How to Identify High-Profile LinkedIn Connections

Finding the right people on LinkedIn can feel like searching for needles in a digital haystack, but identifying high-profile connections in your industry is much easier when you know where to look. This isn’t about randomly sending connection requests to big-name CEOs, it's about strategically locating the influential figures who can actually impact your career or business. This guide gives you the practical, step-by-step methods to pinpoint industry leaders, decision-makers, and key players, and build a network that truly matters.

What Do We Mean by "High-Profile," Anyway?

First, let’s be clear: "high-profile" doesn't just mean a celebrity founder or a Fortune 500 executive. A high-profile connection is anyone who is a recognized and respected authority, decision-maker, or influencer within your specific niche. Your goal isn't just to be impressed by their title, but to connect with people who are relevant to your professional goals.

A high-profile connection for you might be:

• The VP of Marketing at a target company you want to sell to.
• A well-respected author or speaker who presents at your industry's main conference.
• A prominent investor who funds startups in your vertical.
• A content creator with a massive, engaged following in your niche.
• The founder of a mid-sized company who is a recognized thought leader on a specific topic.

Before you start searching, take a moment to define what "high-profile" means for you. Being specific turns a vague search into a targeted mission. Instead of looking for "founders," you might search for "founders of B2B fintech companies with 50-200 employees." This clarity is the foundation for finding the right people.

Level Up Your Game with Advanced LinkedIn Search

The standard LinkedIn search bar is just the beginning. The real power is in the filters and Boolean operators, which a surprising number of users never touch. This is where you can systematically narrow down millions of profiles to a handful of perfect connections.

Go Beyond Basic Keywords with Boolean Search

Boolean search lets you combine keywords with operators to get more precise results. It sounds technical, but it’s super simple. The main operators are:

• Quotes (" "): To search for an exact phrase. For example, searching for "Chief Marketing Officer" will only show you people with that exact title, not "Marketing Officer" or "Chief Officer."
• AND: To find profiles that include all keywords. For example, "Marketing Director" AND "SaaS" finds people who are Marketing Directors in the SaaS industry.
• OR: To find profiles that include at least one of several keywords. For example, "Founder" OR "CEO" gives you profiles with either title.
• NOT: To exclude certain keywords. For example, "Developer" NOT "Manager" helps you find individual contributors instead of management.
• Parentheses ( ): To group keywords and create more complex searches. For instance, (“VP of marketing” OR “growth lead”) AND (tech OR software).

Example in Action

Let's say you're looking for senior creative talent in New York, but you want to avoid people from massive agencies. Your search could look something like this:

"Creative Director" AND "New York" NOT ("Google" OR "Meta" OR "Omnicom")

Playing with these combinations allows you to surgically find exactly who you’re looking for.

Master the Search Filters

After you enter your initial search, the "All filters" button appears. This is where the magic really happens. Here are the most valuable filters to focus on:

• Connections: Start by filtering for 2nd degree connections. These are your most valuable prospects because you already have a mutual connection, giving you a warm opening for an introduction.
• Locations: Great for targeting local leaders or finding people in specific business hubs like Silicon Valley, Austin, or New York City.
• Current Company / Past Company: Want to find people who used to work at an innovative company like HubSpot or Stripe but have since moved into leadership roles elsewhere? Filter by "Past Company." Looking for decision-makers at specific companies on your target list? Use "Current Company."
• Industry: Indispensable for niching down. Instead of just "marketing," you can select "Marketing & Advertising," "Public Relations," or another highly specific field.
• Profile Language: Essential if you're working in international markets.
• School: Tapping into your alumni network is one of the easiest ways to start a conversation. Find alumni in senior positions and reference your shared college.

Hunt Where Influential People Gather Online

High-profile individuals don’t just exist in a vacuum, they participate in communities and conversations. Instead of trying to find them one by one, go to the places where they naturally gather.

Find Gold in LinkedIn Groups

Not all LinkedIn Groups are created equal. Many are full of spam and self-promotion. But the good ones are goldmines for networking. Look for groups that are:

• Niche-specific: Not just "Marketing," but something like "B2B SaaS Marketers."
• Well-moderated: The Group has clear rules and active administrators who enforce them.
• Full of real conversation: Members are asking genuine questions and sharing valuable insights, not just dropping links to their blog posts.

Once you're in, don't just lurk. See who is leading the most insightful discussions - often, these are the hidden influencers in your space. Participate thoughtfully, and you’ll start building relationships naturally.

Leverage Event Pages and Speaker Lists

Industry events, both virtual and in-person, are prime for finding high-profile connections. LinkedIn Events makes this incredibly easy.

How to Use Event Pages:

1. Find relevant events. Search on LinkedIn for webinars, conferences, and seminars in your industry.
2. Examine the "Attendees" list. Go to the event page and click to view the attendees. You can often filter this list by title, industry, or location to quickly find decision-makers who are also attending.
3. Focus on the Speakers. The event speakers are pre-vetted experts and thought leaders. Following them before the event and engaging with their event-related content is a fantastic way to get on their radar. A simple, thoughtful comment on their post about their upcoming talk is much more effective than a cold connection request.

Follow Industry Publications and Hashtags

Think about the top publications in your industry. Follow their Company Pages on LinkedIn. Then, pay attention to a few things:

• Who is being featured or interviewed? The people these publications highlight are by definition noteworthy.
• Who is writing articles? Many industry leaders contribute articles directly on LinkedIn or on behalf of publications.
• Who is joining the conversation? Take a look at the comments on a particularly popular article from a page like Fast Company or Harvard Business Review. Often, you’ll find other high-level executives and specialists giving their own insightful takes. These comment threads can be even more valuable than the article itself.

Use Profile Activity to Your Advantage

An individual's activity log on LinkedIn can tell you everything you need to know about their influence and network.

The Trail of Commenters and Engagers

This is one of the most effective, underused strategies. Find one person you already consider to be a major voice in your industry. Head to their profile, click on "Activity," and then "Posts."

Now, study their posts. Don't just look at the post itself, look at the people who are consistently liking and, more importantly, leaving thoughtful comments. Influential people often engage with other influential people. By analyzing the comment section of a top-tier industry leader, you’re essentially getting a curated list of other important players in that circle. You can go down the rabbit hole for hours, following a chain from one influencer to the next, mapping out the entire ecosystem of your niche.

“Who’s Viewed Your Profile"

If you have a LinkedIn Premium subscription, the “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” feature is a direct line to warm leads. People are looking at your profile for a reason - they might be from a target company, saw a comment you made, or were referred to you. Checking this list daily gives you a chance to see if any high-profile individuals have taken an interest in you. Reaching out with a simple, "Thanks for stopping by my profile, noticed we're both in the [IT services] space" can be an easy, low-pressure way to start a conversation with a relevant person.

Final Thoughts

Identifying high-profile people on LinkedIn isn't guesswork, it's a skill built on a repeatable process. By mastering advanced search, knowing where influencers gather online, and paying attention to engagement patterns, you can move from randomly searching to systematically building a network of people who can genuinely shape your professional future.

Of course, identifying these connections is just step one. The next is getting their attention, which is done through consistently sharing valuable insights. To do that, I rely on a bulletproof content scheduling system. This helps me show up every day without spending hours jumping between apps, which is one of the reasons we built Postbase. After spending so much time finding valuable people to network with, the last thing I wanted to worry about was whether a scheduled post would actually go live. It lets me focus on creating great content and engaging with my network, confident that the publishing will take care of itself.