from Connection Quantity vs. Quality. Compare with Quality.

LinkedIn Connection Quantity

A Quantity connection strategy focuses on maximizing the number of direct connections, including WeakConnections, through strategies like those at GrowYourNetwork. Virtually any networker with over 500 connections follows this strategy in part.

Networking is a multi-dimensional activity that generates benefits both in quality (how well you know someone) and quantity (knowing more people).

Quality is important, which is why I created DallasBlue - to meet people in person in Dallas as well as when I travel.

But networking is more than that. It's not just "tit for tat" and limited to our mutual interests and when I can help you directly.

Instead it’s more akin to "pay it forward." What counts is not necessarily who I am, but who I know. It’s not about what I can do for you now, but what I may be able to do for you later, and vice versa, such as through forwarding an Introduction. You never know who is going to be able to make the right referral. I have a long list of the LinkedIn successes I’ve experienced at SuccessStoriesMarc . Most of them happened not because I was close friends with the other person, but because I have a very large network.

Benefits

• Reach more people. More connections increase the size of your overall LinkedIn network. Someone with 50 connections may reach 500,000 members. That's only 5% of all LinkedIn users. A member with 1,000 connections may reach 5 million members.
• More efficient Introductions. More connections shortens the LinkedIn connection path for many members. The fewer people between you and the recipient, the less likely your Introduction will be rejected, ignored, or otherwise not acted on, and the more likely it will reach the recipient.
• Faster Introductions. Shorter paths to other members means your Introduction won't have to go through additional people for forwarding. Your Introductions reach recipients quicker without that added delay of other approvals.
• Increased help. When you update your connections with business and personal news you reach more people who can help you.
• Increased help 2. If you're connected to more people, your LinkedIn Jobs, Questions, Recommendations, and Profile Updates are more visible to more people, again making it easier for people to see your profile and posting and help you.
• Easier for others to find you. The same benefits of a larger network and faster Introductions happen when people are trying to find and reach you.
• Choice is good. With more connections you have a greater choice of connections who can forward your Introductions. It's critical to get around people who may be inactive or unavailable.
• Save InMails. InMails let you directly contact another members. But they are very expensive. You only get three a month with the basic business account. If you have a large network you may already have a million members only two degrees away. You can use Introduction for them instead and save InMail for when you need an immediate response or contact someone three degrees away.

Disadvantages

• Time demand. It takes more time to manage your LinkedIn business. More connections means you'll be receiving more Introductions to forward
• Difficult to use LinkedIn becomes unwieldy with many connections. There are limited tools to automate or handle multiple LinkedIn actions like approving requests or accepting invitations. LinkedIn policies, features, and design are restricted for ActiveNetworkers. Why? ItsNotYourNetwork.
• Higher standard of conduct. Supernetworkers cannot use LinkedIn with the impunity that those with smaller networks can. See the ActiveNetworkersGuide.
• Expect less co-operation. WeakConnections may have different expectations about or experience with networking and LinkedIn. This results in more misunderstandings or even complaints compared to members will small networks. Read more at WeakConnection.

Recommendation

Networking is about BOTH the number and depth of your relationships. You can have both QualityAndQuantity.

The balance should be dictated by one's networking and business objectives. LinkedIn is just a tool. Like all tools, you use it in whatever way works for YOU, not for somebody else. It's your business that's on the line. Sometimes tools are a perfect fit. Sometimes they aren't but they're the best you have. So you use those parts of the tool that make sense for you.

It is a fact that LinkedIn is not designed for Active Networkers. See LinkedInSurprises. Just because LinkedIn isn't Active Networker-friendly doesn't imply in any way that it should be avoided. To the contrary, it means that you better know its limitations, so you can manage your use appropriately.

For me and many other top networkers the benefits from using LinkedIn with a large network still greatly outweigh the downside. At the same time it should be known that there are a number of supernetworkers who have abandoned or cut back on LinkedIn.

MarcFreedman