LinkedIn is a powerful platform for building professional connections and relationships. One way to strengthen your network is by following other members that you would like to stay updated on. However, you can’t immediately follow someone you connect with on LinkedIn. There is a two-step process to go from connecting to following another member.
Why You Should Follow Connections on LinkedIn
Following someone on LinkedIn allows you to see their activity updates in your feed. This helps you stay up-to-date on their work and accomplishments. Here are some of the key benefits of following connections on LinkedIn:
- See articles and links they share
- Get notified when they update their profile or experience
- Stay current on content they post
- Discover job changes and new opportunities
- Gain industry insights and trends
In addition to the visibility it provides, following connections strengthens your relationships. It signals you want to keep up with them and take an interest in their professional life. Conversely, when your connections follow you back, it shows they value hearing your updates too.
How to Follow Someone You’re Connected With
LinkedIn doesn’t allow you to immediately follow a new connection. This is to prevent spamming or overloading contacts with unsolicited follows. Instead, you need to mutually connect first, then you can send a follow request after an initial waiting period. Here are the steps to go from connected to following on LinkedIn:
- Connect with the member through LinkedIn search, shared connections, imported contacts, or other methods.
- After connecting, wait up to 10-14 days. This gives your new connection time to respond and establish the relationship.
- Visit the member’s profile and click “Follow” next to the Connect button. This sends them a follow request notification.
- The member will receive the follow request and can either approve or ignore it. Most connections accept follows to further build the relationship.
- Once the member approves your request, you’ll be officially following each other and their updates will appear in your feed.
This gradual process gives members full control over who they interact with and follow. It prevents spammy behavior since both parties must mutually agree to follow one another after an initial waiting period from connecting.
Following Etiquette Tips
Here are some tips on politely and professionally following connections on LinkedIn:
- Personalize follow requests with a quick message reminding them who you are or why you want to follow them.
- Only follow members you have an established relationship with or mutual interests to share.
- Wait the 10-14 day period before sending the follow to avoid LinkedIn restrictions.
- Don’t bombard every new connection with follow requests or you may appear spammy.
- Focus on following those who you want to build stronger ties with.
- Don’t take it personally if a member ignores the request. They may want to limit follows or didn’t see it.
Following good etiquette makes the process smooth for everyone involved. It reinforces the value of your professional relationship.
Settings to Manage Follows
LinkedIn gives you control over your follows settings as both a follower and a member being followed. Here are the key options:
- Manage followers – Review, accept, and remove followers from your profile’s followers list.
- Manage updates – Choose whether you want followed members to receive your updates and activity posts.
- Notifications – Configure notifications for new followers, follow requests, and posts from followed members.
- Groups – Opt to automatically follow members that join groups you manage.
Utilizing these settings prevents unwanted follows and limits updates from less relevant connections. You can change them at any time to fit your preferences.
Following Groups on LinkedIn
In addition to individual members, you can also follow LinkedIn Groups related to your professional interests. Here’s an overview:
- Search for relevant niche groups using keywords.
- Browse group options and select ones aligned to your goals.
- Click “Follow” on the group’s page to receive its updates.
- Group follows appear separately in your feed from member follows.
- Stay updated on group discussions, new members, and shared content.
Following groups complements your first-degree connections by delivering content directly tailored to your industry or role. It expands your professional world on LinkedIn.
Analytics for Your Follower Network
LinkedIn provides data on your follower network so you can analyze its growth and composition. Find this under My Network > Followers. Metrics include:
- Total followers
- Follower growth over past month
- Industries and locations of followers
- Companies represented
- Newest followers list
Studying your follower analytics helps guide networking and lead generation. You can target members from key companies, segments, and regions to follow and build synergy.
Conclusion
Transitioning from connected to following other members is a simple process on LinkedIn. Just connect first, wait 10-14 days, then send a follow request. Maintaining follow etiquette and customizing notifications prevents unwanted outreach. Following connections, groups, and analyzing your own followers expands your professional network. Use these best practices to get the most value from LinkedIn follows.