One of my newer clients, a CPA, recently asked me, “Christine, what are New People on LinkedIn and why are there so many? If I want to contact some of them (not sure yet), what options does LinkedIn offer and how are those perceived by the New People recipients? Thanks!”
These are great questions I hear often and so I’ll answer them for everyone here in this article.
Starting from the top…
If you aren’t familiar with it, New People is found on the right side of your LinkedIn home page, about midway down.
When you click the New People link, you’ll see a search screen that includes your 1st, 2nd and Group connections. This is why there are so many of them relative to your connections.
How to Contact New People
Here are a few ways to contact someone on your LinkedIn New People list.
1. If you’re already connected with them, you can send them a message via LinkedIn or your own email.
2. If you’re not yet directly connected with a fellow LinkedIn member, you can message them through a mutual group (if they allow group member messaging), you can ask for an Introduction or you can send them an InMail.
If you’d like to connect with someone who’s listed in your New People, know that connecting with other members on LinkedIn can be tricky…because if you do it the wrong way you risk having your account restricted…which is no fun, trust me! This happens when 5 people you sent invitations to click that they don’t know you. After that, you’ll have to have an email address to connect.
It’s easy to get your account restricted because LinkedIn encourages you to upload your email address book and send them all invitations. If you use this feature, pay close attention to every button you click or you could be sending invites to your grandmother and your 10 year old nephew and anyone you’ve ever emailed!
If you’ve done this already and your account is restricted, here’s what to do:
BONUS TIP: To get your account unrestricted, message LinkedIn customer service, ask for an exception to the restriction and be more selective with your invites going forward.
To avoid having to go through this time-consuming and frustrating process, the best thing to do is connect with those you know or have otherwise notified you want to connect with them.
BONUS TIP: Connect with fellow LinkedIn members from their profile so you can personalize the invitation with where you met them.
For example, when you go to a networking event, ask those you meet if they’d like to connect on LinkedIn. This is a great way to cultivate your relationship with them on three levels.
1. It gives your new contact something easy to say yes to that starts the relationship.
2. It gives your new connection an easy way to get a fast overview on who you are and what you do…in short, making you credible and legitimate…so they can move forward to the next step with you.
3. Connecting on LinkedIn gives you another avenue to cultivate the relationship by building the know, like and trust factor.
Whom Do You Connect With?
A more advanced question I often hear as well is, “How do I decide whom to connect with?”
To find the best answer for you, I recommend you think about your business goals and what you want from LinkedIn. For example, if you’re selling products internationally, you might connect with different LinkedIn members than if you’re offering local event management services. And know too, that if you ignore an invitation, the member won’t be notified.
If you’re interested in getting more details on how to effectively connect and grow your network on LinkedIn, click here to schedule your complimentary LinkedIn Profits strategy session with me to explore that and to find out what you can do to have a profit breakthrough. I have a limited number of appointments available and request that only people who are serious about dramatically increasing their profits on LinkedIn schedule a time to talk.
Question: How do you connect on LinkedIn? What’s worked best for YOU to grow your network there? Leave a comment below and tell us your favorite LinkedIn strategies.
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© 2014 ChristineHueber.com
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