How to grow your LinkedIn network
Social media has become increasingly prominent within both our business and social lives over the past few years. With relationships built on the internet, producers are learning that almost anything is achievable if you’re willing to invest time in networking. Therefore, we’re going to discuss how to grow your network on LinkedIn – a business networking social media platform. Unlike Facebook or Instagram, it’s not a place in which you should post about last nights Pizza or an epic event at a club. Instead, LinkedIn is more of a professional platform in which you can network with individuals around the entire entertainment industry to further your career.
Firstly, optimizing your profile is absolutely essential to growing your network. In order to make it look attractive to like-minded business people within the music industry, there are several things that you can do. For example, fill out your information and include recent photos, use keywords so that people can search for you, and include the locations of places in which you’ve worked at in the past.
Next, you should be posting updates on a consistent basis so that people are regularly seeing your content in their feed. Although it is a social network, posting the links to your new music is quite possibly the worst thing that you can do. Nobody will be interested. Instead, create social media posts on LinkedIn that add value towards the recipient(s) reading the post. For example, if you are a music producer, you could write a post on good practices for mastering an EDM song. If possible, include a call to action button so that people can follow up on your content by engaging with you directly. As people who interact tend to recommend you to their connections, this method of posting regular content allows you to grow your network. But what use does LinkedIn offer to the average EDM producer? One of the most exciting tools is the ability to go into a company and view pretty much everyone who works there. This allows you to either message them on Facebook or LinkedIn and build a genuine relationship. For example, you could search for the A&Rs at Sony Music and build a relationship with them. As you become friends, they naturally listen to your music and love it – causing you to potentially release a track with Sony. You get the idea. Every time you establish a new connection, send them a personalized message so that you can start building strong relationships within the platform.
Due to your LinkedIn profile showing a record of everywhere you’ve worked at in the past, it essentially acts as a resume for your music career. Within your email signature, it’s a good practice to include a LinkedIn profile link so that people you’re conversing with on email can potentially add you to their networks – thus growing yours. Joining LinkedIn groups is another great way to expand your network within the music industry. For example, you could search for people based around music production or artist management. By engaging with people in those communities, it allows you to connect with others in the same niche and grow your brand persona within the music industry. After all, if you’re constantly providing useful advice/comments to top industry figures, they’re going to develop an interest in your music and your career. In conclusion, growing your LinkedIn network is a great opportunity to grow your personal brand and further your music career. By creating connections with people around the music industry, it allows you to develop relationships with people that have influence within their particular niche.