Joining Groups on Linkedin

In today’s time, LinkedIn has become a great tool to network. And because of the Group concept, you can get access and network with more and more people than an individual people search. If you know how to make optimum use of this group feature, it is very powerful tool. Now let’s get into a little depth:

What is LinkedIn Group ?

The LinkedIn group, in the simplest words, is similar to a forum, where you can share your views, thoughts, and knowledge, etc. These groups provide a platform to interact with LinkedIn members that share common skills, experiences, and objectives.

Understand Your Audience: All your efforts go in vain if you join a group without a clear understanding of it. You should understand your audience and then find the right type of Group.

Re-visit Your Profile: Before joining any group, make sure your profile is in order. Everything is complete, as once you post something on your groups, a member might check your profile and if that is incomplete or unfinished, that will not have a good impact on viewers. So, before you plunge into any group, re-visit your profile once, update the new happenings, accomplishments, awards, trainings, courses, etc.

The Right Group for You: In LinkedIn, you can be a part of 50 groups, that means you can join up to 50 groups. But these should be relevant to your purpose. Being a part of a Group can be for many purposes related to various aspects of your life and career such as – Alumni of your school, college or preceding companies, social welfare causes such as NGO, Child education, save girl child, animal welfare, etc. Some group could be of your interest or passion such as Art, Philosophy, Music, etc. But Remember, LinkedIn is a professional networking site, and all your actions should adhere to this fact.

It Gives Access to More People: When you join a group on LinkedIn, you will automatically get access to all the profile who are already members of this group. And when you post something to these groups, a larger part of the audience will get an access to your post. So, once you are a part of Group, visit the group and their member’s profile. Though all of them might not fall in your target audience, but you will get a fair idea of who all are interested in what you serve or share within the group.

Show Your Expertise: LinkedIn groups are a great way to showcase your skill, knowledge, and expertise. Here, you can learn from others and at the same time, you can help those who are in need. Through this, you can generate leads as well. If most of the group members belong to your target audience, they will be surely interested in your posts. So choose Groups very cautiously where your audience does regularly visit.

Do Not Over Post: While being a member of any group, some etiquette needs to be followed. Don’t do constant sharing of posts as it might lose the interest of Group members. If you keep posting some or the other posts, people will not take your posts seriously after a while. Give value to other’s time and effort and let them know that you are here to add value and weight to the conversation and not just getting traffic for your posts.

Introduce: Before being a part of any group, you should properly introduce yourself. Clarify the reasons for becoming a part of that group and why are you excited to be a part of this community. Acquaint with other Group members.

Connect Within Your Area: As we know there are millions of groups and users available in LinkedIn. Amongst them, there might be some groups which belong to your own local area. If some groups and their members reside within your geographical area, you can promote your business to these local connections. You can meet them personally as well and grow your business. Help them as well when you can as LinkedIn is a mutually beneficial platform for professionals.

Share Great Content: Even if you are a part of the group, do not just share anything and everything that you come across. Do not post internet hoax and irrelevant content; else the purpose of the group will fail. Share some great knowledgeable content, which can help people in the Group.

Remain Active: Many of us become part of a Group very easily, but very rarely we remain active in those groups. Remember, if you are not active, people will forget you as a part of the Group. Do not miss the opportunity to promote your thought-leadership and express your opinions to a certain topic. Building a relationship is not hard, but maintaining a relationship is hard. So, the professional network that you have built needs to be nurtured and maintained as well.

Learn: There are many things that we already know, and much more things that still need to be learned in order to grow professionally. You can learn through your peers or group members, but remember to validate the fact that is being shared on the platform. Be valid in your facts and posts and also check before you trust anyone’s post. So, go ahead, browse through innumerable Groups on Linkedin, make a choice and then join a group.

Create Your Own Group: Apart from being a part of Group, you can also create your own group for a specific group of people. The group can cater to a need of particular audience. Suppose, if you have an event management company, you can invite people to join this group who are somehow related to this industry or work. Name the group basis the benefit it will cater to the people and then it will attract more and more people.

Be Vigilant Enough: No matter if you are a part of any group or you yourself are the Group owner, you need to be watchful of the content people are sharing. If someone is constantly posting inappropriate content, as a Group admin, you have the power to discard them off. If something is not working well for the group, you have the authority to make it a better place.

Happy Networking!