How I Changed My LinkedIn "Connect" Button to "Follow" — and Why You Should Too

A few days ago, I was browsing LinkedIn and came across someone with really insightful posts. Naturally, I visited that person’s profile and clicked the Connect button.

But something caught my eye.

The moment I clicked Connect, the Follow button got automatically checked too. Wait, what?

I thought, "That’s interesting. I didn’t know following someone was tied to connecting."

Curious, I dug a little deeper. That’s when I discovered a hidden LinkedIn feature — you can actually make ‘Follow’ the default button on your own profile instead of ‘Connect’.

And it made total sense.

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Why Make "Follow" the Default Button?

If you're someone who:

• Shares content regularly,

• Wants to grow your professional audience,

• Or prefers followers over unsolicited connection requests,

Then making Follow the default action helps reduce random connection requests and increases your content visibility.

So I decided to try it myself.

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How to Change Your LinkedIn Button from "Connect" to "Follow"

After a bit of digging around, here’s how you can do it:

1. Go to your LinkedIn homepage.

2. Click on Me (top right corner) → then Settings & Privacy.

3. On the left sidebar, choose Visibility.

4. Scroll down to the Visibility of your LinkedIn activity section.

5. Find the option "Followers" and click on it.

6. You’ll see two settings:

   1. Everyone on LinkedIn - Tick this

   2. Make follow primary - Turn this ON

That’s it! From now on, anyone visiting your profile will see a Follow button instead of Connect.

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Final Thoughts

I had no idea this feature even existed until I stumbled upon it. But after enabling it, I’ve seen more people engaging with my posts, and I receive fewer cold connection requests.

If you're active on LinkedIn and want to build your personal brand, this small tweak can make a big difference.

Reference:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-change-your-linkedin-button-from-connect-follow-petherick-/