LinkedIn Myth #6: I should/n’t connect with everyone on LinkedIn
What is your stance on connecting with people who invite you to connect that you don’t know?
During my 8 years specialising in LinkedIn, I’ve heard all sorts of comments about who should be in our network, including disconnecting with people from previous careers who aren’t relevant to their new business, to not connecting with people unless they’ve had a 15 minute chat with the person.
Which is right or wrong?
Obviously, it should come down to personal choice but ultimately your decision needs to be grounded in strategy. The power of LinkedIn is in your network. It’s not necessarily who you are connected with, but who your network is connected to.
You never know when someone in your network will spot a person with the problem you solve, and recommend you.
This is the power of your brand.
It’s about staying in people minds for what you do and how you do it. So when someone mentions your topic (problem you solve), your name comes up in conversation.
LinkedIn allows you to stay front of mind with everyone from your past that you’ve developed trust with and helps you leverage it.
So should you connect with everyone? In principle yes.
The only times this would be a ‘no’ is if a person in your network has questionable brand or even morales. Consider, is this a person you want to be associated with? And is being connected with them reflecting on your brand?
This will only be in a small number of cases. But I have had it before where a person began connecting with all my connections and the last thing I wanted was to be our only shared connection. I knew his character and felt it wasn’t a good connection.
Connecting with everyone will also increase your followers, which might be what you want if you’re developing an influencer status.
However, as per my previous myths, real business is only achieved with a sales appointment. So its best to build real relationships and ignore vanity metrics.
What is your opinion on connecting with people on #linkedin ?
Expert LinkedIn Profile Writer | Business Strategist
Naomi Johnson is a leading LinkedIn trainer and Business Strategist based in the UK. She has a passion for helping individuals build businesses around their expertise using LinkedIn. You can read Naomi’s own story here.
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