There are many ways to approach making connections on LinkedIn. Social-media firm Social Media Sonar has identified four connection styles:
The lion. Lions are completely open connectors. They seek to increase their connections through actively sending out and accepting connection invitations. The majority believe that large networks lead to more opportunities.
The turtle. Turtles are the opposite of lions. Turtles primarily connect with those they know well. They see value in having a tight network made up of individuals they completely trust.
The hound dog. A hound dog is someone who uses LinkedIn to connect to those they know and those they would like to know. They also accept invitations from those who would be beneficial to have as connections.
The alley cat. Alley cats only send invitations to people they know or people they have a specific reason for connecting to, but they accept invitations from just about anyone. They believe there is value in knowing your connections but that there are also unexpected opportunities in new connections, some presently known, some unknown.