LinkedIn recently rolled out a new feature where instead of seeing a “Connect” button on profiles, some users are now seeing a “Follow” button. This has caused some confusion, as connecting and following work differently on LinkedIn. Here’s a quick rundown of why you might be seeing “Follow” instead of “Connect”:
- LinkedIn is testing a new feature where the main call-to-action button is changed from “Connect” to “Follow.” This is only visible to a small percentage of members right now as a test.
- Following allows you to see someone’s posts and activity updates without connecting to them directly. Connecting means you are directly connected within each other’s professional networks.
- If you follow someone, you can see their public posts and activity without them needing to approve your request. Connecting requires both sides to approve before you are connected.
So in summary, the “Follow” button is a new feature LinkedIn is testing as an alternative to connecting with people. It allows you to passively follow someone without approval. The standard “Connect” option is still the main way to build up your professional network and relationships on LinkedIn.
When and Why Did LinkedIn Introduce the Follow Feature?
LinkedIn first introduced the ability to follow other members without connecting back in 2014. At the time, it was intended as an alternative way to monitor brands, publishers, influencers, and thought leaders on LinkedIn without needing to connect to them.
Here are some of the main reasons why LinkedIn launched the follow feature:
- To allow members to follow influential thought leaders, brands, publishers and more without cluttering up their immediate professional network.
- To provide an experience similar to following someone on other social networks like Twitter or Facebook.
- To give members access to relevant content, news and updates beyond their direct contacts.
- To increase engagement and sharing of content posted by influencers, companies, and publishers.
The follow feature was fairly limited when it first launched in 2014. You could only follow a small set of influencers and pre-approved accounts. Over the next few years, LinkedIn gradually opened up the follow feature to enable members to follow any profile or Showcase page on LinkedIn.
In 2022, LinkedIn began testing replacing the standard Connect button with a Follow button. This is still only visible to a small group of members, but indicates LinkedIn is considering making the Follow feature more prominent across the platform.
How is Following Different from Connecting on LinkedIn?
While following and connecting may seem similar on the surface, there are some key differences in how they work on LinkedIn:
Connecting
- Connects you directly to someone’s professional network.
- Allows you to message connections directly.
- Shows up under “Connections” on your profile.
- Requires mutual approval to connect.
- Appears on both profiles.
- Ideal for establishing professional relationships.
Following
- Lets you see someone’s public posts without connecting.
- Doesn’t notify them or require approval.
- Shows up under “Following” on your profile.
- Allows you to see their posts and updates in your feed.
- No reciprocal connection.
- Ideal for following publishers, influencers, brands.
So in summary, connecting is a two-way relationship that expands your professional network. Following simply lets you monitor someone’s public activity without directly interacting with them.
Who Can See Your LinkedIn Followers and Following?
Your list of followers and accounts you are following on LinkedIn are public. Anyone who visits your profile can see who you follow and who follows you back.
However, the specific posts and activity updates of the accounts you follow will only be visible to you and your connections. People who are not connected to you cannot see what the people and brands you follow are posting.
You can also choose to block specific followers if needed. This will remove them from your followers list and prevent them from viewing your profile or posts.
Some key things to note about followers on LinkedIn:
- Having a high number of followers can demonstrate your influence and thought leadership.
- Following relevant brands, influencers and thought leaders can positively impact your own content feed.
- Be selective about who you follow to avoid cluttering your feed.
- Review your own followers occasionally to block any bad actors.
How Many People Can You Follow on LinkedIn?
There is no official limit to how many people you can follow on LinkedIn. However, there seem to be some soft limits in place:
- LinkedIn may prompt you to “catch up” on current follows if following too many new accounts in a short period.
- Very high follow numbers (10,000+) may trigger spam detection limits.
- Extremely high follow rates may get an account flagged for review.
So while you can technically follow an unlimited number of members, it’s best to keep your total follow count reasonable and only follow accounts that are relevant to you. Aim for quality over quantity when using LinkedIn’s follow feature.
| Follower Count Range | Perception |
|---|---|
| 0 – 500 | Average |
| 500 – 5,000 | Active user |
| 5,000 – 50,000 | Minor influencer |
| 50,000 – 500,000 | Major influencer |
| 500,000+ | Celebrity influencer |
This table gives a rough benchmark for different follower count tiers and the perception associated with each one. Very high follower numbers tend to indicate influencer or thought leader status.
Tips for Using LinkedIn’s Follow Feature
Here are some tips to use LinkedIn’s follow feature effectively:
- Follow influencers, thought leaders, brands and publishers in your industry.
- Curate your feed by unfollowing accounts that provide low value.
- Leverage follows for market research on competitors, partners, or clients.
- Follow company pages to get updates on new products and services.
- Use Advanced Search to discover new accounts to follow based on keywords.
- Follow hashtags and topics of interest to surface relevant content.
Following the right mix of professional contacts, brands, and influencers can greatly enhance your LinkedIn feed. Take the time to actively curate who you follow for maximum value.
Who Should You Follow on LinkedIn?
Consider following these types of accounts:
- Thought leaders in your industry
- Influencers sharing valuable content
- Brands you want to track or do business with
- Notable professionals in your field
- Relevant hashtags and topics to your role
- Companies you may want to work for
- Publications covering industry news
Avoid indiscriminately following tons of random accounts, as this can clutter your feed. Be selective and strategic with who you follow.
Should You Buy LinkedIn Followers?
Some social media marketing companies offer packages to boost your LinkedIn followers quickly, often using bot accounts or fake profiles. Buying followers is not recommended on LinkedIn for several reasons:
- Fake followers don’t engage with your content.
- It can damage your credibility if discovered.
- It goes against LinkedIn’s terms of service.
- The benefits are minimal compared to making authentic connections.
Gaining followers organically by sharing great content and connecting with the right people is a much better long-term strategy on LinkedIn. While it takes more effort, you end up building real relationships with engaged followers.
Warning Signs of Fake LinkedIn Followers
Here are some red flags that may indicate bought or bot follower accounts:
- Zero connections
- Stock photo profile pictures
- Suspicious usernames with lots of numbers
- Job titles that don’t match the company
- New accounts with minimal activity
- Accounts that mass follow thousands of users
Regularly review your own followers list and purge any suspicious bot accounts. Focus on attracting real, active followers in your target audience.
Should You Follow Someone Back on LinkedIn?
There are a few factors to consider when someone follows you on LinkedIn:
- Relevance – Do they work in your industry or share common connections?
- Value – Will following them back add something useful to your feed?
- Mutuality – Are you familiar with this person or have you interacted before?
- Interest – Are you genuinely interested in their updates and content?
Based on these criteria, ask yourself if it makes sense to follow them back or not. It’s okay to be selective and keep your feed focused on accounts that provide true value. You can also wait for someone to actively connect before following back as well.
When Should You Follow Someone Back?
Consider following back when:
- The person is a close professional contact or industry peer.
- You respect their work or find it insightful.
- You want to stay updated on a key company or brand.
- You share common connections or groups.
- Their content aligns with your interests or goals.
Following back is a personal choice based on if you find value in someone’s updates and posting activity on LinkedIn. Use your best judgment.
How to Know Who Isn’t Following You Back on LinkedIn
LinkedIn doesn’t have a direct way to see who you follow that isn’t following you back. However, you can manually compare your followers and follows lists to identify accounts you follow that don’t follow back.
Here are a couple options to compare followers vs following:
Export and Compare Lists
- Go to your profile and export a list of your LinkedIn followers.
- Also export your list of LinkedIn follows.
- Open both CSV files in Excel or Google Sheets.
- Use the VLOOKUP formula or conditional formatting to compare the lists.
- See which names appear only on your following list and not followers.
This method allows you to analyze and compare your followers vs follows in a spreadsheet to identify who isn’t following back.
Manual Checking
- Regularly browse through your “Following” list on your profile.
- For each account you follow, visit their profile.
- Check if you appear on their followers list.
- If not, you have found someone you follow who isn’t following back.
Manually browsing profiles takes more effort, but is another way to compare your followers and following one-by-one. Over time, this can help identify mutual follows vs one-sided relationships.
Pros and Cons of Following vs Connecting on LinkedIn
| Following | Connecting | |
|---|---|---|
| Relationship Type | One-way/passive | Two-way/mutual |
| Approval Needed? | No | Yes |
| Visible to Both Parties? | No | Yes |
| Messaging Enabled? | No | Yes |
| Limits on Volume? | No strict limits | Max 30,000 connections |
| Feed Content | Posts & updates only | Expanded network updates |
| Use Case | Monitoring brands, influencers, news | Professional networking |
This comparison table summarizes the main differences and use cases between following and connecting on LinkedIn. The appropriate option depends on your specific goals.
Should You Unfollow or Remove Connections on LinkedIn?
It’s perfectly fine to unfollow or remove connections on LinkedIn that are no longer relevant, to declutter your feed. Here are some best practices:
- Review follows/connections 1-2x per year for cleanup.
- Unfollow accounts that post too frequently or give low value.
- Remove connections you no longer interact with.
- Keep your network focused on truly useful, active contacts.
- Don’t worry about offending people – maintaining a quality network is the priority.
- Use LinkedIn’s filtering tools to control noise and irrelevant updates.
Actively managing who you follow and connect with can improve the signal-to-noise ratio in your LinkedIn feed. Don’t hesitate to unfollow or remove inactive connections periodically.
How to Remove Connections on LinkedIn
To remove a LinkedIn connection:
- Go to their profile.
- Click the three dots icon next to the message button.
- Select “Remove connection”.
- Confirm you want to remove the connection.
The person will no longer appear in your connections list. The process to unfollow someone is similar. Just navigate to their profile and click “Unfollow”.
Conclusion
LinkedIn adding more prominent follow buttons is part of an evolving social media landscape. Following serves different use cases than traditional two-way connections. It allows passive monitoring of brands, influencers, and thought leaders.
However, mutual connections will remain the core of professional networking on LinkedIn. The follow feature simply provides an additional option for consuming content without bulking up your immediate network.
Whether you prefer to follow or connect depends on the type of relationship and how much of their content you want surfaced. Take advantage of both tools to customize a quality feed aligned with your professional interests and goals.
Actively manage who you follow and connect with over time to maintain the ideal balance and signal-to-noise ratio in your LinkedIn feed. The platform offers robust options to tailor your content stream based on the value each relationship provides.
