As the LinkedIn professional network keeps having a positive momentum, its responsibility before the users is growing correspondingly. Every now and then, we see its Privacy Policy updates, as well as the adoption of new rules designed to limit the impact of the scammers’ and spammers’ activities.
The LinkedIn algorithms determine the maximum number of actions a user can perform weekly and measure specific account activity metrics to identify suspensions activities and bring in measures.
This article gathers the limitations of this social network and shares insights on how the platform allows bypassing some of them. Exclusively, we will also fortify the loopholes where LinkedIn automated outreach can save the day of your outreach managers without getting your account blocked.
According to LinkedIn
Before we go into the details, let’s emphasize that whatever activities you perform on LinkedIn have their limits.
Roughly, they can be divided into the following groups:
- The number of connection requests
- The number of outreach messages
- The number of interactions (clicks, likes, etc.)
- The number of characters for content: profile details, showcase page, InMails, invitations, etc.
According to the data publicly shared by LinkedIn, some of the limits any user of this network should bear in mind are as follows:
- Up to 25 daily connection requests
- Not more than 100 weekly invites
- Connections invites have a 288-character limit
- InMails should not be longer than 2,000 characters, and the available number depends on the purchased plan (Premium Career – 5, Premium Business – 15, Salas Navigator – 20, Recruiter Lite – 30)
These are not the only limitations available, especially regarding character limits. Whatever content you choose to publish on LinkedIn has its limits you will need to follow to get approved.
What actions can get you blocked
There are common reasons that make an account suspicious-looking. This is due to LinkedIn’s attempts to ensure the platform is as credible as possible.
While the most authentic activities can still get an account shut off, we’d recommend keeping a close eye on the following reasons behind getting your profile restricted:
- Searching and interacting with too many accounts
- Making too many clicks
- Sending an excessive number of connection requests within a limited period
- Having low acceptance rates for connection requests
- Getting your invitations flagged as “I don’t know this person” from too many LinkedIn users
- Unlawful account activities
- Having an account hacked
- Using automation tools that do not follow LinkedIn standards and limits*
These are just some major reasons that trigger LinkedIn algorithms to restrict or block your profile page. If so, and in the case of profiles with many connections, such a bummer can significantly affect your activities on this channel.
*Importantly, these are the storefront browser-based (Chrome primarily) tools that also can get your profile suspicious-looking and flagged by LinkedIn. You should be mindful when making your choice in favor of LinkedIn automation software and do your homework before activating it.
How to lift the limitations safely
Opting for the right LinkedIn automation tool can help you drastically adjust the platform’s limitations and increase the number of your outreach messages.
Let’s use Linked Helper 2 as an example.
The software’s algorithms allow you to bypass this social media’s weekly limitations and send up to 100 invites, not weekly but daily!
Nonetheless:
You will still need to have common sense and limit the daily number of your outreach messages. Believe it or not, extensive outreach looks suspicious and can cause trouble for your account no matter how well-programmed your automation tool is.
Tips on keeping your LinkedIn account from blocking
Now that you know the basics of LinkedIn limitations, how to overcome them, and what can get your account restricted, let’s highlight what you should remember when sourcing on LinkedIn:
- Mass outreach is awesome unless it turns into spam. So do your research and connect with people who meet the criteria only.
- Avoid suspicious automation tools with no usage history. Testing is acceptable if you are just starting. But if you have over 500 connections and years behind building your LinkedIn profile page, think twice before making your choice.
- Always stay professional and maintain a high level of commitment to your professional community. It takes years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it.
- Learn from your mistakes. Received a warning from LinkedIn? Reconsider your activities and revamp your outreach strategy right away.
- Keep your account safe. For that, make sure to update your passwords regularly and store the details safely.
Wrap up
They say that LinkedIn continues working on introducing more restrictions and limits. So if you use the KPI-based approach in your activities, the chances are the organic outbound prospecting can be challenging and not sufficient.
Now that you know LinkedIn outreach limitations and have the tool designed to beat them, it’s time to focus on your strategy and how to scale your sourcing efforts.
The best time to start growing your business using LinkedIn is now.
