nails on a chalkboard? (sorry if you did!)

Networking feels:

Stiff. Formal. Boring. Am I right??

You instantly think of shaking hands, business suits, and exchanging business cards. Blech. (does anyone even use business cards in 2024?)

But what if I told you I’ve cracked the code on a new, highly effective method to make networking fun?

And it’s a proven way to secure job leads and referrals.

Intrigued? Let’s get to it!

LinkedIn: Your New BFF

I’m going to spill the tea on a super creative way to connect with new people on LinkedIn.

1. Follow influential people 

Start with following thought leaders in your industry. Typically these are the people you genuinely admire and aspire to be.

How can you follow them officially? You should click Follow on their profile page or click +Follow next to one of their posts.

But what if you’re unsure of who to follow? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!

Here are a few examples of highly successful people with large LinkedIn followings (and some of my personal favorites!):

• Justin Welsh

• Lara Acosta

• Jasmin Alic

• Jon Brosio

• Sahil Bloom

2. Get notified when they post

See the bell icon on the right, the one directly under Sahil’s profile banner and next to the ‘in’ icon? Click that!

3. When they post, go to the comments section

The page defaults to Most Relevant. But I recommend sorting by ‘Most Recent’. On big creator’s posts, they often get hundreds (if not thousands) of comments. The people who comment first often receive the most comments. So when you sort by the most recent comments, those people likely haven’t had any engagement. Which is where you come in!

4. Comment on other people’s comments

I recommend searching for comments that truly resonate with you. That way when you comment, you’re coming from a genuine place.

Make sure that your comment adds value. Some examples:

Bad (no value):

• I agree!

• Great point!

• Fantastic idea!

Good (tons of value):

• Angela, that’s a truly unique idea. I implemented a similar strategy by doing [this], which 3x my results!

• Peter, your point about going out of your comfort zone resonates with me. As an introvert, I’ve always struggled to challenge myself in social situations. But I tried [this technique] and it really works!

• Rachel, I love your creative take on productivity. I also use work blocks to improve my focus, but your idea to do [this] is genius!

Why does adding value to their comment work so well? You’ve invested in their investment.

It takes time to comment on posts, so the fact that you validated their idea immediately wins you points with them!

5. Direct message (DM) those people

This is where the true networking comes in!

Start by sending them a Connect request and Add a Note. This is free, so you avoid having to pay for InMails!

Use this template:

“Hi [name]! Thanks for exchanging comments with me on [influencer’s name]’s post today. You have great ideas around [topic], so I thought it would be nice to connect officially :)”

You’ll be genuinely surprised at how many people accept your connection request and reply to you!

The Double Dare Challenge

Now that you know the coolest way ever to network on LinkedIn (or so I like to think!), I’m going to give you a Double Dare bonus round to take your networking a step further.

When (not if) they reply to your message, then what do you do?

Don’t panic, first of all :)

My recommendation: Ask them if they want to hop on a Zoom call.

Yup, you’re going to put the social back in social media!

Here’s a template:

“Thanks for your quick reply! You know, I really enjoy connecting with new people and hearing their stories. It would be great to hear more about how you [got into an industry, mastered a skill, became a thought leader]! I’ve been holding Zoom calls lately and it’s proven to be a great way for me to get to know people on a personal level. Would you be interested in setting up time to chat this week?”

I recommend personalizing this template to make it your own. But hopefully this sparks some ideas!

Now when people say “You should network!” you have a great new way to make genuine connections. And you never know how these relationships could bloom into friendships, potential business partners, or job leads. That’s the beauty of it!

Big hugs, Jenny

P.S. Want to network with me? Respond to this email and say hi! It would be great to hear how you like the newsletter. I reply to every email!

I love connecting with Layoff Lemonade subscribers to help you in your career journey! You can book a free intro chat to speak with me here.

My friend Bedilia Ramirez who is an expert career coach is running a virtual peer support group for women who are going through career transitions. Check out her website to learn more!