Who is in your LinkedIn network?
With so many profiles in “people you may know”, have you ever wondered how far your network actually reaches? It may not be as far as you think.
Have you ever seen this message?
LinkedIn does not give you total access to all 400 Million of it’s members, contrary to popular belief. Notice the description line in this message states, “You can only view profiles of users within your network.” Now you’re thinking, then why can I send connection requests to people with whom I am not a 1st degree connection?
Let me explain. While your LinkedIn network extends further than your 1st degree connections, it doesn’t span all members of LinkedIn.
Who is in your network?
You network consists of your 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree connections, plus your group members.
Getting back to the basics.
Your 1st degree connections are the professionals you are directly connected to as a result of accepting an invitation request, or them accepting your connection request.
Your 2nd degree connections are all of the professionals that are connected to your 1st degree connections, but not connected to you.
Your 3rd degree connections are all of the professionals that are connected to your second degree connections, but not your 1st degree connections.
Your Fellow Group Members are all of the professional you are in a group with, regardless of their connection level to you. This could be a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 100th degree connection, etc. This is yet another reason becoming members of LinkedIn groups is so crucial – it expands your network as well as your reach on many levels.
How do you identify which each professional is and how do you connect with these professionals?
Your 1st degree connections: you are already connected. You will see a “1st” next to their name.
Your 2nd degree connections: you are just 1 connection away from these professionals. You will see a “2nd” next to their name. Simply click “connect” to send a connection request. Don’t forget to customize your connection request! IMO, the most boring sentence I can read on LinkedIn is, “I’d like to add you to my professional network.” Be original!
Your 3rd degree connections: you are 2 connections away from these professionals. You will see a 3rd next to their name. Connecting will depend ontheir settings. If you can see their full name displayed, then you can click connect to send a connection request. If you can only see their first name and last initial, you will have to send them an InMail to contact them. InMails are not connection requests.
Your Fellow Group Members: You will see the “Group” icon next to their name. Your common connection is the fact that you are in the same group. You can send them a message directly from their profile or you can message them right from the group.
Now that you know how far your network reaches, what will you do to expand your reach?
I hope you found this information helpful! These are just some best practices that you can implement very quickly in your daily social activities.