Yes, it is possible to connect with someone on LinkedIn without following them. When you connect with another member on LinkedIn, you are adding them to your network. This allows you to message them directly and see some basic profile information about them. However, following someone goes a step further than just connecting. When you follow someone, you will see their posts and activity updates in your LinkedIn feed. So you can connect with someone without choosing to follow them.
Why Connect Without Following?
There are a few reasons why you may want to connect with someone on LinkedIn without necessarily following them:
Keep your feed focused
Following all of your connections on LinkedIn can quickly make your feed overwhelming. By only following the people who you are most interested in hearing from regularly, you can make sure your feed stays focused. For other connections, you can connect without following so that their updates do not automatically appear in your feed.
Expand your network
Connecting to new professionals can expand your overall LinkedIn network, even if you do not interact with them frequently. By building out your connections, you increase the chances of appearing in other people’s searches and suggestions. So it can be beneficial to connect with new people without necessarily following them right away.
Maintain professional relationships
You may wish to connect on LinkedIn with colleagues, clients, vendors, and others that you want to include in your professional network, but do not need to hear from on a regular basis. Connecting allows you to reach out occasionally or reference the relationship, without flooding your feed with their day-to-day posts by following them.
How to Connect Without Following
It is easy to connect with someone on LinkedIn without following them. Here is how:
Send a connection invitation
Find the profile of the person you wish to connect with. Click “Connect” on their profile. This will send them an invitation to connect. If they accept, you will be connected but not following each other.
Accept an invitation
If another LinkedIn member sends you a connection invitation, you can accept it without choosing to follow them. Simply accept the invitation and the connection will be made without following.
Adjust settings after connecting
If you are already connected to someone but do not wish to follow them, you can adjust the settings on your connection. Go to their profile and click the “More” icon next to the Connect button. Uncheck the box next to “Get notifications”. This will maintain the connection but stop following the member.
Pros of Connecting Without Following
Here are some of the advantages to connecting without following on LinkedIn:
Reduce overwhelm in your feed
Following all your LinkedIn connections results in a busy feed. By only following your closest connections, you can ensure your feed contains the posts you are most interested in. Connect without following to reduce noise.
Focus on your priorities
Following someone indicates you want to pay attention to their updates. By being more selective about who you follow, you can focus on content that aligns with your priorities rather than getting distracted by less relevant posts in your feed.
Stay organized
When you follow people selectively, your LinkedIn feed becomes better organized by topic. For example, you could follow only industry experts and thought leaders to get content tailored to your professional interests.
Grow your network strategically
Connecting with more people expands your LinkedIn network’s reach. But by not following everyone, you are being intentional about who you pay attention to regularly. This helps optimize your time on LinkedIn.
Cons of Connecting Without Following
However, there are also a few potential drawbacks to be aware of:
Miss important updates
You may miss some relevant posts and news if you do not follow connections. Important professional updates could get buried if you are not following someone.
Damage relationships
Some LinkedIn members may be insulted if they notice you are connected but not following them. This could potentially impact real-life relationships.
Receive follow requests
Your connections may send you follow requests if they notice you are connected but not following back. This can become annoying to manage over time.
Get less engagement
By not following all your connections, you have fewer people engaging with your content. This can limit the reach of your own posts.
Best Practices for Connecting and Following
Here are some best practices to keep in mind when managing your connections and follows:
Follow your inner circle
Make sure to follow close professional connections, colleagues, and industry peers that you interact with regularly. Their updates will likely be most relevant to you.
Be selective with follows
Take the time to evaluate new connections and only follow ones that you want to pay close attention to. Do not default to following everyone.
Review your follows
Periodically scan your follows list and unfollow connections if their posts are no longer aligned with your interests. Follows can change over time.
Connect strategically
Look to connect with people that expand your professional reach in a meaningful way. Avoid connecting solely to gain followers.
Explain your preferences
If necessary, let key connections know your general practices for connecting versus following to avoid misunderstandings.
Following Etiquette
Here are some tips for respectful practices around following on LinkedIn:
Do not take lack of follows personally
Recognize that many users are selective about who they follow. It is not necessarily a personal slight if they do not follow you back.
Avoid passive aggressive outreach
Contacting someone solely to ask why they are connected but not following you can come across as passive aggressive. Tread carefully.
Do not follow and unfollow repeatedly
Following someone briefly to try to get them to follow you back, then unfollowing them if they do not can look like manipulation.
Limit follow up requests
Unless you have a strong relationship, avoid repeatedly asking connections to follow you if they have not done so organically.
Accept that practices vary
Keep in mind that approaches to connecting and following vary significantly across LinkedIn users. Find strategies that work for you.
Key Takeaways
Here are the key points to understand about connecting without following on LinkedIn:
– It is completely possible to connect with another member without following their profile. Connecting and following are separate actions.
– Choose to follow only your closest professional connections for a focused feed. Connect with others to expand your network without overwhelming your feed.
– Be selective and intentional about who you follow to optimize your time spent on LinkedIn. But avoid coming across as passive aggressive.
– Make sure to follow those you collaborate with regularly. But periodicaly review follows to ensure relevance.
– Following etiquette comes down to being respectful of diverse approaches to connecting and mutual understanding.
Conclusion
In summary, selective following allows you to strategically expand your LinkedIn network and curate the most relevant content in your feed. Connect broadly but only follow your top connections for optimal results. Implement your connecting and following practices in a way that aligns with your priorities while avoiding misunderstandings. With the right approach, you can effectively leverage the tools LinkedIn provides to build your professional community.