I was asked the other day what the optimum number of connections was for LinkedIn, and whether <insert client name> were doing well with their number of connections?
Like all good questions, it got me thinking. When is enough, enough?
On LinkedIn the average number of connections a person has is between 0-300. 54% of users have less that 500 connections, with just a handful being classed as super connectors. These are users who have more than 1000 connections on LinkedIn (although I would say that that figure is more like 3,000+ to qualify now-a-days).
Author Keith Ferrazzi, first coined the phrase super connector in his book Never Eat Alone, and he defines it as: “Super Connectors are people who maintain contact with thousands of people in many different worlds and know them well enough to give them a call. Restaurateurs, headhunters, lobbyists, fundraisers, public relations people, politicians, and journalists are the best super-connectors because it’s their job to know EVERYONE.”
However, my experience using LinkedIn leaves this definition wanting, and I would define a super-connector as:
Business-leaders who can mobilise their network of connections to actively further business needs and wants as and when they choose to.
So that doesn’t mean you have thousands of random people following you, but relevant connections who respond to your call when you put it out there. That call may be a request for information, an answer to a question, a call to action or a recruitment request, but whatever it is, you can mobilise your connections to get that job done.
And to answer my own question, I would say that as with all social media, enough connections comes when you have 1) Answered your social media goals 2) Seen your agreed ROI and 3) Can mobilise your network to solve and resolve business requirements. Does that have a number attached to it? No.