What Is a LinkedIn Connection?

A LinkedIn connection is a person that is part of your contact list (also known as your network on LinkedIn). It is someone whom you have either met or worked within a professional environment and that you know personally.

Why are LinkedIn connections important?

There are several reasons why you might want to expand your LinkedIn connections: to find a new job or a new employee, to meet like-minded business partners, to broaden your target audience, to generate leads and sales opportunities for your company, to build your reputation and professional identity or to help your business profile gain more visibility.

As an employee, you can use LinkedIn to connect with current or past co-workers, to get recommendations or referrals, and to widen your professional reach. As an employer, you can use LinkedIn connections to recruit new members for your team or find the right candidate for a job opening you have.

If you own a business, LinkedIn connections can be useful for engaging with existing clients and for reaching out to potential customers.

Types of connections

Your LinkedIn network includes three types of connections: 1st-degree, 2nd-degree, and 3rd-degree. The first is also referred to as a basic connection or direct contact. If someone has become part of your 1st-degree network, then they now have access to extensive information on your business profile (that can’t be seen by those who are not part of your contact list).

For example, these types of connections can view all of the content you have posted on the platform, as well as see all of the skills, services or products that you are offering on your page. In addition, they are able to find you more easily when searching your name up on LinkedIn (because you both will be ranking higher in each other’s search bar).

1st-degree connections are able to message you freely at any time, as well as find out your email address and reach out to you via that platform.

2nd-degree LinkedIn connections are also known as “friend of a friend” and generally involve less interaction than 1st-degree contacts. This means that a 2nd-degree connection is someone you don’t necessarily know very well or even someone that you have heard of. They might be a recruiter from another company or a potential customer who is interested in buying your product or service.

3rd-degree LinkedIn contacts are people who are connected to your 2nd-degree contacts. There is very little visibility that you will have when it comes to profiles that are part of this group. Moreover, they are also only able to see limited information from your profile on the platform.

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