You’ve seen them before – little labels next to someone’s name on LinkedIn: 1st, 2nd, 3rd. But what do they actually mean?
These numbers aren’t random. They tell you how closely you’re connected to someone on the platform, and they have a huge impact on who you can message, what info you can access, and how far your network can reach.
Understanding how connection levels work is your first step to turning LinkedIn from a passive scroll-fest into a strategic growth tool.
Let’s break it down.
LinkedIn Connection Degrees Explained
LinkedIn uses connection degrees to map out your relationship with other users. Think of it as proximity in a professional sense – who you know, and who they know.
🔹 1st-Degree Connection
You’re directly connected. You’ve either accepted their invitation or they’ve accepted yours.
You can:
- Message them directly
- View their contact info
- Add up to 30,000 of them
🔹 2nd-Degree Connection
These are people connected to your 1st-degree connections, but not to you.
You can:
- See your mutual connection(s)
- Send a connection request
- Add them to LeadDelta with the Sidebar to access and organize their data
🔹 3rd-Degree Connection
These are connections of your 2nd-degree connections – even further from your immediate network.
You’ll likely:
- See limited profile info
- Need to connect or use InMail to contact
- Use LeadDelta Sidebar to save and enrich their data for future outreach
🔹 Out-of-Network
These users have no visible connection path to you.
They show up as “LinkedIn Member” with little to no info.
How To Go Beyond Your 1st-Degree Network
LinkedIn sets hard limits on what you can do with users outside your 1st-degree circle – limited access, no direct messaging, and minimal data.
But with LeadDelta Sidebar, you can skip those limitations and turn interesting profiles into organized, trackable contacts.
Add Non-Connections to LeadDelta in One Click
Using the Sidebar, you can save 2nd, 3rd-degree – no need to send a connection request right away.
Here’s how:
- Visit a LinkedIn profile
- Sidebar pops up on the right
- Click “Add to LeadDelta”
- The contact is saved.
You can even bulk import people from event pages, company pages, and search results – more on that shortly.
Enrich Contact Data
When you save someone with Sidebar, you can get additional contact data such as:
- Email address (personal and business)
- Phone number
This is valuable when you’re building prospect lists, tracking hiring leads, or preparing for strategic outreach.
Organize and Search Inside LeadDelta
Once added, you can:
- Export lists, collaborate with your team, or reach out when the time is right
- Tag contacts (e.g., potential clients, job candidates, investors)
- Add notes for context
- Use 15+ filters to find contacts faster
Why You Should Add Connections Outside Of Your Network
As we explained, you can easily import a user into LeadDelta and keep tabs on them for many reasons.
Here’s why:
- You want to connect with the user in the future, as now isn’t the right time
- Create lists of potential leads, recruits, and partners that you can export
- Share networking opportunities with your whole team
- Discover information about users without connecting with them
- Go past the 30,000 connection limit
How To Find 2nd and 3rd Degree Connections On LinkedIn
You don’t need to guess who’s worth connecting with. Here are the best ways to find high-potential profiles – and how LeadDelta Sidebar and LeadSearch make it faster.
Find Them in LinkedIn Search Results
Use LinkedIn’s filters to search by:
- Industry
- Location
- Job title
- Company
You’ll often find 2nd or 3rd-degree connections that match your criteria.
Once you’ve found them:
- Sidebar lets you save contacts instantly
- No need to open each profile individually
- Tag and note them inside LeadDelta for future use
👉 WATCH: Get data from targeted LinkedIn Search lists
Find Employees on Company Pages
Looking to connect with decision-makers from a specific company?
Head to their company LinkedIn page → click on “People” → Sidebar shows up and lets you:
- See who you already know
- Bulk-add employees to LeadDelta
- Filter based on title, location, or other attributes
- Prepare for outreach or track them for future interest
Perfect for targeted ABM, job hunting, or competitor research.
👉 WATCH: Prospect and enrich decision-makers at target accounts
Discover Contacts Through Event Pages
Virtual and in-person events are a networking goldmine. But manually checking who attended or engaged? That’s time-consuming.
Use LeadDelta Sidebar to:
- Pull attendee lists directly from LinkedIn event pages
- Add attendees in bulk
- Enrich their info
- Follow up after the event without adding all to LinkedIn
This helps you network strategically, not randomly.
👉 WATCH: Extract Emails + Phone Numbers from LinkedIn Event Attendees
Use LeadSearch to Find Prospects with Filters
LeadDelta’s built-in LeadSearch tool is your power move.
You can:
- Filter by company, title, location, company size and much more
- Bulk add them to LeadDelta
- Get verified contact data (emails, phone numbers)
No more jumping between LinkedIn tabs. You get faster prospecting with better data.
👉 WATCH: Create lead lists with LeadSearch
Find Hidden Opportunities in Your Team’s Network
If your team is using LeadDelta Team Collaboration, you unlock the shared network feature – this is a game-changer.
Here’s what you can do:
- Search across your entire team’s network
- Identify who on your team knows someone valuable and when they last messaged
- Use mutual contact filters to find warm intros
- Leave a note or task tagging your teammate for an intro
- Get faster replies thanks to warm outreach
It’s smarter prospecting – with teamwork built in.
👉 WATCH: Find targeted prospects within your team network
FAQs
Q: Can I message 2nd or 3rd-degree connections on LinkedIn? Not directly – unless you use InMail. But with LeadDelta, you can still track them, enrich their data, and plan your outreach.
Q: Does LeadDelta work if I’m not connected with someone? Yes. Use the Sidebar to add 2nd, 3rd-degree, or even out-of-network contacts to LeadDelta. You’ll be able to organize and even enrich their data.
Q: What’s the benefit of using Sidebar over LinkedIn alone? Sidebar helps you save time, add contacts in bulk, and enrich data that LinkedIn doesn’t show. It also integrates seamlessly with your LeadDelta workspace.
Q: How does the Team Collaboration feature help me? You can search your team’s shared network, find who knows who, and request warm intros – all within LeadDelta.
Conclusion
Knowing the difference between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-degree LinkedIn connections gives you a starting point. But most people stop there and miss out on what’s possible beyond those limitations.
LeadDelta opens the door to opportunities LinkedIn keeps locked. You can track, tag, enrich, and organize your network – even when you’re not connected. Combine that with Sidebar, LeadSearch, and Team Collaboration, and you’re no longer limited by LinkedIn’s structure.
Instead, you’re running your network on your terms.
