Networking
How to Get More LinkedIn Followers: 6 Steps to Start
Updated: October 21, 2026 · 10 min read
Key takeaways
- A follow goes one way and a connection goes both ways. Accepting a connection request makes you follow each other, but following someone does not connect you.
- People follow you when they expect more of what helped them. Name the one reader you want and write for that person.
- Buffer's data from more than 2 million posts links more posts per week to more impressions per post. It did not measure follower growth.
- Comments on posts your reader already reads put your name in front of them without a post of your own.
- Skip bought followers and automation. Count conversations as well as followers.
Short answer: To get more LinkedIn followers, pick one reader you want to help, say on your profile what following you gives them, post on a rhythm you can keep, and comment where that reader already reads. Then talk to the people who answer. Followers grow slowly, so count conversations too.
In this article
- What is a LinkedIn follower, and how is it different from a connection?
- How do you get more LinkedIn followers, step by step?
- Which shortcuts should you skip?
- Where does a tracker fit?
- FAQ
- Do this today
What is a LinkedIn follower, and how is it different from a connection?
A follower is someone who sees your public posts in their feed. A connection is a two-way link. Cleverly, a B2B lead generation agency, explains it this way: connections are mutual, followers are one way, and you do not automatically see the posts of the people who follow you.
Two rules matter when you want to grow. Accepting a connection request makes you follow each other, and following someone does not create a connection. Breakcold, a sales software company, says the same about connecting, and adds that connecting is what unlocks direct messages.
Both pages say followers are unlimited and connections are capped at 30,000 on a personal profile. We could not open LinkedIn's own help pages, so these descriptions come from two vendors' articles. Check the Follow and Connect settings on your own account before you rely on them.
A follower is a reader, not yet a relationship. A count tells you how many people could see a post, not who would answer a message. That is why the steps below end with a conversation.
How do you get more LinkedIn followers, step by step?
Use these six steps for a month before you judge them.
Step 1: Name the one reader you want
People follow a profile when they think, "This is written for me." So decide who "me" is. Write one sentence, and make it small enough that a real person comes to mind.
I write for [kind of person] who wants to [one job] without [one common problem].
Here is an example. Maya (an example, not a real person) is a freelance bookkeeper. Her reader is a small shop owner who dreads tax season. Every post she writes is for that one owner, so another owner who lands on her profile can tell quickly that it is for them.
Step 2: Make your profile say what following you gives
A visitor decides after one look. Check three places: your headline, the first lines of your About section, and the top of your Featured section. Say who you write for and what they get, in plain words. Publer, a social media tool, lists a complete profile with search keywords among its first steps.
Bookkeeper for small shops. One plain-English money note every Tuesday.
Only promise what you will do. If the headline says every Tuesday, write on Tuesdays.
Then look at your main button. A 2024 article from Marketing Mentor says LinkedIn began showing Follow as the main button on profiles unless you change the preference in your Followers settings under Visibility. We could not open LinkedIn's help pages to confirm it, so open your own profile and see what a visitor sees. If you want readers, Follow is fine. If you want people to talk to, Connect can fit better.
Step 3: Pick a posting rhythm you can keep
Buffer analyzed more than 2 million posts from more than 94,000 LinkedIn accounts. It compared each account's busier weeks with the same account's quieter weeks. These are the changes per post:
- 2 to 5 posts in a week: about 1,182 more impressions per post and 0.23 percentage points more engagement rate.
- 6 to 10 posts: about 5,001 more impressions per post and 0.76 points more.
- 11 or more posts: about 16,946 more impressions per post and 1.40 points more.
Read this with care. The study measured impressions and engagement, not followers. Social Media Today reported the same figures in August 2025. Buffer's own advice is 2 to 5 posts a week for steady growth, and it notes that low-quality posts made often will not do well.
So choose a number you can keep for three months. One post you are proud of is worth more than three you dread. Put your posts on fixed days, so the habit does not depend on your mood.
Step 4: Comment where your reader already reads
A post reaches the people who already see you. A comment reaches the people who read someone else's post. List five people or pages that your reader already follows. Then leave one useful comment a day on one of them: add an example, answer a question, or share a related step.
Skip "Great post!" It gives the reader nothing to remember you by. Write each comment yourself, to that one post.
I ran into the same thing with [specific detail]. What helped me was [one step]. Did you try [small change]?
Step 5: Turn a follower into a conversation
When someone comments on your posts twice, or writes to you, they have moved from reader to someone you can talk to. Cleverly describes the same order: a person follows you, engages over time, and then a connection request makes sense.
Write a short note with the request, for that person only.
Hi [first name], I liked your point about [specific thing] on [topic]. I write about [your topic] too, and I would like to stay in touch.
Never copy one message to many people. After you talk, write one line about what they care about and what you said you would do.
Step 6: Count what changed each month
Once a month, write down three numbers: followers gained, comments from people you did not know before, and conversations you started. Followers show reach. The other two show relationships.
Do not check the count every hour. Publer says gaining many followers overnight is difficult, and we found no source with a timeline, so we give none.
Which shortcuts should you skip?
Skip these:
- Bought followers. An account you pay for has no reason to read, comment or reply, so it adds a number and nothing else.
- Follow-for-follow trades. You get a count with no shared interest behind it.
- Comment groups that like each other's posts. They fill your comments with people who are not your reader.
- Automation and mass messages. Tools that send requests, comments or messages for you remove the one thing that makes a follower worth having: a real person wrote to them. Write every message yourself.
We could not open LinkedIn's own rules for this post, so we make no claim about how LinkedIn treats any of these. Read the rules yourself before you try a shortcut.
Where does a tracker fit?
Full disclosure: we make GrowthSeeded, a LinkedIn relationship tracker, so here is how Step 5 looks inside it. When someone comments or writes to you, you add them and write why they matter. After each conversation you write a note. A due-today view shows who to follow up with, and the next step comes from what happened, such as an accepted connection or a reply, not from a fixed date.
The Free plan is $0 for 5 active people at a time, and up to 20 when friends join through invites. Pro is $15 a month or $150 a year. We checked these on October 21, 2026, and they change. A tracker does not write posts, change your profile or show post numbers. If your gap is writing posts or reading results, a scheduler or an analytics tool fits better.
FAQ
How do I get more followers on LinkedIn?
Pick one reader you want to help, say on your profile what following you gives them, post on a rhythm you can keep, and comment on posts that reader already reads. Then talk to the people who answer.
What is the difference between a follower and a connection?
A follower sees your public posts. A connection is two-way, and connecting also makes you follow each other. Following someone does not make you connected.
How often should I post to get followers?
Buffer's study of more than 2 million posts links more posts per week to more impressions per post, and it advises 2 to 5 posts a week for steady growth. It measured impressions and engagement, not followers. Choose a number you can keep.
How many followers do I need?
The sources we opened give no target. A better question is whether the right people follow you and answer when you write. Count conversations as well as followers.
Should I buy followers or use a tool that follows people for me?
We do not recommend it. Bought accounts do not read your posts, and tools that act for you take away the part that matters: you writing to a real person.
How long does it take to get more followers?
No source we opened gives a timeline. Publer says gaining many followers overnight is difficult. Use the monthly count in Step 6.
Do this today
- Write one sentence that names the one reader you want to help.
- Read your headline and the first lines of About, and change one line so it says what following you gives.
- Choose your posting days for next week, and write the title of your first post.
Once someone you did not know starts commenting, the next step is easy to forget. Add them to GrowthSeeded with a note on why they matter, and its due-today view shows when to write back. You write every message, and it never sends anything or touches LinkedIn. The Free plan starts at $0.
Sources
- LinkedIn followers vs connections, Cleverly, 2025
- LinkedIn Follow vs Connect: The Difference Explained, Breakcold, checked 2026
- How Often Should You Post on LinkedIn in 2026? Data From 2 Million+ Posts, Buffer, 2025
- Report shows posting frequency is key to LinkedIn success, Social Media Today, 2025
- How To Get Followers On LinkedIn: 15 Powerful Methods, Publer, 2023
- Exploring LinkedIn Changes 2024, Marketing Mentor, checked 2026
About the author
Anisur Rahman Fagun is a marketing and content strategist with more than 9 years of experience in SEO, content, paid advertising and brand growth. He holds a master's degree in mass communication and journalism, and has led content and SEO strategy, built editorial teams and worked with product, design and sales teams. He also builds simple tools that turn marketing data into clear decisions. He writes the GrowthSeeded blog, which shares practical ways to build professional relationships on LinkedIn.