4 Ways to Grow Your LinkedIn Following in 2023

The opinions expressed by Entrepreneurs contributors are their own.

The future of TikTok is uncertain. Twitter is in a period of tumult. Instagram engagement is down. So, which social platform should entrepreneurs focus on best? Consider the ever-solid LinkedIn.

By building a strong network on LinkedIn, entrepreneurs can build valuable relationships, share ideas and thought leadership, and establish themselves as industry experts.

I asked the people who made the most waves on LinkedIn what they were doing well. Here are their tips.

Related: 5 LinkedIn Content Ideas for Entrepreneurs to Drive Growth and Visibility in 2023

1. Share the real you

Gone are the days when LinkedIn only focused on conservative, buttoned-up posts meant to show off how professional you are. My most successful post is the one in which I included my first rejection letter, from when I was 12, adding my thoughts on how to stay determined.

Honestly, I owe most of my success on Linked to Justin Welsh, the founder of The Diversified Solopreneur and creator of one of the most popular courses on LinkedIn (he's helped over 10,000 students, including me , to amass over 3,497,000,000 impressions on LinkedIn).

According to Welsh, the generic content “Here’s how to be a better leader” may have worked in the past. Yet now that entrepreneurs have started flooding LinkedIn, it takes a lot more than general gimmicks to get the right kind of follower.

"Everyone will share things like 'The ten steps to this or that,'" he says. "But the person who writes things that show their unique journey will stand out and attract a kind of sticky follower who will go with them."

Tara Horstmeyer, Trainer and Executive Advisor at LinkedIn, believes that the rise of AI means video, and “live” will become more critical as video increases the angle of authenticity.

"Anytime you can visually bring out your face, your words, your voice, just your personality, it's going to help," she says.

On the other hand, Welsh eschews video and instead emphasizes writing messages that go against the grain.

"It's not just about what you're writing about, but also what you're against," he says. "I write a lot about building your own business as an entrepreneur, but I also write about the opposite, which is to say I'm against the traditional nine to five. In a world of 4, 9 billion people online, opposing views help you stand out."

2. Remember it's human psychology first, algorithm second

Because LinkedIn is constantly rolling out new features, it can be easy to get swayed by people who swear the algorithm favors newsletters or that content posted through scheduling platforms won't get seen as widely. Ultimately, no algorithm can beat a basic understanding of what motivates people.

“Human beings have been functioning the same way for hundreds of years,” says Welsh. “The person who will grow the most in 2023 will ride the wave of trends but also master the basics by knowing their audience and their ideal customer profile, telling stories, being empathetic, learning copywriting and understanding the customer journey. "

3. Commitment is the name of the game

While success on any social media platform involves interaction, on LinkedIn it is crucial. This means finding people like you and commenting on their posts, instead of just responding to comments people make on your posts.

Yet it's not just about giving a thumbs up or writing "Great message" and walking away. It's about reading messages (sometimes quite long) and providing thoughtful responses.

The benefit of commenting on other people's posts is that, according to Horstmeyer, "you find your voice, you find...