Who can I connect with on LinkedIn?
Sue Ellson
Independent LinkedIn Specialist - Digital Mentor, Coach, Author, Educator, Consultant, Career Development Practitioner, Founder, Gigster, Keynote Speaker, Trainer, Poet, Writer, Business Social Marketing, AI??
Who can I connect with on LinkedIn?
I am often asked 'Who can I connect with on LinkedIn?'
I have a policy of pretty much connecting with everyone I meet online or offline. If you haven't been doing this up until now, you can say, 'from now on, I will connect with everyone I meet online or offline.'
However, for all of my students and clients, I suggest that who you connect with on LinkedIn depends on your purpose.
Are you looking for a job, work, business, influence, promotion, leads, sales, branding, thought leadership, networking, information, education, engagement or something else? If you are not sure, this Article on 'How to choose your next job or career' may be helpful.
Your purpose will determine who you will connect with on LinkedIn. If you are reaching out or people are reaching out to you, the decision to Connect will be based on whether or not they align with your purpose (or purposes if you have several purposes).
I am also asked 'Why do I get so many Connection requests from people I don't know and what should I do with them?'
These people may have been recommended by LinkedIn, have completed research or be random people who have their own method for reaching out, but you can decide whether or not to say yes or no. See number 8. below for more tips.
Connection Categories
To get the ball rolling, let's list some of the people who you may like to connect with, either organically over time or deliberately as part of your overall online LinkedIn Connection strategy. When you send a Connection request, it is courteous to include a Note to explain why you would like to Connect (but it is not always essential).
1. Friends and Family
This can include your personal friends, your family members and perhaps the family members of your friends (parents of your friends at school may be very worthwhile for the early part of your career). Favourite cousins, aunties, uncles and extended family members can also be included.
2. School, College and University Students, Tutors, Teachers, Lecturers
Whilst you are studying, make sure you connect with your fellow students before you finish your studies. To connect with tutors, teachers or lecturers, you will need to be an adult (over the age of 18 or 21 depending on where you live). Don't forget that when you list the subjects or courses you have completed in the Education section on your LinkedIn Profile, you will become a part of that school, college or university alumni. If some time has passed, you may be able to track down people you may not have connected with previously by using the alumni search tool on LinkedIn or by reaching out to people you know in common and see if they can help you find the person.
3. Work Colleagues, Managers, Leaders
This includes all of the people you have ever worked with at the same organisation. You don't need to connect with everyone, but it is a very good idea to connect with the people you really liked, again, before you leave (or soon after or years later if you have only just seen this suggestion). This will help you maintain a digital connection long after you have changed email addresses, phone numbers or even countries. You can visit LinkedIn Company Profiles and go through the list of Employees to find several people at once.
4. Industry or Profession Colleagues
It is not enough to only connect with people you see on a regular basis, you need to be connected to people in your industry or profession outside of your current role. This helps you keep up to date with trends, be head hunted for future roles and see what professional development opportunities are available. If you aren't already, consider joining an industry or professional association as a paid up member and get involved there too. If you ever lose your current role, having these relationships already in place helps you network immediately if there is a sudden change in your circumstances.
5. Stakeholders, Network Members, Event Presenters and Attendees
These are the people you meet out and about (online or offline) that are related to what you do in work, business or enterprise. This could include prospects, clients, people who are part of a network and presenters and attendees at events, workshops, training or conferences. Developing more relationships in your location and in your area of expertise lets the LinkedIn algorithm know your interests and helps you learn more about what you need to know.
6. People you find through Research, both Locally and Internationally
There may be particular people that you specifically track down that are aligned with your purpose, both locally and internationally. They may be able to provide you with information, referrals, advice or access to others that are aligned with your goals. They could have a very specific function or a more general function. Remember that people with a lot of Connections (maximum of 30,000, Followers is an unlimited number) can help you be found in Search Results as you may then be a 1st Level Connection instead of a 2nd, 3rd or 3rd+ Connection.
7. People you know who reach out to you even if you are not their biggest fan
It can be really difficult to accept a Connection request from someone you don't particularly like, especially if they have said or done something that has upset you in the past. They could have been critical, dismissive or even offensive. If it was traumatic, then definitely, you can decline a Connection invitation that they send to you and they will not be notified that you have declined the invitation. However, their criticism may not have been intended, or it could have even been constructive. Their knowledge, skills and networks may be helpful to you in the future. Ironically, you may also find that what they share online is helpful to you in some way. It is your call. Do what feels right for you. If you change your mind, you can remove the Connection later (again, they will not be notified directly).
8. People who reach out to you that could be aligned
I receive multiple Connection requests from all sorts of people and many that I have never met in person, especially since 2020. I have a few criteria that need to be met before I accept these Connection requests. I prefer it if they are based in my own country (Australia) and they have a reasonable number of Connections (although I will accept less Connections if they have recently left secondary school). I like to see a photo in their LinkedIn Profile as this feels more honest. I like them to be in industries related to my goals (careers, business, marketing, education, writing) and have a reasonable amount of information, Endorsements and Recommendations on their LinkedIn Profile. Bonus points if they are a member of a Professional Association where I am also a member. If I suspect that the request is coming from a fraudulent account or I am being contacted for dating purposes, I will report them to LinkedIn immediately and decline the invitation.
9. Recruiters, Decision-Makers and Centres of Influence
If you are in the market now or in the future for work, business or enterprise, it may be a good idea to connect with the movers and shakers well ahead of time. Select recruiters who specialise in your industry or profession and have been in the industry for two or more years (because they will want to build their own network of leads), decision-makers at companies where you would like to work and centres of influence that are well connected and may be able to make recommendations in the future. Make sure you Follow Company or School Profiles of interest as this can also help you appear in LinkedIn Search Results.
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10. Service Providers, Funding Providers, Strategic Partners
Individuals in these organisations may have a close working relationship with you either now or in the future. If you have developed a good working relationship, you may be able to help them achieve their purpose as well. If there is a conflict of interest, then you need to be sensitive here and if it could look suspicious, avoid reaching out. Discretion is the better part of valour!
11. Customers and Clients
This is probably one of the most important groups of people, particularly for people who are self-employed or small business owners. I am always amazed at how many people go looking for new customers and clients instead of looking after their previous customers and clients and building a relationship so that these people become referrers in the future. If you haven't already, I encourage you to go back to all of your customers and clients you have acquired in the last six months and invite them to Connect (maybe include a special offer too, it might lead to some new business for you).
12. Selected Competitors and Collaborators
You may be surprised to see this suggestion. I am connected to a lot of people in my industry and you could think that they are competitors and I am completely mad. But the truth is, I cannot serve everyone and not everyone is a good fit for me. Some people can help me when I am overloaded and vice versa. Some people I can work with together. I provide LinkedIn Services, but not all LinkedIn Services to the same level and I often pass work on. I don't recommend this strategy for all of my clients as some are in a very narrow niche and it could be detrimental for their enterprise. I often use the example of a wedding photographer. If a wedding photographer is at a wedding, they cannot be at another wedding at the same time - so being connected to another wedding photographer could be very useful!
Blocking People
Sadly, I have had to Block a couple of people since 2003, but I can honestly say that was as a result of a personal approach rather than a professional interaction. I have been very impressed with LinkedIn's ability to electronically detect dodgy profiles and bad behaviour and pause or delete those accounts. I did start receiving multiple computer generated requests from a foreign country and reported this to LinkedIn and it was fixed immediately.
LinkedIn for Leads, Sales and Results
If you are trying to use LinkedIn for business development or sales, please read my Article on 'How to generate leads, sales and results on LinkedIn' before you start Connecting with people. You need to have a quality LinkedIn Profile first and you need to be respectful and abide by the LinkedIn User Agreement.
Connecting and then pitching your products or services is NOT the way to use LinkedIn. You are also NOT allowed to use any form of automation (human or machine), although developing a good system is allowed (connecting with everyone you meet, connecting with all clients etc).
Other Articles of interest (Right click to open in a new tab) or see the full list here
Enjoy the rest of your day!
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First Published:?30 August 2021
Last Update:?30 August 2021
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Sue Ellson?BBus, MIML, MAHRI, MPC, CDAA, ASA, WV, SPN, AH?is an Independent LinkedIn Specialist, Business and Careers Consultant, Trainer and Author.
More information?at?https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/sueellson?and?https://sueellson.com
Questions directly via email sueellson [at] sueellson.com
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3 年Thanks for posting
Well said Sue! You always have great insights about how to use LinkedIn!
Independent LinkedIn? Trainer & Consultant Expert | Keynote Speaker | Data-driven results for generating more leads | Attracting top talent | Igniting the ambassador program | Optimizing ad campaigns | Personal Branding
3 年Create a network not only of the past people but one for the future and people you want to meet