My LinkedIn Networking Strategy

How many people tell you, "Oh you really gotta use LinkedIn more to connect to people and create opportunities for yourself!"?

I feel like out of every 5 people I meet and talk to about business, at least one tells me I need to use LinkedIn more. And if you're an actor reading this, it can feel even more difficult to network because most actors are not on LinkedIn!

I used to have no idea what to do. Yeah, sure! I'll put my headshot on there and make sure my profile is up to date... but what else is there? Connect with people and send them a creepy "Hi, I just met you online and want to be your friend," message?

I was stuck for years having no clue how to use for LinkedIn or what I'd need it for besides just having my presence up to date and looking professional to anyone who happened to stumble across my profile.

Well, all that changed for me last year when I realized exactly how I could use this social media tool generate new opportunities for myself and my business.

I'm not a natural "social networker." Are you?

​I don't enjoy social networking personally. I'd rather do an email list or have coffee meetings and phone calls with people.

Maybe it's because I was born in the 80s?

Anyway, we recently had to start contacting numerous casting directors, agents, and acting teachers for a program we were working on. How would I find these people? We knew some, but not nearly enough for what we were doing,

After a bit of thinking, I realized the obvious answer. LinkedIn!

I decided to hop onto my LinkedIn profile because I had over 500 connections and I figured maybe I could somehow search for the people I was looking for. So I typed into the search bar "Talent Agent," and guess what popped up? Hundreds of talent agents in New York.

Wow!

Now if only I could email them... I normally hate sending messages to people through LinkedIn because let's face it, most of them don't respond or check their LinkedIn except for once every few months, right?

Well, luckily I figured out a way to find almost all these people's email addresses online using a tool called hunter.io. After discovering the people I needed to reach out to, it was only a matter of getting in touch with them, making the right impression along with a great offer, and we'd be off to the races and building our network.

Imagine doing this while lounging on your couch. Yeah that's LinkedIn.

Well, I'm going to summarize the exact way I now use LinkedIn to create new opportunities whenever we need them. Here is exactly what I do, in order. If you're going to follow this strategy, don't cheat and skip any steps!

1. Figure out what you actually want. You need to be clear on this to ensure that you know what your focus will be and how to stay on track. I think this was one of the biggest problems for years... I never knew what I actually wanted, and so I didn't see how LinkedIn would be able to help me.
2. Figure out who you really want to speak with and why. Who is it that would be useful for you to connect with? Do you want to meet people who can give you or your company specific opportunities? What are those opportunities you want?
3. What job title do these people you want to meet with have in common? Once you know the general job titles, you can actually find their names using LinkedIn.
4. What can you offer them when you get in touch with them? Why should they want to speak with you? What do you have that they will actually find valuable and helpful, and how can you offer it to them via email?
5. Write up a template message. After you figure out the answers to these questions, write up a template email you can send out that includes who you are and what you're offering to them and why you're doing it.
6. Search. Next, search for all these people using LinkedIn’s search feature and start going through pages, one by one, to find everyone you need.
7. Contact them. Finally, either message them directly within LinkedIn or, even better, use some free online tools like hunter.io to find their email address and remember to follow up. Note - if you use a headshot in your email signature, it's been proven to increase response rates!

Now I want to hear from you… what do you really want with your career at the deepest level? And why do you want it so much? And if you were able to create opportunities for yourself out of thin air, what would they be?

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