Most professionals spend a lot of time thinking about how to meet the right people, grow their network and stay connected after conferences, meetings and speaking engagements. At the same time, many make it much harder than it needs to be for people to actually find and connect with them afterward.
They’ll spend weeks preparing for a presentation, panel discussion or client pitch and then end with a generic “thank you” slide, a tiny email address in the corner or nothing at all.
Meanwhile, people in the audience are interested, engaged and fully intending to connect later. But later often never happens. People get distracted. They forget names. They lose business cards. They move onto the next meeting, next panel or next conversation. That’s why I think LinkedIn QR codes are one of the most useful and underutilized networking tools on the platform.
Your LinkedIn QR code enables someone to instantly pull up your profile simply by scanning the code with their phone. No searching for your name later. No trying to figure out how to spell it. No sorting through dozens of similar profiles on LinkedIn. It makes it much easier for someone to stay connected after meeting you.
And that matters more than ever because LinkedIn has become such an important part of visibility, networking and professional branding. Your LinkedIn profile is often the first place people go after meeting you. It’s where they decide whether to connect with you, follow your content, refer work to you or continue engaging with you at all. I have used it every single time I present and attend a conference since 2020 when it became available.
One of the smartest places to use a LinkedIn QR code is during presentations and speaking engagements. If you’re speaking at a conference, sitting on a panel, hosting a webinar or giving a client presentation, your final slide should absolutely include your LinkedIn QR code.
I’ve seen this work extremely well for lawyers, consultants, executives, recruiters, bankers, marketers and other professionals trying to grow their visibility and build stronger professional relationships after events. Audience members can instantly connect while your presentation is still fresh in their minds instead of trying to remember to look you up several days later.
And this goes far beyond conferences.
LinkedIn QR codes work well on:
- presentation slides
- pitch decks
- business cards
- event signage
- conference handouts
- webinar materials
- speaker bios
- one-page overviews
- networking event materials
- firm brochures
- marketing materials
- newsletters and client alerts
I also think people underestimate how valuable it is to simply make networking easier for others. Most professionals are busy and overwhelmed. The easier you make it for someone to connect with you, the more likely it is that the relationship actually continues after the initial interaction.
Another reason I like this feature is because it feels natural. You’re not aggressively asking people to follow you or connect with you. You’re simply making yourself accessible and giving people an easy way to continue the conversation if they want to.
And because LinkedIn content now plays such a large role in visibility and professional branding, those connections can become much more valuable over time.
Someone who scans your QR code after a presentation may not immediately become a client or referral source. But they may start following your content. They may engage with your posts. They may think of you when an opportunity comes up months later. They may invite you to speak somewhere else. They may recommend you to someone in their network. That’s usually how business development and networking actually work. Most opportunities build gradually through repeated visibility and ongoing interaction.
QR codes also feel much more practical today than they did a few years ago because people are completely comfortable scanning things with their phones now. Restaurants normalized QR code menus. Conferences use them constantly for registration and event materials. Payment apps use them. Networking platforms use them. The behavior itself feels completely normal at this point.
The good news is that LinkedIn makes creating your QR code very easy, even though many people still don’t know the feature exists.
To find your LinkedIn QR code:
- Open the LinkedIn mobile app
- Tap the QR code icon in the search bar
- Tap “My Code”
- Save the image to your phone
Once you save it, you can easily add it to slides, presentations, PDFs, marketing materials and event collateral.
At the end of the day, LinkedIn QR codes are useful because they make it easier to turn in-person interactions into ongoing professional connections. And in a business environment where visibility, networking and staying top of mind matter more than ever, small tools like this can make a big difference over time.
Link to Smart Ways to Use Your LinkedIn QR Code Smart Ways to Use Your LinkedIn QR Code
Once you save your LinkedIn QR code, there are a lot of practical ways to incorporate it into your visibility, networking and business development efforts. A few of the most effective places to use it include:
- The final slide of conference presentations and speaking engagements
- Webinar slides and virtual event materials
- Pitch decks and proposal materials
- Business cards
- Conference badges and event signage
- One-page bios and attorney profile sheets
- Client alerts and newsletters
- Marketing collateral and brochures
- Booth displays at conferences and trade shows
- Networking event materials
- CLE and workshop materials
- Resume packets for students and laterals
- Firm sponsorship materials
- Restaurant checks or tip cards for service professionals and consultants
- Digital portfolios and media kits
- Email signatures for professionals who actively use LinkedIn
- LinkedIn training materials and onboarding documents
- Recruiting and campus outreach materials
- Team introductions and internal presentations
- Follow-up materials after meetings or presentations
You can also save your QR code directly to your phone so that when someone asks to connect, you can simply pull it up or put it as your home screen instead of searching for names manually. It’s quick, easy and makes networking feel much more seamless.
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