LinkedIn messages allow you to directly communicate with other LinkedIn members. However, your inbox can quickly become cluttered if you don’t actively manage your messages. Here are some tips on how to effectively organize and respond to LinkedIn messages:
Enable email notifications
LinkedIn allows you to get email notifications whenever you receive a new message. This ensures you don’t miss important messages. To enable notifications:
- Go to your LinkedIn account settings
- Click on “Communications”
- Under “Messages”, check the box next to “Email me whenever I receive a message”
You can also choose to get a daily or weekly digest of all your new messages instead of individual emails.
Set up an InMail filter
InMail messages on LinkedIn allow you to directly contact any member, even if they are not in your network. However, you may get bombarded with promotional InMails from people you don’t know.
You can set up an InMail filter to automatically archive or delete InMails based on certain criteria, such as:
- Sender is not in your network
- InMail contains certain keywords
- InMail is marked as promotional
Go to your LinkedIn settings, click on “Communications”, and then “InMail Filtering” to customize your filter.
Use tags and folders
LinkedIn allows you to organize your messages using tags and folders. When you get a new message:
- Click on the drop down menu next to the message
- Select “Add tag” and create a new tag or use an existing one
- You can also click “Move to” to file the message in a specific folder
Some common tags and folders you could use include:
- “Priority” for important messages
- “Follow Up” for messages you need to respond to
- “Networking” for connecting with new contacts
- “Recruiters” for job opportunities
Turn off message reminders
By default, LinkedIn will periodically remind you about messages that are still unanswered. While this can be helpful, too many reminders could become annoying.
You can turn off reminders entirely, or customize them to be less frequent. Go to your LinkedIn settings, open “Communications”, and adjust “Message reminders”.
Unsubscribe from conversations
If someone insists on messaging you repeatedly about a topic you’re not interested in, you can unsubscribe from the conversation.
In the message thread, click the “More” drop down menu and select “Unsubscribe from conversation”. This will archive the chat and prevent further messages from that person in that thread.
Block unwanted messages
In extreme cases of harassment or spam, you may need to outright block someone from messaging you further. To block a contact:
- Open the message thread with that person
- Click the “More” menu
- Select “Block [Name]”
This will prevent that contact from sending you any messages or connecting with you on LinkedIn.
Adjust your contact preferences
You can control who can send you messages in the first place by adjusting your contact preferences:
- Go to your LinkedIn Privacy & Settings
- Click on “Communications”
- Under “Contacting You”, choose from:
- “Only 1st degree connections can contact you” – Most restrictive, only your direct connections can message.
- “2nd degree connections and above” – Allows 2nd and 3rd degree connections to message.
- “Anyone on LinkedIn” – Least restrictive, all LinkedIn members can message you.
In general, keeping this setting restrictive prevents unwanted messages from strangers.
Check message requests
If your contact preferences are set to “1st degree connections only”, any messages from 2nd or 3rd degree connections will become “message requests”.
It’s easy to miss these requests so remember to periodically check them. On LinkedIn web, click the envelope icon and view the “Message requests” tab. On mobile, tap on your inbox and swipe to the request tab.
Review the requests and accept ones from people you want to hear from. Reject requests if you want to ignore the conversation.
Disable messages
If you’re completely overwhelmed with messages, you can disable messaging entirely for a period of time. On LinkedIn’s “Privacy & Settings” page:
- Click on “Communications”
- Under “Message Settings”, uncheck “Allow anyone to send you messages through LinkedIn”
This will send all new messages to your “Message requests” queue until you re-enable messaging. Use this if you need a temporary break from all the communication.
Automate with tools
Managing a high volume of LinkedIn messages can be time consuming. Some social media management platforms like Hootsuite and Buffer allow you to view, organize, and respond to LinkedIn messages from one dashboard.
These tools can save time with features like:
- Unified inbox combining messages from multiple networks
- Auto-archiving messages with certain keywords
- Scheduling your replies
- Canned message templates
Look into whether automating parts of your LinkedIn messaging makes sense for your needs.
In summary
LinkedIn messages are a great way to establish connections, but can get overwhelming fast. Keep your inbox organized using filters, tags and folders. Disable components if you need a break. Consider automating routines with a social media management platform. With some discipline, you can maintain a manageable messaging system.