Receiving messages on LinkedIn can often feel overwhelming, especially if you get a lot of messages from people you don’t know. It’s normal to feel inclined to just ignore them. However, ignoring LinkedIn messages altogether may not be the best approach.
Should you reply to every LinkedIn message?
Replying to every single LinkedIn message is usually unnecessary. If you get a lot of messages, trying to have detailed conversations with every person would be incredibly time-consuming. It’s fine to ignore messages that are irrelevant to you, like spam or accidental messages meant for someone else.
However, ignoring all messages can cause you to miss out on meaningful conversations and opportunities. LinkedIn is designed for networking and connecting with others in your industry. Completely ignoring messages defeats the purpose of being on the platform.
Tips for managing LinkedIn messages
Here are some tips for deciding which LinkedIn messages to reply to and which to ignore:
- Scan for relevancy – Quickly read messages and delete outright spam/sales pitches not relevant to you.
- Check sender connections – Prioritize messages from people in your network or industry over random strangers.
- Evaluate message content – Reply if the message is thoughtful, personal, and not a generic template.
- Assess opportunities – Follow up if the message presents an interesting opportunity or conversation.
- Limit conversations – Politely decline further long conversations/requests if needed for your time.
- Use filters – Use LinkedIn filters to automatically organize incoming messages for easier triage.
Why you shouldn’t ignore all LinkedIn messages
Here are some key reasons why ignoring every LinkedIn message is not recommended:
- Missed opportunities – You could miss out on career opportunities, business deals, or valuable connections by ignoring every message.
- Damage your reputation – Ignoring thoughtful messages can be rude and make you seem disengaged, hurting your professional brand.
- Waste inbound interest – It defeats the purpose of having a LinkedIn presence if you ignore all inbound engagement from others.
- Reduce visibility – Engaging with messages can increase your profile views and visibility in the LinkedIn algorithm.
- Appear inactive – If you never reply, people may think your account is inactive or unused.
How to politely decline LinkedIn messages
Not every LinkedIn message requires a full conversation. When needed, here are some tips for politely declining further messages and engagement:
- Thank them for their message and for reaching out.
- Briefly explain you have a lot of messages to manage.
- Decline further discussion or say you must focus the conversation elsewhere.
- Wish them the best if it makes sense in context.
- Optionally, direct them to other more appropriate channels.
- Avoid one word responses like “No” that seem abrupt.
For example, you could say:
“Thanks for your message! I appreciate you reaching out. Unfortunately I have a lot of messages to respond to right now. I wish you the best, but I’ll have to focus my time on other discussions. Feel free to connect with me on [more appropriate channel] if it makes sense.”
When is it okay to ignore LinkedIn messages?
Here are some common situations where it may be appropriate to ignore LinkedIn messages:
- The message is an obvious sales pitch irrelevant to you.
- It was accidentally sent and not meant for you.
- It’s from a stranger with no shared connections or relevance to you.
- It’s spam or a suspicious message from a bot account.
- You cannot provide the help or opportunity they are seeking.
- You are already overloaded managing messages and conversations.
- The sender is inappropriate, aggressive, or harassing.
Use your best judgment. If the message provides no value to you and replying would be an unnecessary waste of time, feel free to ignore it.
Best practices for managing LinkedIn messages
Here are some overall best practices for managing your LinkedIn messages:
- Check messages regularly – Don’t let messages pile up unread for too long.
- Triage when possible – Use tools like LinkedIn filters to sort messages.
- Reply thoughtfully – Personalize responses when reasonable based on the message/sender.
- Follow up judiciously – Don’t over-commit your time to excessive conversations.
- Decline politely – Avoid one word answers when declining further discussions.
- Ignore irrelevant messages – Feeling overwhelmed? Prioritize most relevant messages first.
The ideal approach is to aim for quality conversations over quantity. Try to identify and engage message senders who are relevant, thoughtful, and can lead to meaningful exchanges. Don’t feel pressured to actively converse with every person who messages you.
Should you have an auto-reply on LinkedIn?
Using an automated “out of office” type auto-reply message on LinkedIn when you are unavailable or overwhelmed with messages is generally not recommended. Here’s why:
- It can come across as impersonal and turn off thoughtful senders.
- You may miss important messages if senders don’t follow up.
- It doesn’t actually decrease your message volume.
- Replying with individual context is better when you can.
- You can actually set your profile to “unavailable” when needed instead.
However, auto-replies may make sense in some limited scenarios, like when you are completely unavailable for an extended period of time. Just be thoughtful about over-relying on auto-replies as your primary message management approach.
Should you block people on LinkedIn?
Generally, avoid blocking LinkedIn connections or followers unless absolutely necessary. Blocking should be reserved for severe cases like harassment, abuse, or spam.
Blocking people you simply don’t want to converse with can appear passive-aggressive. It also means missing out on their future content which could be valuable.
Instead, try politely declining further conversations or use LinkedIn’s filtering tools to manage unwanted messages. Blocking should be a last resort option.
What to do if you regret ignoring some LinkedIn messages
If you regret ignoring some LinkedIn messages, here are some tips:
- Don’t overthink it – People understand messages slip through at times.
- Briefly acknowledge the delay – If responding late, explain you just saw their message.
- Reply if still relevant – Follow up if the opportunity or conversation still makes sense.
- Consider LinkedIn reminder – Use reminders to follow up on important messages.
- Adjust your process – Tweak your message workflow to prevent it happening again.
The main thing is to not dwell or beat yourself up over a few missed messages. Just make adjustments to your process and move forward.
Key takeaways
Here are some key takeaways for effectively managing LinkedIn messages:
- Don’t ignore all LinkedIn messages, but don’t feel obligated to reply to everything either.
- Quickly triage messages and prioritize networking opportunities and relevant conversations.
- Politely decline excessive conversations if needed to manage your time.
- Use tools like LinkedIn filters to organize and surface key messages.
- Aim for quality conversations that enrich your connections, don’t get overwhelmed by volume alone.
- Blocking should be a last resort, try other methods to manage poor messages first.
With the right approach, LinkedIn messages can lead to game-changing relationships and career growth. But nothing requires you to be “always on” or entertain every single message either. Find a process that works for judiciously identifying and engaging with your most meaningful messages.
