Tip 71 - Choose Your Groups to Join
You can be a member of only 50 groups at one time. Choose wisely as you will have to leave one of your groups to join another group. You can only own/manage a maximum of 10 groups. There are 2 types of groups:
– Open – Your application to join is automatic, with no vetting by a Group Manager
– Closed – you need to request to join the group and then be approved by the Group Manager
We would recommend that you are member of different types of groups. Some from your own industry/ profession, some from your target market and possibly some for a general interest that you have. The main value of groups comes in being able to connect and network with your target market.
Click here to use the Groups Directory to find one of 1.5million+ specialist groups on LinkedIn.
What we really like about the Groups function is the possibility to set up your own groups if there is one that doesn’t suit your needs. This is a potentially huge reputation building opportunity for your LinkedIn profile. When you create a group, find a niche that no-one else is fulfilling and dedicate time to set it up well, manage it and use this opportunity to flood your LinkedIn profile with new contacts, new prospects and huge visbility for you and your brand.
Here are a few types of groups that are currently on LinkedIn:
– Corporate
– College / Event alumni
– Non-Profit
– Trade organizations
– Conferences
– Industry-specific
When you create your group, choose from the above list, give it a catchy and relevant name and then start promoting the group. Once your group has a presence on LinkedIn, you'll be able to search and contact fellow group members, as Group Manager you are able to communicate with the whole group not just through LinkedIn, but a group message will also be emailed out to every group member.
In 2012, Sam created a group for European Sales Agents, there was no group filling this need on LinkedIn and today the group has over 2000 members, all of whom can be contacted by Sam either individually or as a group email. It is the number one group on LinkedIn for Sales Agents, Distributors and companies looking for expansion into Europe. This has helped to profile Sam and her business and she can freely communicate with all of the members as the Group Manager. It is a great way to grow your network.
Note: Having a group Logo makes the group look more professional and it appears on the LinkedIn members profile. Only group owners or managers can add or edit group logos. LinkedIn doesn't allow excessive changes to a group's identity because it affects member confidence in your group and in the LinkedIn Groups product. You can only make a total of 5 group identity changes, including any group name and logo updates.
Whether you join an industry/profession specific group, your target market group or set up your own group, the No 1 rule is that you contribute positively. Never ever hard sell or spam the members. This will damage your reputation which is hard to build and easy to knock. Always focus on helping others, sharing useful and relevant content and engaging other group members with your knowledge, information and expertise.
When you join a group, you can change the settings of the group to adjust how frequently you hear from that group. You can to this by going to the tab which readse ‘More…’ and then choose ‘Your Settings’, in here there is a choice of frequency for this group. Unfortunately you cannot choose this universally across all Groups. You have to set the frequency of each Group individually.
Region or Location specific industry groups are a great way of finding out what “the next big thing” in your industry/profession may be. Some regions are months/years ahead of others and this way you can keep up to date as to what may be coming down the line. You can search the ‘Groups Directory’ by location so refine your search results and look at what other markets and countries are doing.
Click here to use the Groups Directory to find one of 1.5million+ specialist groups on LinkedIn.
Similar to your profile or company page, if you are a manager please keep your group page “fresh” with content. There is no excuse for an inactive page. You are guilty by association. Post an update relevant to the group. You can attach a link and share it on your Twitter account all at the one time if you so wish.
The definition of "L.I.O.N." is a “LinkedIn Open Networker”, this term is This is a designation used by several user-created groups and individual LinkedIn members to indicate a high level of interconnectivity to other LinkedIn members. This term is not endorsed by LinkedIn. As a reminder, only join groups you want your name associated with. If you need additional information regarding any group's purpose and/or philosophy, contact the identified group owner in the Groups Directory or review the information about the Group before joining.
Communicating with a fellow group member is easy. You can send a message to a group member without being connected as long as they have this setting in place. Make sure you have the box checked that states "Allow member of this group to send me messages via LinkedIn." This needs to be selected for each group.
When you contribute to a Group, LinkedIn will always highlight the top influencers in the group. The more you help others in the group, the higher chance that you will be shown in the featured area of the group. If you post relevant articles, if you answer people’s questions of even post new discussions then you will be demonstrating to the Group that you know what you are talking about. You will become more visible and more credible if this is done well.
You could not possibly do this in every single group you are a member of so be strategic and pick the groups where your target market is most prevalent and use this opportunity to attract more views to your profile. Stay small and use this in only a few select Groups and you will find success.
Sometimes Groups you are in can be too small, too local, too big or too annoying with commercial focus and not a networking focus. If you find yourself in a Group that is not for you, then leave it and replace it with another one.
It is quite difficult to find the small link that allows you to leave a Group. Simply visit the Group you want to leave, then go to the tab that states ‘More…’ then click on ‘Group Settings’. Once you are in the group settings, scroll to the bottom, and find the button that says ‘Leave Group’. Once you leave a Group, replace it with another one.
There are over 1.5million niche groups on LinkedIn, use the Groups Directory to find and refine your search to one that meets your needs.