Search LinkedIn like a Pro with our Top Tips!

With over 1 Billion users worldwide, 42.2 million of which are in the UK alone, LinkedIn is no longer just an online CV to help you find your next role!

And though it might seem simple at first, one of LinkedIn’s most powerful features is its vast search capabilities!

Having spent the last 10+ years developing successful lead generation strategies for our clients in both B2B and B2C industries, we wanted to share some of the hidden features of LinkedIn searches that, when mastered, can take your LinkedIn marketing efforts to a whole new level.

Advanced Search

While LinkedIn has come a long way since its days as an “online CV”, one thing remains the same – people’s data is displayed in a structured format. Therefore, unlike other social media platforms, you don’t have to combine your search into a specific query (e.g. Marketing Manager in Leeds); you can actually specify query terms for specific fields.

For example, you can use Marketing Manager as your keyword and select Leeds as the location – making it much simpler to find Marketing Managers who are based in Leeds! Other advanced filters include Current and Past Companies, Industries (this one is particularly helpful if you generally work with specific industries such as IT companies or Financial Services) and Degree of Connection (1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd).

Advanced Search filters will appear once you have searched for your first keyword or phrase and can be altered at any time throughout your search.

Boolean Search – Quoted Searches

If you are looking to search for an exact job title on LinkedIn, the simplest way to do so is by enclosing it in quotation marks. For example, if you search Marketing Manager on LinkedIn, it will bring up people who have the words Marketing and Manager in their job titles, but not necessarily together. Whereas, if you search “Marketing Manager”, it will bring up accounts that have that exact job title.

Boolean Search – NOT

If you want to exclude a search term from your results, you can do so by using NOT. For example, if you search Marketing NOT Sales, LinkedIn will exclude accounts that feature the word Sales.

Please note, NOT must be capitalised.

Boolean Search – OR

If you want to see results that include one or more items in a list, you can do so by using OR (again, this must be capitalised).

For example, if you are looking to target people who specialise in Marketing or Advertising, you would search Marketing OR Advertising. This is a great way to broaden your search results by returning people who have any one of those terms in their profiles.

Boolean Search – AND

If you wish to search for people who have two or more specific terms in their profile, you can do so by using AND. For example, if you are searching for people who specialise in both Marketing and Advertising, you would search Marketing AND Advertising.

As with the previous terms AND must be capitalised.

AND can also be combined with OR for even more powerful search results. For example, if you are looking to target Managers or Directors that specialise in Marketing or Advertising, you can split the search into:

(Director OR Manager) AND (Marketing OR Advertising)

Brackets must be used to group the OR terms together to ensure the AND applies correctly.

Sales Navigator

From around £69.99 per month (prices vary depending on the package level and subscription length), you can upgrade your LinkedIn account to Sales Navigator.

We encourage all of our clients to upgrade to Sales Navigator as not only does it come with unlimited monthly searches, but it also offers extra Advanced Search features. One of these (and one we use for all of our clients) is the Company Headcount. This allows you to refine your searches even further by choosing the headcount of the company people work for. Other filters include Function, Seniority Level and extra Geography options.

The Boolean Searches detailed above also work the same on Sales Navigator.

It may take a bit of extra practice and, in the case of Sales Navigator, a bit more of an investment, but incorporating these tips into your LinkedIn strategy is a great way to ensure you are targeting the right people on LinkedIn.

Over the past few years, we have seen huge successes on LinkedIn for our clients with many generating million-pound deals, landing their dream clients and even significantly increasing their headcounts – many examples of which you can view on our LinkedIn Lead Generation page.

Looking to drive sales and grow your business through LinkedIn Lead Generation but simply don’t have the skills or time?

Give us a buzz on Leeds: 0113 3206266 or Harrogate: 01423 297009 or click here to contact us.