Are you looking to learn how to connect with someone on LinkedIn and expand your professional network?
You’re in the right place.
Keep on reading to learn how to connect with people on LinkedIn and why you should be doing it.
How to Send a Connection Request on LinkedIn
The way you add people to your LinkedIn network is by sending them a connection request.
You can find people to connect with by using the search bar, importing your email contacts, or by visiting the My Network page and checking out the People You May Know section.
Once you find a person you’d like to connect with, visit their LinkedIn profile and click the blue Connect button.
A modal window will pop up, providing you with the option of including a message with your connection request. Writing a message for each LinkedIn connection request you send isn’t required but is highly recommended.
Including a personalized message with each connection request will significantly increase the chances of the recipient accepting your request. It’s also just a nice thing to do - LinkedIn is a social network, after all.
Once you’ve written the message, click the Send invitation button.
That’s it!
Now all you need to do is wait for the person to accept your request.
While you’re waiting, read the next section to learn why you should constantly be looking to expand your LinkedIn network by connecting with new people.
Why Connect with People on LinkedIn?
Connecting with people on LinkedIn is a great way to expand your professional network and meet industry professionals.
It also allows you to gain access to content from thought leaders in your industry, enabling you to expand your knowledge and improve your skills while staying on top of industry news and trends.
LinkedIn is also a place where you can connect with potential customers and generate leads, keeping your sales pipeline healthy and your sales team busy.
What's the Difference Between Connecting and Following Someone on LinkedIn?
As a LinkedIn user, you can have connections and followers.
Connections are people who are a part of your LinkedIn network. When you’re connected to someone on LinkedIn, you can see each other’s posts and updates, as well as send each other messages through the platform.
Followers, on the other hand, are people outside of your LinkedIn network who have opted to follow your posts and updates without being a part of your network.
While they can keep up with the content you post, they can’t send you messages (except when using LinkedIn InMail). You also can’t see their content updates.
Best Practices for Connecting with People on LinkedIn
There are a few best practices you need to keep in mind when connecting with people on LinkedIn. We’re going to discuss these below.
Make Sure Your LinkedIn Profile Is on Point
Before you start connecting with people on the platform, fill out all the sections on your LinkedIn profile and make sure it resonates with your target audience.
You’ll want to add a professional profile photo, create an attention-grabbing headline, write an engaging summary, as well as add your current position, work history, skills, and educational background.
Having a detailed LinkedIn profile will help the people you’re trying to connect with understand who you are and what you do, increasing the chances that they’ll accept your request.
Personalize the Connection Request Message
If you want people to take your connection request seriously, don’t send a generic message that gives the recipient no clue about who you are and why you want to connect.
Personalizing the connection request message for each person you try to connect with will significantly boost your chances of connecting with people and building a large network on LinkedIn.
Start your message by introducing yourself and letting the other person know what you do. Explain how you found them and let them know why you’d like to connect.
If you share a mutual connection or interest, you can also reference this in the message.
Keep It Short
While you should provide information about who you are and why you want to connect with the person, keep in mind that most people won’t have the time or the will to read a long-winded connection request message.
Remember - this is only supposed to be an introduction. Two to three sentences should be more than enough to say everything you need to say at this stage.
Don't Try to Sell
You shouldn’t be trying to sell to people in your connection request message. At this point, your only goal is to join their LinkedIn network and get on their radar.
Wait until you learn more about your new connection and interact with them on the platform for a while until you try to arrange a call, meeting, or attempt to sell to them in any way.
Bonus: How to Disconnect from Someone on LinkedIn
Maybe you’ve followed our advice and successfully connected with a number of people on the platform. Alternatively, you might have received and accepted a number of connection requests yourself.
However, you later found out that you don’t enjoy the content one of your connections posts or decided that you don’t want to be a part of their LinkedIn network any longer for one reason or another.
Now, you’d like to know how to disconnect from them.
Luckily, removing contacts from LinkedIn is fairly simple to do.
Simply visit the person’s LinkedIn profile, click the More… button and then click Remove connection.
Note that this will instantly remove the person from your network. You won’t be asked to confirm the action, so make sure you really want to disconnect with a person before you do this.
Start Expanding Your LinkedIn Network
Connecting with people on LinkedIn is an excellent way to expand your professional network, learn more from industry professionals, and generate leads and customers.
Before you start sending out connection requests, make sure to fill out your LinkedIn profile completely. Personalize each connection request you send to increase the chances that recipients will accept your request.
Finally, remember to keep your introductory message short and avoid trying to sell to recipients before you get to know them better.
