30 Day Linking Blitz 2

Week 3 Webinar

Building &Engaging with Your Network

Des Walsh

Business Coach, Social Media Strategist, LinkedIn Specialist

LinkedIn profile: http://linkedin.com/in/deswalsh Social web links: http://xeeme.com/deswalsh

Copyright © Des Walsh & The Webarts Company Pty Ltd 2013

Disclaimer

This presentation is for information only, should

not be taken as representing the official views of

LinkedIn and should not be construed as

constituting business or financial advice.

Logos are copyright of the respective companies.

In This Webinar

● “Only connect with people you know and trust” - really?

● Why you don't need to choose between quality and quantity

● How many people should you aim to have in your network and "Dunbar's Number"

● What we can learn from Granovetter's theory of the Strength of Weak Ties

But Wait! There's More :)

Practical tips for inviting connections and responding to requests for connections:● inviting people to connect and a neat formula for doing

that effectively● dealing with those invitations from people you don't

know or can't remember

Plus:● some thoughts on engaging with the people in your

network - and● discussion

The Official Line

“Only connect with people you know and trust”

The Official Line in Detail

..., we grant you a limited, revocable, nonexclusive, nonassignable,

nonsublicenseable license and right to access the Services,...in

accordance with this Agreement. Any other use of LinkedIn contrary

to our mission and purpose (such as seeking to connect to

someone you do not know or trust, or to use information

gathered from LinkedIn commercially unless expressly authorized by

LinkedIn) is strictly prohibited and a violation of this

Agreement.

LinkedIn User Agreement, Sn. 3 Your Rights

But LinkedIn Makes Connecting Easy

Too Easy - and Impersonal

Email List and “People You May Know”

Quality vs Quantity?

Quality matters

● I never knew of any of the “super connectors” saying

they didn't care about quality!

● Know what “quality” means for you (e.g. “hub”

connector, ideal client, influencer)

Quality or Quantity?

Quantity matters too

For networking you need reach

● the more good connections you have the more you can help

others with introductions – and be helped by them

For search

● finding others

● being found

Short Story

We need quality and quantity

Dunbar's Number

Academic Robin Dunbar's theoretical cognitive limit to the

number of people with whom one can maintain a stable or

“meaningful” social relationship.

The number? Somewhere around 150.*

Dunbar's Number & LinkedIn

But:

● we are not early humans living in neolithic village

societies

● the web and social media have changed our perceptions

about social relationships

And anyway:

● on LinkedIn are you looking for “meaningful”

relationships or business?

Granovetter's Strength of Weak Ties

● you can never have enough connections

● it doesn't matter if you don't know them. *

Strong, weak & absent ties

“The strength of a tie is a ... combination of the amount of

time, the emotional intensity, the intimacy (mutual

confiding) and the reciprocal services that characterize the

tie”.

“It is remarkable that people receive crucial information

from individuals whose very existence they have forgotten.”

Mark Granovetter

Is There an Ideal Number?

● There is no universally ideal number● Depends on your objectives● 500+ the most LinkedIn shows others you have a

larger network● 30,000 maximum● 200 a good minimum to get reach● A guide – multiply your age by 10

Inviting Connections

A simple formula: 3 options

● Remind● Flatter● Intrigue

Dealing with Problem Invitations

Engaging with Your Network

● Updates – yours, and interact with theirs ● Introductions● Endorsements● Recommendations● Occasional messages – 50 addresses at a time

● not just promotion● offer help

● Signal (next slide)

Signal - Customized

Coming Attractions!

Future webinars

● LinkedIn Groups: Participating and Possibly Establishing Your Own – week commencing March 4, 2013

● Highlights of 30DLB2 and Building on the Experience – week commencing March 11, 2013

We Covered

● “People you know and trust” ● quality and quantity● How many connections - and Dunbar's Number● Strength of weak ties● Inviting – using one of the 3 options (or combo)● Problem invitations● Engaging with our networks

Admin StuffImage credits

Illustration of Granovetter’s strength of weak ties concept: Image by Sadi Carnot, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons http://sociology.stanford.edu/people/mgranovetter/documents/granstrengthweakties.pdf

Sea, with text – picture by Des Walsh

Notes:

Dunbar's number: This was based on observation non-human primate behaviour, then supplemented by some complex calculations of how people related to one another in neolithic villages. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number

Granovetter's Strength of Weak Ties

http://sociology.stanford.edu/people/mgranovetter/documents/granstrengthweakties.pdf