How to MANAGE Your Level 1 LinkedIn Connections

Once-upon-a-time LinkedIn allowed you to do all kinds of things to manage your Level 1 LinkedIn connections. For example, you could place your Level 1 connections in groups. You could even bulk message each person in that group using that person’s first name. But, not any more. In fact, around November 21, 2018, LinkedIn quietly introduced a new privacy setting that defaults to blocking other users from exporting your email address. No longer would your LinkedIn CSV download include the email addresses, LinkedIn Profile Web Address or the phone numbers of your Level 1 connections as it once did. While this could be seen as a win for privacy advocates on LinkedIn, I personally believe it represents a big loss for businesses, recruiters and anyone else expecting to be able to export the email addresses of their connections via LinkedIn CSV downloads.

Why was the complete LinkedIn CSV file download so valuable? Because it empowered LinkedIn users to do outside of the LinkedIn platform what they could not do inside the platform - MANAGE their Level 1 LinkedIn connections. Being able to manage Level 1 connections outside LinkedIn meant that the LinkedIn ceiling of 30,000 connections was suddenly irrelevant. You could easily manage your Level 1 connections in a spreadsheet, CRM, Google Contacts or Slack.

What many folks who actually reached that LinkedIn ceiling - including myself - did to grow their network beyond the LinkedIn limit was quite clever. First, they would make it a habit to download their LinkedIn CSV file on a regular basis. Next, they would place the spreadsheet in Google Contacts to merge all the duplicates. Then, they would sync the result to a spreadsheet or CRM. Then, they would return to their LinkedIn account and delete some of their Level 1 connections to make room for new folks. These deleted Level 1 connections would not become Level 2 connections. Guess what they now did with those NEW Level 2 connections? They simply became LinkedIn followers in the hope the folks they just followed would follow them back.

What this simple process was doing was three-fold: 1) Growing your LinkedIn network beyond the LinkedIn ceiling; 2) Growing your LinkedIn following and 3) Growing the following of your following (the former Level 1 connections who are now at Level 2 to you).

Here we LinkedIn users had a multiple win situation for both our Level 1 connections and our followers...but, that LinkedIn decision back in the fall of 2018 made that process impossible. For one thing, to successfully merge duplicate content, you need differentiating content - content like email addresses, phone numbers or profile web addresses. But, now that content is gone.  

So, what can you do, now? My recommendation is that you ask the folks who have the information you need to give it back to you. Let’s “Think T.E.A.M. (Together Everyone Achieves More)” here, folks. I have created a Google Form for “Getting Emails.” You can access this form at https://b.link/Get-Emails. But, rather than fill out that form and send to me, learn from my Google Form how to create your own Google Form. Use my Google Form as a template for yourself to gather from your own Level 1 connections the information you need to better manage your network on a CRM or spreadsheet.

Since most people are unlikely to give you the information you want just because you ask for it - after all, that’s work - I recommend you offer them a deal they should not be able to refuse. Offer to spread news of a LinkedIn article they would like to spread to 90+ LinkedIn Groups using my Google Form - https://b.link/Share-Your-News. There is no work here for you to do. (I do all the work.) There is also no cost here to you or to them. So, I think you can see it is a three-way win - for you, me and them.  

Once you have gained all the information you need back and have it organized in Google Contacts, a spreadsheet or synced to a CRM like my favorite simple CRM, the Less Annoying CRM, you have arrived at a good organizational level.

Now, you are eligible for many different software programs that integrate with each other to facilitate workflow automation. I encourage you to become familiar with programs like Slack, Airtable, IFTTT and Zapier. 

Social Media Online Resources. Below is a link to an online spreadsheet with many of the online resources I have found to be beneficial. Perhaps there are some you are currently using. Perhaps there are some you are not currently using, but will find beneficial. Be sure to click the Google Sheet image and take a look.

Now, it's time to get feedback from you, the readers of this LinkedIn long-form post (article). I desire to see this article become a blog. That means, I need feedback. Surely you have questions and/or comments. I cordially invite you to share them. Do you understand how to use the two Google Forms? Are you able to put back the information you need to effectively manage your LinkedIn network and effectively manage your LinkedIn network OUTSIDE LinkedIn? My inquiring mind would like to know.

I also encourage you to take advantage of the following links showcased when this article was introduced. (Be sure to copy/paste the links into your browser rather than simply click on them as these are shortened links and may not work within the LinkedIn platform.)

Share-Your-News @ https://lnkd.in/d5RPB5X : Here is a great way for those of you who write LinkedIn articles to get them shared by other people (not just me) on other LinkedIn Groups. Remember, it is ALWAYS better to have someone else wave your flag than to wave it yourself. To help make that happen, simply fill out the Google Form and submit it.

Get-Emails @ https://b.link/Get-Emails : While many may understand why LinkedIn removed the email addresses, profile web addresses and phone numbers from the LinkedIn CSV downloads, they may not be too happy about it. Well, a Google Form, properly set up and shared may help you recoup this lost information. I encourage you to set up just such a form and share it with your Level 1 connections. You may be pleasantly surprised at the results.

ConnectWithUs @ https://lnkd.in/e3mhz8Y : Do you desire to have more Level 1 LinkedIn connections? One way to do just that is to join a LinkedIn Group - The Better Together Approach - which features a special discussion thread that actually promotes that activity.

#betterbusinessnetworking : I encourage you to become a follower of all my posts concerning the hashtag, #betterbusinessnetworking.

Meanwhile, make it a great week. Stay safe.

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Lamar Morgan is a crowd mechanic. Through his company, Synergistic Business Marketing, he provides collaborative, multi-channel marketing services and training to save clients money and improve ROI. He is also a Go-Giver and seeks Level 1 connections with LinkedIn Influencers, LIONS, human resource professionals, news media people, high school and college students to help build his network of helpful resources.