LinkedIn is a very interesting social networking site. Many users say they only want to connect with people in their closed network, but unless that network is big enough, the benefits of using LinkedIn to find and be found become minimal. On the other hand, I find many users who don’t care about acquiring LinkedIn connections often talk about how many they have as an indication of how active they are on the site.
So how many LinkedIn connections should you have?
I recently shot a video at a keynote speech on social media in Orange County, California where I unveiled my Windmill Networking calculation of how many connections I recommend you should have as a goal on LinkedIn. I’ll let you view the video, and the surprised audience reaction, and let you form your own opinion.
Note that the number and partial concept I talk about at the end of the video comes from one of my favorite Seth Godin blog posts, First, Organize 1000.
Everyone’s network size and participation on LinkedIn will be the result of a number of varying factors. But, if you think about my advice, isn’t it a reasonable goal to meet and potentially link up with 10 to 20 new people each year through networking events? Even if you’re fresh out of college with few professional connections, I believe the calculation that I propose is reasonable. And if you’re a true Windmill Networker, you can easily meet 10 to 20 people in a month or even a week! I have networking events where I meet several people I want to connect with in a single day.
If you could put a calculation as to how many connections one should have a goal for, what would you recommend? Looking forward to everyone’s input!
