I really find it strange there are still a large number of people on LinkedIn who fell having thousands of connections is a validation of their popularity.  Social networking has changed.  Being popular on LinkedIn is not how many connections you can make. 

Being popular on LinkedIn today is having connections with people you can actually have coffee with or stop by their office.  It doesn’t do you any good to have a connection in Europe when you know you will never be there to meet them.

Someone having more than 1000 LinkedIn connections represents a person with a lack of understanding of how social networking works.

Of course, those who have more than 1000 connections will quickly say I am jealous because I don’t have thousands of connections.  Little do they know…I too had over 5000 connections on LinkedIn..so..no it is not jealousy I have for those who have several thousand contacts..it is more of a concern I have that they have received some erroneous information on how to market on the internet.

Asking the Right Questions

It has been proven over and over again that it is not the number of LinkedIn connections you have but who you are connected with on LinkedIn.

Having a large number of LinkedIn connections makes it impossible to communicate with them effectively. 

• What takes place when someone connected to thousands of connections on LinkedIn?  They connect to people they really do not know.   
• What happens when you connect with someone you do not know on LinkedIn?  Every attempt to communicate with people you do not know or who do not know you will be considered as Spam.
• What happens to Spammers on LinkedIn?  They are kicked off the platform. 
• So what did you get for rapidly going out and connecting to as many people on LinkedIn as you can?   Well…it is a certainty that it was not what you wanted to happen.

Now that Facebook is falling apart as a social network it is time to start doing what you should have been doing all along…building trust.

• How do you build trust?  Stop connecting to strangers and start posting content that allows people you do not know an opportunity to learn more about you.
• What is the best way to post trustworthy content?  Using videos now is how consumers want to be communicated with.  Outside of meeting with someone in person, Videos are the best way to deliver a message to business leads you do not know.
• How do you meet like-minded people on LinkedIn?  Find a video production studio and start producing video podcasts.  Post the video podcast to LinkedIn and start interacting with people who make comment.  Schedule a few coffees or set up meetups at the conference you are attending and…BAM…instant LinkedIn Connections.

No need in believing me on if all of what I have provided works..just try it.  Let me know how I can help.