5 LinkedIn Growth-Hacking Strategies for 2020

Carlos Gil

LinkedIn may not get as much love in the social media world as platforms like Instagram and Facebook, but there’s still no better way to get in front of business decision-makers than LinkedIn. If you’re a marketer, salesperson or another type of professional who wants to connect with executives and other brand leaders who have the ability to actually write you a check, LinkedIn is where you want to be.

As someone who previously worked as a global senior social marketing manager at LinkedIn and who still works with the platform as an instructor for LinkedIn Learning, I can say first-hand that there are concrete steps you can take to find success on this network, including:

1. Use the right set of keywords.

LinkedIn can be used as a search engine of sorts, where recruiters, brand marketers, CEOs, etc., can find people to work with by simply typing in a few keywords related to what they’re looking for, like “software engineers,” “graphic designers” or any other term that can lead them to qualified individuals. That means that you need to optimize your LinkedIn profile, especially in your “About” section, to include keywords related to what you want to be contacted for so that others can find you.

4. Leverage LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram together.

Since you don’t want to go for the hard sell through LinkedIn after connecting there, or worse, send a cold pitch to someone you found on LinkedIn but never met, you can instead leverage multiple social media networks together. For example, it’s fine for sales professionals to compile a database of prospects based on who they find or connect with on LinkedIn, but then take the time to connect on other platforms like Twitter and Instagram to get to know them better.

For example, on Twitter a prospect may share a more personal opinion than they would on LinkedIn, which can give you a chance to respond organically and form a more human connection. Or if you connect with someone through Instagram first, connect with them on LinkedIn too so when the moment is right to talk business, you have the opportunity to do so in an environment where that prospect is comfortable.

See all 5 strategies, a video from Carlos, and the full Entrepreneur article