How Connections Work in LinkedIn
I’m looking at writing a blog post on how connections work in LinkedIn with the idea of helping others and making it as easy to understand as possible. I was wondering if you could help me out and see if I have the following correct…
– 1st Degree – People you are already connected with (Friends, Collegues, Classmates, clients etc)
– 2nd Degree – People who are connected with one or more of your connections.
– 3rd Degree – People who are connected with one or more of your 2nd degree connections.
– Out of Your Network (4th+ Degree) – People who aren’t connected with your 1st or 2nd degree contacts
I think the above is pretty obvious, but what I want to get to the bottom of is how you can connect with the above connections.
– 1st Degree – You are already connected!
– 2nd Degree – Invite them to connect, request introduction, be in the same group as them, send inMail
– 3rd Degree – Invite them to connect, request introduction from 1st degree contact who will forward it on to 2nd degree contact, be in the same group as them, send inMail
– Out of Your Network – Invite them to connect, be in the same group as them, send inMail
What I don’t understand is the “Invite to connect” bit. You can do that for 2nd & 3rd degree connections and out of network ones too. So, why go to the bother of introductions/inMails etc? Is it to do with the person you want to connect with being more likely to accept if it is through an introduction or inMail? It also seems to be the case that you have to enter their email address when you request a connection, but that doesn’t always seem to be the case. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks!
