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Eight Reasons to Join a LinkedIn Group
October 14, 2013 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
As of this morning I am in 57 groups and sub-groups on LinkedIn. How could anyone stay up to date and be involved in 57 groups at one time? Easy. You can’t, so I don’t. The assumption is that I join a group to participate in that group’s discussions, and for a few of my groups, that’s true, but for the majority it is not. Some readers will have read that the maximum number of groups you are allowed to join is 50, but many groups have sub-groups and joining a sub-group doesn’t count toward the maximum.
Here are the eight classes of groups I belong to, and the rationale behind each one.
Alumni Groups (Networking)
I belong to several alumni groups for schools, organizations, and companies I have been involved with over the years. These groups are invaluable for networking--it is always easier to reach out to someone with whom you have a shared experience. Even if you were with the same company at different times, it is still a shared bond and gives you a starting point for a relationship.
The next four groups are all industry related, but serve different purposes:
Participation Groups (Add Value)
If I don’t think I can add value in a group, I don’t participate. If I can add value, it increases my credibility with the group members. (I am planning a column on group participation for the near future).
Monitored Groups (Industry Pulse)
Setting these groups to deliver a daily e-mail digest allows me to scan the conversations to see what people are finding interesting in social media.
Specialist Groups (Conduct Industry Research)
I have several groups that I use for research in specific areas. I use them for projects and visit them rarely. But, when I need them, they are invaluable.
Skills Groups (Education)
If I have a requirement to learn more about a new topic, I join groups that revolve around that topic. I don’t do my core research there, but I use them for questions and to find experts on that topic that I can contact if needed.Owned or Managed Groups (Networking)
I own or manage a couple of groups and nothing beats the networking opportunities afforded by running your own LinkedIn Groups. Yes, it takes time, but the rewards can be worth the effort, particularly if you take the time and effort to run the group well (hmm, there’s that adding value thing again).Personal Interest Groups (Fun)
I belong to several guitar related groups as playing guitar is one of my hobbies. I meet interesting people in a completely non-business context, which is something very different for LinkedIn. The discussions can seem frivolous: “Is one type of guitar better than another for playing the blues?*” but they are passionate and fun. I encourage you to join a couple of less work-related groups.
(*the Fender Stratocaster is best guitar for playing the blues, of course.)Groups to Increase Reach (Serch Results)
Everyone always talks about optimizing your profile and using keywords to improve your search rankings on LinkedIn. But the other part that no one seems to talk about is that you need to be in someone’s extended network--a level 1, 2, or 3 or a fellow group member--to appear in the search results. So I belong to several groups just because they are huge--several hundred thousand members. I never go to these groups and never participate in discussions. I just want to be in them to increase my reach. Belonging to these groups increases the likelihood of being found in a search, or of finding someone else in a search that I conduct.
The makeup of the groups I belong to is fluid. As my requirements change, so does the list of groups I belong to. There are LinkedIn groups for just about any topic you can think of, and groups of any size you can think of, so figure out how you can use them to your advantage.Bruce Johnston is a sales consultant specializing in social media and especially LinkedIn. He has over 25 years experience in high tech sales and management. He can be reached at brucej@practicalsmm.com or through his profile on LinkedIn.