LinkedIn is a professional networking platform that allows users to connect with other professionals in their industry. One of the key features of LinkedIn is the ability to build up your professional network by connecting with new contacts.
A common question that many LinkedIn users have is whether it’s possible to sync contacts from other apps and services into your LinkedIn account. The short answer is yes, LinkedIn does provide the ability to sync your contacts from various sources.
Importing Contacts into LinkedIn
There are a few different ways to import contacts into your LinkedIn account:
- Sync your email contacts – You can connect your email account like Gmail or Outlook and sync your existing email contacts to your LinkedIn connections list.
- Sync from your phone contacts – If you have the LinkedIn mobile app, you can sync the contacts from your phone address book to LinkedIn.
- Import a contacts file – You can import a contacts file in .csv format from apps like Excel or Google Contacts.
The main benefit of syncing your contacts to LinkedIn is that it makes it much easier to connect with people you already know. Rather than having to search for each individual, LinkedIn will automatically suggest connecting to synced contacts who also use LinkedIn when you are browsing the platform.
How to Sync Gmail Contacts
One of the most popular ways to sync contacts with LinkedIn is by connecting your Gmail account. Here is how to sync Gmail contacts with LinkedIn:
- Go to your profile on LinkedIn and click on ‘My Network’ in the top toolbar.
- On the My Network page, click on ‘Manage synced and imported contacts’
- This will open the Contacts page. Click on the Gmail logo to start syncing.
- Follow the prompts to enter your Gmail username and password to authorize LinkedIn to connect with Gmail.
- Once connected, toggle the button to sync contacts from your Gmail account. You can also choose which specific contact lists you want to sync.
- Hit apply and LinkedIn will now automatically sync all your Gmail contacts.
It usually takes some time for all the synced contacts from Gmail to appear in your LinkedIn contacts. You’ll find your synced connections under the “Connections” filter on the My Network page.
Syncing Phone Contacts
If you use LinkedIn on your mobile phone, you can also quickly sync all your phone contacts:
- Open the LinkedIn app on your iPhone or Android phone
- Go to your profile and tap on ‘Contacts’ in the menu
- On the Contacts page tap ‘Sync Device Contacts’
- Confirm that you want to sync contacts from your phone
- LinkedIn will automatically start syncing all your phone contacts with your LinkedIn connections
One thing to note is that syncing mobile contacts will only work if those contacts also have LinkedIn profiles. If any of your phone contacts don’t use LinkedIn, they won’t be added to your LinkedIn connections.
Importing Contacts from Other Apps
In addition to syncing Gmail and phone contacts, you can also import contact lists from various other apps and services into LinkedIn.
Some of the common options for importing contacts include:
- Outlook – Import Outlook contacts and sync with LinkedIn.
- Yahoo – Sync your Yahoo Mail contacts.
- Apple Contacts – Import contacts from the Contacts app on Mac or iOS.
- Google Contacts – Import your contacts from Google Contacts.
The process for importing contacts is similar for most services:
- Go to the Contacts page in LinkedIn and click the Import button.
- Select the app or service you want to import contacts from.
- Follow the prompts to connect your account and authorize access if required.
- Select the specific contact lists or groups you want to import.
- Confirm the import and wait for the contacts to be synced.
One of the limitations with imported contacts is that they will only create a connection on LinkedIn if that person also has an existing LinkedIn profile. For any contacts that are not on LinkedIn, you would have to send them an invite separately.
Importing Contacts File
If you have a contacts file such as a .csv file exported from Excel, Google Contacts etc. you can also import the file directly into LinkedIn:
- Go to the Contacts page and click ‘Import’
- Choose the ‘File’ option to import a contacts .csv file.
- Your .csv file should have columns for First Name, Last Name, and Email Address at minimum.
- Select the .csv file from your computer and start the upload.
- Check the imported contacts and confirm the import.
This option is useful if you have an existing contacts database that you want to migrate to LinkedIn without having to manually add each connection.
Managing Synced Contacts
Once you have synced and imported contacts to LinkedIn, you can manage them from the Contacts page:
- Viewing synced connections – Go to the “Connections” filter to see all your synced contacts who are also on LinkedIn.
- Pending invites – See which imported contacts have not yet accepted your connection invitation.
- Removing synced contacts – Delete any synced connections that you no longer want from the “Manage synced and imported contacts” page.
- Turn off syncing – Disable the automated syncing with Gmail, Outlook, or phone contacts by toggling off the service.
In summary, here are some key tips for managing synced LinkedIn contacts:
- Sync relevant contact lists – Avoid adding irrelevant contacts like one-time email exchanges.
- Personalize invitations – Customize the invitation message when connecting with imported contacts.
- Segment your network – Use LinkedIn Groups to organize your connections into different segments.
- Follow up on pending invitations – Check which sent invites are still pending and follow up personally.
Troubleshooting Contact Syncing Issues
In some cases, you may encounter issues while syncing contacts to LinkedIn. Here are some common problems and solutions:
Contacts not appearing in LinkedIn
If your imported contacts are not showing up in your LinkedIn connections, try these troubleshooting tips:
- Confirm the syncing status on the Contacts page – There will be a message that contacts are still being synced.
- Check for duplicate contacts – LinkedIn will avoid creating duplicates for contacts already in your network.
- Re-authenticate the connection to refresh – Sometimes re-connecting the sync will fix missing contacts.
Sync keeps failing
If the contact sync keeps failing with errors, some things you can try are:
- Make sure you have the latest version of the LinkedIn app.
- Re-enter your login details if you get authorization errors.
- Try syncing a smaller number of contacts instead of your entire address book.
- Disconnect the sync, restart your device and then reconnect.
Can’t find option to sync contacts
If you can’t find the options to sync or import contacts on LinkedIn:
- Go to your profile, My Network page, and then Contacts section.
- Make sure you have updated to the latest version of the LinkedIn mobile app if syncing phone contacts.
- On desktop, options to add synced contacts will be under the Account Preferences page.
Duplicate contacts created
It’s common to end up with duplicate contacts on LinkedIn after syncing from multiple sources. To remove duplicates:
- Go to the duplicate contacts under the Contacts page.
- Delete or merge the duplicate contacts as needed.
- Avoid syncing the same contacts list from different apps.
Conclusion
Syncing contacts from external apps and services can be a huge time-saver on LinkedIn. By using the contact import and sync options correctly, you can quickly build up your LinkedIn network without having to send invites manually.
However, it’s important to manage synced contacts carefully to avoid issues like duplicate connections. Make sure to follow up personally with imported contacts and segment your network using LinkedIn Groups.
With hundreds of millions of users, LinkedIn is the ideal platform to build your professional network. So leverage contact syncing to maximize your connections while also building relationships that boost your career or business.