So you’ve got your profile to All Star status, your building your connections and people are starting to notice. Now what? First and foremost, LinkedIn is a networking tool, so here’s the 5 golden rules to successful networking on LinkedIn:

1. Do your homework

If you wish to connect with someone on LinkedIn, the most important question to ask is why? Whether you want to do business together, develop your career or talk shop, be clear on who you want to build a relationship with and why. It pays to know as much as possible about them. Take the time to read their profile. Not only will they see that you’ve been looking, but you’ll also have a much better understanding of what and who you have in common, and how you can help each other.

Picture yourself walking into a room for a networking event, you wouldn’t simply walk around distributing business cards at will, you have to take the time to introduce yourself to someone and find out more about them. The same is true on LinkedIn – a little homework goes a long way.

2. Ask for an introduction

After you’ve reviewed their profile and furthered your understanding, connecting is the next step. Make use of those contacts you already have! Is there someone you want to connect with that a current contact can introduce you to? You are more likely to get an accepted response via a mutual contact than a random unknown request.

3. Personalise. Personalise. Personalise.

If an introduction is proving difficult to get, you can of course send an invitation to connect. Taking the time to personalise this is vital. Make it clear you’ve read their profile and understand their line of work. Explain what you’re interested in and why you’d like to keep up to date with their news. Keep it friendly, professional – and brief!

4. And never ever spam

There’s nothing worse is there? Someone invites you to connect, they sound interesting so you accept and WHAM! Hit straight in the inbox with a spammy sales message. It will be treated the same way as the rubbish leaflets that come through my door – thrown straight in the bin!

5. Add value

Finally, think about how you can add value for your newly acquired connections. Are you interested in their services or are they a potential employer? Make sure to invest time in your LinkedIn presence to cultivate an intelligent and professional image, and if you see something that might be of relevance to your new acquaintance, send it to them. This is about building relationships and sharing interests, not going in for the hard sell. Leave the cat pictures for Facebook and the cold calls for PPI sellers!