Increasingly more professionals are exploring how they can gain more connections on the LinkedIn network, and whether they're doing all they can to enhance their profile.

LinkedIn is still intimidating. Consider both who to connect with and who not to connect with. However, those hesitations can also hinder your efforts to build new connections and expand your professional network.

What are some ways you can expand your professional network on LinkedIn and make sure these new contacts support your business goals? These 10 tips can help you know how to get LinkedIn connections fast that support your professional success:

1.  Invite co-workers from the past and present

It's easy to find people from your past companies who are members of LinkedIn. You can then connect without knowing their email address. It is the main reason why most people use LinkedIn, to locate former colleagues.

If your LinkedIn profile is not up-to-date, you won't be able to use the benefits of LinkedIn for job seekers or employers. You will find more colleagues if you list more companies in your profile. For the best results, make sure to complete your profile for every job you have held since you started working.

2.    2.Invite classmates from the present and the past

As with old colleagues, you can find old classmates on LinkedIn. If you have attended more than one school, you must update your profile for each school.

Most profiles I see only go back as far as college. Even though I have added my high school to my profile, I have only been able to find other classmates via keyword search rather than this feature.

3.   3. Email Your Business and Personal Contacts

It is usually through this method that new people join the LinkedIn network. You can conveniently check your digital address books on LinkedIn to see if anyone in your contact database is on LinkedIn, and then send an invitation with a single click. Here, I warn you not to invite everyone on these lists.

1     4 .You can invite members of LinkedIn groups you belong to

It is easy to find and join Groups on LinkedIn. It is easy to join a group, and I have not received an adverse reaction yet, although some ask you to register on their website or provide your email address. Joining a group is easy and has the benefit of allowing you to perform advanced searches within your group to find people that are not part of your social network.

2    5. Connect with People you've Found on an Advanced Search After Finding Them

If you want to grow your network quickly on LinkedIn, this is the most popular method. LinkedIn automation tools operate the same way. Other professional networks do not provide the ability to locate and contact individuals within a particular industry, company or title. LinkedIn is a godsend for salespeople (or recruiters).

If you disregard the wishes of other LinkedIn users, you risk losing your LinkedIn account, as they may report your invites as spam.

1     6. Completely Fill Out Your Work Profile

Since LinkedIn is about finding and being found, it goes hand-in-hand with actively searching for people. You should include every job you have held since you graduated from college in your resume. The content is not as crucial as the company name and years of employment.                        

2    7. Complete Your Education Profile

Filling out a work profile has the same purpose. Be sure to list all of your schools since high school. Include your higher education degree in your profile, whether you studied abroad during or after college or obtained an Executive MBA or another degree. It will help former classmates find you.

1    8  If you accept invitations, state it in your profile

As long as you indicate in your contact settings, summary, or headline that you accept invites, it'll be easy for you to receive more invitations since open networkers won't be afraid of a dreaded "IDK" from you.

Do an Advanced Search with "accept invites" or something similar as the keyword and see what others do.

Read More -  How to Use LinkedIn Features to Use in Your Job Search

2    9. Join groups that match your interests or that meet your goals

The reality is that while there are many “open networking groups” available, I only join those that are aligned with my objectives and to which I can add value. Thus, you will receive invitations from serious members of groups that may not necessarily be open networkers.

3    10. Promote your LinkedIn profile everywhere you can

How to increase your LinkedIn connections by promoting your profile everywhere? LinkedIn provides many opportunities to promote and grow your network, from email signatures to printing your LinkedIn profile URL on your business cards.

It's essential to keep in mind that LinkedIn has many safeguards in place to prevent you from building your network too quickly.