3 Rules For Identifying Good LinkedIn Connections

As LinkedIn’s membership base continues to soar month in month out, so does its popularity all over the world with an estimated 500+ million users as it stands today. With 2 new members joining every second, it’s no wonder why 61% of business owners now use the platform as their primary professional network. Not bad for a site that only had 4,500 members in its first month of operation back in May 2003.

Whilst these numbers are impressive, it’s important to note that not only 279 million members are actively using the platform. On average each user spends 17 minutes a month and only 40% of members log into the network on a daily basis.

Therefore it’s important to carefully choose who you connect with. There is no point sending out a connection invite to someone if they are not actively using the network. We can’t tell you how many business owners we have spoken with over the past few years who have hundreds of contacts in their network but very little engagement in return.

We’re sure you have heard of the saying: Quality over Quantity. Well, in this case, it is certainly true, a member with 350 connections could have a better network than someone who has 2000 connections if their contacts are using the network consistently on a daily basis.

Our founder Alex Pirouz learned this the hard way. When he first started using LinkedIn, he used to connect with anyone and everyone. It didn’t matter whether they had a picture, what number of connections they had in their network or if they had completed their profile.

But as time went by he noticed 3 common reasons on why some contacts were more engaged with him than others. Here they are:

1. Professional Photo

Contacts who have a professional photo displayed on their profile are more likely to take their presence on LinkedIn more seriously than those who don’t. Stay away from sending out connection invites to members who have no profile photo.

2. Number of Connections

In our experience, members who have over 180 contacts are more likely to use their account than those with less. We have tested this across 14 different industries and whilst there was a slight variation it was quite consistent.

3. Completed Profile

And last but not least, members who have taken time to write their summary and job experiences are more likely to use their account than those who haven’t.

As a member, you are allowed to send out a total of 3000 invitation requests for your account. To maximize your opportunity on LinkedIn, consider the 3 reasons listed above the next time you invite someone to connect with you.