Find out how to find and join a LinkedIn group that's a perfect fit. This means your group discussions will generally be of higher quality and will be more relevant to members, since a group manager must approve all members. Groups can give you the connections you need to reach new industries or markets. You can expand your network reach by joining many relevant Groups and by participating in the ones with active conversations. Joining a Group When you find a Group you want to join, simply click on the Ask to Join button on the listing. Your goal as a marketer is to meet chiropractors to help them market their business, but the purpose of the Group is for chiropractors to network with each other. The Best Way to Use Groups Visiting and following up on your Groups regularly is the only way to effectively use LinkedIn to build your professional network. Once you get the conversation started and others are joining in, be sure to reply in a timely fashion. Visit your Groups regularly and participate whenever you can add value to a discussion and keep the conversation going. If you are interested in a particular discussion, you can like it.
Being part of the right group can provide you with the connections you need to reach new industries or regions. Find out how to find and join a LinkedIn group that’s a perfect fit.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The following excerpt is from Ted Prodromou’s book Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn for Business. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | IndieBound
LinkedIn Groups are forums or discussion boards where LinkedIn members can talk to each other to find solutions to their problems or share relevant information about a product, service, or topic related to their industry or niche.
Groups can be open, allowing anyone to join (which is now called Standard), or can be Unlisted, meaning you have to be approved by the group manager before you can participate. Keeping a Group unlisted can keep the discussions focused and cut down on the unwelcome comments that plague many open social networking sites. This means your group discussions will generally be of higher quality and will be more relevant to members, since a group manager must approve all members.
When used properly, LinkedIn Groups can be a powerful tool to help grow your business or professional network. Groups can give you the connections you need to reach new industries or markets.
There are approximately 2 million Groups on LinkedIn currently, and you may join up to 100 of them at any one time. The problems with joining too many Groups is that you just won’t have time to participate in all of them and you may receive daily or weekly email updates from each one. You can always turn off email notifications, but then you’d have to visit each Group manually to see new discussions.
It comes down to quantity and quality. You can expand your network reach by joining many relevant Groups and by participating in the ones with active conversations. People can see if you are actively participating in a Group, which helps build your reputation and searchability in LinkedIn.
Finding, Evaluating, and Joining Groups
You can search for Groups using the search box in the top toolbar by Groups under the More filter. You can also look under Advanced Search and select Groups to find Groups related to your niche.
To find Groups, you can “enter through the back door,” as I call it. From the LinkedIn main menu, select Work and then click on the Groups icon. If you aren’t…
COMMENTS