Follow Vs Connect on LinkedIn: Understanding the Differences (+ Secret tip)

LinkedIn Follow vs Connect: What are the differences?

Understanding the differences between Follow and Connect on LinkedIn is a critical step to leveraging the social platform's potential. But don't worry! Let's break it down to ensure you're taking full advantage. 

Following someone on LinkedIn allows you to stay updated with their posts without having a direct connection with them. This strategy is best suited for individuals who want to stay in the loop about industry leaders, companies, or influencers without extending a formal connection. 

When you follow someone on LinkedIn, they do not receive a notification. While in the mean time when you connect with someone on LinkedIn, they receive a connection request which they can accept or ignore.

"Following is a way to engage with the content of professionals you may not know personally, but respect their expertise or insights."

On the contrary, a Connection on LinkedIn is more robust. When you connect with someone, you're inviting them into your professional network. This is typically reserved for people you have some level of relationship with, be it a co-worker, business partner, or a friend. 

• It's a mutual relationship: Both parties have agreed to be a part of each other's professional network.
• Enhanced access: You can see each other's full profile and updates.
• Communication: You can directly message each other on LinkedIn without the need for InMail subscription.

It's also important to note that since the last update of Linkedin, free users are limited to 10 personalized invites per month and 200 invites per month without note. While follows are unlimited.

Understanding these differences can shape your LinkedIn strategy. By appropriately using the 'Follow' and 'Connect' features, you can enrich your professional network and stay informed about industry trends.

How do I enable Linkedin follow on my profile ?

If you're unsure whether to connect or follow, consider the type of relationship you want. For direct communication, choose connect. For more observational interactions, opt for follow. 

Now, let's address the elephant in the room– how can you switch your LinkedIn profile to the 'Follow' setting over 'Connect'? If you’re primarily looking to build a follower base, this might be a good call. 

To enable the "Follow" button on Linkedin instead of the "connect" button you need to follow the following steps : 

• Click on your profile picture at the top right corner of your screen
• Click on "View profile"

• In the "Ressources" area enable the Creator Mode.
  This will automatically enable the follow button as soon as you reach 500+ connections.

What are the limits of Linkedin connections vs follow ?

When you 'connect' with another user, you become a part of their first-degree connections, giving you direct, mutual access to one another's full profiles and posts. 

You can also message them directly with LinkedIn's messaging feature. However, connecting comes with certain limitations you should be aware of.

• You're limited to 30,000 1st degree connections

While this may sound like a lot, veteran networkers could potentially hit this ceiling over time. Secondly, every connection request you send out needs to be approved by the recipient.

• Unaccepted requests might hurt your performances

Unaccepted requests, especially when they are numerous, could lead to 'I don't know this person' (IDK) responses, which in turn might impact your ability to send future connection requests. 

• Limits of 10 personalized invites per month without Linkedin Premium

While LinkedIn’s free account offers a lot of benefits, if you're looking to influence on a larger scale, send a lot of invites with notes, and have the means to invest, considering LinkedIn Premium might be a good idea. 

Why?  When you're just starting to build your network, you'll notice that you're restricted to sending only 10 personalized invites per month with a free account.

Personalized invites are invitations that you send with a note, usually an introduction of you which aim to increase acceptation rate.

Certainly, you might think that 10 invites per month are enough, but for a professional aim to develop a robust network or generate leads on the platform, this limit can somewhat pipeline your growth. 

When you upgrade to LinkedIn Premium, the 10 invites limit is lifted.

You have the liberty to send up to 200 invites with notes per month, helping you create meaningful connections with like-minded professionals across different industries.

Undoubtedly, a compelling personalized invite can increase the odds of the recipient accepting your request, paving the way for fruitful professional relationships. 

It's essential then to approach the 'Connect' function strategically. Rather than mindlessly sending out connections to everyone, consider focusing on individuals that share your professional interests or are within your industry.

This intentional approach will help maintain your connection quality over quantity, helping you to foster more meaningful professional relationships on the platform..

Secret tip #1: Automatically send invites at scale

Did you know that you have the power to send Linkedin invites on a grand scale, all on autopilot? It may sound too good to be true, but I assure you it's not. Let me introduce you to useArtemis. 

Essentially, useArtemis allows you automate your Linkedin + Email prospection.

Here's how to get started with sending automatic invites: 

1) Kick things off by creating an account on useArtemis. 

2) Next, you'll need to install the Chrome extension. 

3) Now, you're ready to export leads from Linkedin with your newly installed Chrome extension.
To do so, just click on the useArtemis icon on your Chrome browser.

4) Lastly, return to useArtemis, and click on the "Campaigns" button. 

Click on "Create a new campaign" and select Linkedin invites with AI.

Secret tip #2 : Send hyper personalized Linkedin invites with AI 

With useArtemis you can send invites without notes and with notes depending on your goals.

If you decide to send notes you can use variables {firstname}, {lastname} etc ... To personalize each invite for your target lead.

But what if I told you that we can go even further and let the AI craft a hyper personalized invite message for each and every lead ?

How does it work ? 

Basically before writing a connection request note,  useArtemis performs a comprehensive examination of the LinkedIn profile of the prospect, looking at their experiences, former roles, posts and more. It then creates a note based on these details and the specific guidance you've given in the sequence.

For instance, in my scenario, I instructed the AI to construct a message to introduce useArtemis to the potential connection, implying they could also send similar, automated invitations if they were to sign up with us.

Isn't it amazing? 

If you're leveraging a free LinkedIn plan and haven't subscribed to LinkedIn premium, you can simply send connect requests sans the note and then message the individual if they accept your request.