Get the most out of LinkedIn Groups

Linkedin it’s one of the most important B2B social networks out there. It offers you great opportunities to really get to know and engage your targeted audience, especially using Linkedin Groups.

In order to get the most out of Linkedin Groups and become a real influencer in your industry, there are some things you should keep in mind:

1. Join relevant groups

First thing you have to ask yourself is what you want to accomplish by spending your time on Linkedin. After you answered this question, you should be able to identify your main audience and start searching for groups where you have the biggest chance of finding them. Additionally to the typical keyword search, you could tray starting backwards - following people in your targeted audience and checking out what groups they joined.

After you made a list with the most relevant groups where you found your target market, select the ones that are the most active - that’s where you need to be. Yet when it comes to choosing the ideal group size, it really depends on your goals. Large groups offer you access to a bigger chunk of your audience, but the downside to it is that it’s harder to connect and get your messages across. I usually find more meaningful interaction in the smaller groups but, considering that more than often numbers really matter, I suggest mixing them up at the beginning. You can see later on which ones are the right fit for your goals.

2. Familiarize yourself with each group

Before you become an active member, it’s better to take your time and try to get to understand the group’s dynamic. You can start with seeing the latest or more popular discussions in the group and the top influencers. This will give you an idea about the type of topics that usually stir your audience’s interest and of the problems they have. You’ll be able to figure then how you can add value to those discussions.

3. Become an active member

When you’re ready to start posting, keep in mind one important thing: everything you post and share on each group should be of help for your audience - it’s the quality, not the quantity that matters.

You should first try to spend some time contributing to other’s people discussions, building your credibility. Search for the most popular ones and try to bring new ideas to the table, provide insight and provoke new comments.

If you want to share content, don’t only promote your articles, try instead to generate discussions by asking questions and feedback. Polls are a useful tool to help you with that. They generate reactions, boost your influence and further interactions with your industry audience.

4. Improve your Linkedin profile

When you will start contributing to the group, the people you interact with will go to your profile page to find out more about you. They should be able to find there all the professional information they need to know about you, so be sure to carefully update your account. Otherwise, they will be disappointed and you will lose a potential contact.

5. Don’t spam the group

Selling your content to aggressively and ‘overpitching’ your services will not bring you any results, it could even get you kicked out of the group. As a way to avoid it is, start sharing other’s people articles too and thereby showing to the members you can provide value to the group. Keep in mind that everything you share has to be helpful for the others, this is the only way you can build a network.

What was it like for you working with Linkedin Groups? Do you have any tips to share? It would be great if you could share your experience on the matter.