Top Tips for Creating, Managing and Promoting a LinkedIn Group

11-createLinkedIn is a great place to network on a professional level, to find jobs and answer questions. But did you know it’s also a wonderful opportunity to join together like-minded professionals in groups that can reach out and engage potential clients.

Building a LinkedIn group has many benefits for your business. Creating the group around a specific niche can:

  • Position your company as the thought leader of your industry
  • Builds awareness within your targeted market area
  • Can generate leads and interest in your services or products
  • Build valuable relationships not only within your industry but with customers

These are just a few of the many reasons creating and managing a LinkedIn group is very important to your business growth.

Creating, managing and promoting a successful LinkedIn group does take time. Here are my top tips for doing this.

Creating a LinkedIn Group

Many industries have not yet created a group in LinkedIn. If no one in your industry has, go ahead and create one.

12-communityYour group can be in one of several categories including:

  • Corporate
  • Alumni
  • Networking
  • Professional
  • Non-Profit
  • Other

Here are some tips to help you get started:

  • The name you use is Important. Choose a title that includes relevant keywords.
  • Choose a narrow niche or specialty. Having a well-defined niche will attract the right followers. Differentiate your group from others in your industry.
  • Create a webpage for the group on your own website. Buy the domain and have it redirected to a page on your own site. The page is a way to provide more visibility and engagement for your group. It can have as much or little content as you like.
  • Display the group inside the Group Directory and on your members’ profile pages. Also make it an open group with member approval.
  • Design a group logo.

Promoting your LinkedIn Group

  • 13-announcingNow that you have created your group, invite your contacts to join the group. Invite coworkers, former colleagues, professionals you have worked with and customers to join your group. Ask them to participate by asking questions, starting discussions and joining in.
  • Seek out experts in your industry to join and engage in the discussions.
  • Promote your LinkedIn group on your own website, in email newsletters and other social media sites. Get the word out that you have a group and show them how they can become a member. Create a group or page on Facebook similar to your LinkedIn group. Invite those members to join your network.
  • Integrate LinkedIn in your webinars or conferences. Use LinkedIn in your marketing efforts. Invite those at conferences, webinars and teleseminars you attend to join your group.

Managing Your LinkedIn Group

  • Be the leader of your group. You started the group. Position yourself as the leader by starting and responding to discussions.
  • Use the featured discussions to point out particular content. Get your discussions noticed by marking it as featured. This will pin your thread to the top of your discussion board.
  • Use the LinkedIn Group announcements feature. Send announcements of helpful content directly to your members’ email inbox. This is a great way to let your members know about upcoming webinars or free guides they can download.
  • Add your blog’s RSS feed. Importing content from your relevant blog will bring more value to your community group.->Manage news feed.
  • As the leader of the group you should monitor out members who spam the other group members with items not relevant to the goals of the group. Your members should act in a professional way and not post harassing comments. If you see this happening you can have them removed from the group.
  • Keep a calendar

14-listLinkedIn groups are a great way to join together experts and others to network and learn from. Keep in mind a few things for success when creating, managing and promoting your group.

  • Have a focus or reason for the group.
  • Make sure the content and discussions are informative, engaging and interesting.
  • Keep the name relevant.
  • Have moderators if your need help managing the discussions.
  • Promote the group inside LinkedIn and outside as well.

Time to Get Started

LinkedIn provides tremendous opportunity for connecting with likeminded business owners, clients and talented people who can work for you. Put your best foot forward with a professional profile and start making those connections.

Leave a Comment