Connecting your LinkedIn and Gmail accounts allows you to easily import contacts from LinkedIn into your Gmail contact list. This can be especially useful for sales professionals, recruiters, or anyone who networks extensively through LinkedIn. Syncing the two services creates a seamless process for saving new connections directly to your email contacts.
In this article, we’ll walk through the steps for syncing your LinkedIn and Gmail accounts. We’ll cover:
- The benefits of syncing LinkedIn with Gmail
- How to connect LinkedIn and Gmail
- Configuring sync settings in LinkedIn
- Importing LinkedIn contacts into Gmail
- Best practices for managing synced contacts
Whether you’re looking to keep your professional network organized or build a master contacts list, syncing LinkedIn and Gmail is a simple process that can make your outreach more efficient.
Benefits of Syncing LinkedIn with Gmail
Here are some of the top benefits of connecting your LinkedIn and Gmail accounts:
Easily Save New Connections
Each time you connect with someone new on LinkedIn, syncing allows their contact information to automatically save to your email contacts. This eliminates the manual process of adding each new connection individually to your Gmail.
Maintain a Central Contacts List
With syncing, your Gmail contacts become a centralized master list that includes both your personal and professional connections. You can access all contacts seamlessly from Gmail without having to toggle between services.
Streamline Outreach and Communication
Syncing makes it easier to connect with your network by having all your contacts accessible in one place. You can instantly email connections directly from Gmail without having to hunt them down on LinkedIn first.
Keep Contact Details Updated
When connections update their contact info on LinkedIn, syncing will automatically update their details in your synced Gmail contacts. This keeps your master list up-to-date as people change jobs, titles, phone numbers, and more.
Utilize Gmail Features
With your LinkedIn contacts synced to Gmail, you can take advantage of helpful Gmail features like contact groups,labels, and integrations with other Google services like Calendar. This optimizes your contacts management and workflow.
How to Connect LinkedIn and Gmail
Let’s go through the simple process for linking your accounts and enabling contact syncing:
Step 1: Access LinkedIn Settings
The first step is to access your account settings on LinkedIn:
- On LinkedIn.com, click your profile image in the top right
- In the dropdown menu, select Settings & Privacy
- On the Settings page, click Communications on the left
This will bring you to the Communications settings for your LinkedIn account.
Step 2: Locate Contact Syncing
Next, you need to navigate to the syncing section:
- On the Communications page, click the Contact syncing tab
- You will see the option to Sync contacts from LinkedIn into: with Gmail listed
This is where you can enable and configure syncing with Gmail.
Step 3: Connect to Gmail
To link the accounts:
- Click the Connect button next to Gmail
- You will be prompted to sign in to your Google account
- Enter your Gmail address and password to log in
- Click Allow to permit LinkedIn’s access to specified Google account info
Once you grant access, your LinkedIn and Gmail accounts will be connected.
Step 4: Configure Sync Settings
Next, you can configure settings for syncing your contacts including:
- Sync frequency – choose to sync contacts daily, weekly, or monthly
- Sync method – select two-way sync or one-way sync from LinkedIn to Gmail only
- Sync default – decide whether to automatically sync contacts for new Gmail connections
Adjust these settings based on your preferences for keeping contacts updated between the two services.
Importing LinkedIn Contacts into Gmail
Once you’ve connected the accounts, you need to trigger the initial contact sync from LinkedIn to Gmail:
Initiate Sync
On the LinkedIn Contact syncing page, click the Sync button next to Gmail. This will sync and import your LinkedIn connections into your Gmail contacts.
Check Gmail Contacts
Go to Gmail on the web and click Contacts on the left menu to view your contact list. You should now see all imported LinkedIn connections in your Gmail contacts.
Look For LinkedIn Badges
Synced LinkedIn contacts will be marked with LinkedIn badges next to their names in your Gmail contact list. This allows you to easily identify them as LinkedIn connections.
Sync to Phone (Optional)
If you use Gmail contacts on your mobile phone, you may need to manually sync your Gmail contacts to your phone’s address book to view the recently imported LinkedIn connections.
Best Practices for Managing Synced Contacts
Here are some tips for effectively managing synced LinkedIn contacts within Gmail:
Add Connections to Groups
Organize important LinkedIn connections in specific Groups like “Clients,” “Recruiters,” or “Industry Connections” to keep your master contact list sorted.
Create a Label
You can label synced LinkedIn contacts in Gmail for quick filtering if needed. For example, label them as “LinkedIn” for easy identification.
Update Contact Details
Take advantage of syncing by keeping your Gmail contacts updated through LinkedIn. Connections modify their LinkedIn profiles, which will sync over updated details to Gmail contacts.
Manage Frequency
Consider decreasing the sync frequency if you find duplicated contacts. Syncing monthly instead of weekly avoids multiple instances of the same connection as frequently.
Disable Autosync
If you connect with lots of people regularly on LinkedIn but don’t necessarily need them all added to your Gmail contacts, disable the autosync default option. This gives you more control over which new LinkedIn connections import.
Personalize Records
Take a moment to add any personal details, notes, reminders, or other data to the LinkedIn connections in your Gmail contacts. Tailor their records with information specific to your relationship or communication needs.
Conclusion
Syncing your LinkedIn and Gmail accounts is a simple process that can enhance your professional networking and contacts management. Allowing two-way automated syncing provides you with a comprehensive master database of all connections accessible seamlessly from Gmail.
The key steps are connecting your accounts, configuring sync settings, initiating the contact import, and then employing ongoing maintenance through features like Groups and labels. Handling your growing network through a centralized, synced list makes outreach more organized and communication with your connections more efficient.
Hopefully this guide has helped explain how to effectively sync your LinkedIn with Gmail. Let us know if you have any other questions!