Over 2 million!
This is the total number of Linkedin groups, according to Business Statistics. More than half of the Linkedin members belong to at least one of these groups, and over 42% of Linkedin users believe posting consistently on groups is helpful.
If you are a business owner or a working professional, there’s a big chance you already know the ins and outs of Linkedin groups. If you are a newbie or you are still unable to figure out how to start a Linkedin group, then you’ve come to the right place.
Here, we have decoded how to manage a Linkedin group with super easy steps. But, first, take a glance at what is a Linkedin Group.
What Is a Linkedin Group?
Linkedin is a popular social networking site with 690M+ users for business professionals. Linkedin offers a variety of valuable features, and Linkedin groups are one such feature that allows you to connect with thousands of people and have significant career opportunities.
The Linkedin groups are valuable for users to gain information and opportunities related to the professional world. When you actively interact with the group members, they will visit your blogs, websites. You can create a loyal community with the help of these groups.
However, still, many Linkedin users tend to overlook the valuable opportunities a group offers due to the lack of knowledge. If you want to create Linkedin groups for business or manage one, follow these steps below.
How to Create a Linkedin Group?
Hover over to your Linkedin Homepage, go to the Interest button, and select Groups from the menu. Select the My Groups button and click on the Create Group button on the left side of the page. Now you have to fill a submission form, fill important information, and add engaging members.
How to Manage a Linkedin Group?
Creating a Linkedin group is the easiest part, but managing a group can be a little tricky. But, we got your back, follow these below-mentioned steps to manage a Linkedin group successfully.
1. Pick Up a Niche & Create a Group
You have to pick a topic or niche that your group members will find valuable. If you only focus on discussing your own brand, no one will follow your group. For example, if you open a group about content marketing, your members would like to know how to upskill their content marketing game on different platforms.
Having a niche that provides value to the group members is the first thing you should focus on. It will help you to attract members and retain them in the group for a long time.
If you are wondering how to pick a niche that suits your brand and provides value at the same time, ask yourself some questions:
- What are your goals for creating the group?
- What are the pain points of your group members?
- What are the topics that your business is related to?
Once you find the answers to these questions, you are ready to create a group on Linkedin. Now, creating a Linkedin group is as easy as ABC. All you need to do is click on “Create Group” and fill the form. The form includes:
- Group Title
- Group Logo
- Description
- Group Rules
- Group Membership
2. Make Some Rules
It’s important to create proper guidelines and display them to help Linkedin members get familiar with the group. These guidelines will let your members know what conducts are encouraged and what is prohibited.
Having clear and appropriate group rules also helps to manage groups and moderate group conversations smoothly.
With more than 677,452 members, Digital Marketing is one of the successful and dynamic group on Linkedin. They have simple rules and guidelines for their group members. For example,
- Post only in English
- Be respectful of other members
- Do not post items that have nothing to do with marketing
- Share insightful marketing information that encourages discussion
- Keep your headline clear and to the point
- We operate a one strike and you’re out rule, we will remove you from the group if you break these rules.
3. Leverage the Message Template Feature
The message templates feature on Linkedin is a great way to interact with your group members. You can customize the messages according to your brand voice or tone. Once you are done with the customization, your group members will receive these messages based on their interests.
Here is a list of message templates you can personalizeㅡ
- Request-to-join Message for people who requested to join your group
- Welcome Message for new members
- Decline Message to people whose joining request is declined by you.
- Block Message for people whom you want to block from sending further joining requests.
You can personalize template messages by clicking on the ‘Manage’ from your Linkedin Group homepage and click on “Templates.” Next, click on the “Create Template” to personalize messages based on your brand voice.
4. Encourage the Members
Praise the group members by encouraging them for their valuable contribution to your group. This little gesture will help your members to share more relevant content and interact actively. Participate in the comment section, group discussions, use the poll application to get feedback and lead the conversation to navigate your group successfully.
“There are two ways to “attack” content: Either engage with it or produce it.
The $1.80 strategy is about engagement. It’s about seeing what posts and topics can be relevant to the niche you’re playing in and leaving thoughtful comments to build a following.”- By GARYVEE
Encourage the good, but learn to face the negative too. You can face negative comments or behavior from any group member. It’s important to discourage unprofessional behaviors within the group.
Handle negative matters privately, give warnings before blocking or banning them from your group. However, maintaining the privacy and professionalism in your group is up to you, so it’s best to use your own judgment.
5. Manage the News Feed
Always provide discussable content for the members. Leverage the Manage News Feed feature and add the RSS feeds for your or anyone else’s blogs to the News section. It will make your posts available automatically to the group members.
However, if you don’t get the expected response or encounter too much self-promotion, you can remove the feed and update content manually.
Social Media Marketing is one of the best Linkedin groups with a strong community of 1,989,845 members and more than 20 subgroups. It is the most active group on Linkedin. The group initiates many great discussions about non-profiles, social media marketing, etc.
6. Don’t Forget to Promote
Linkedin groups are not a place for self-promotion; it’s a place to share valuable content with the members. This not only helps you build a reliable brand but also helps you to get organic engagement. But, this doesn’t mean that you should not promote your group at all!
You can use some strategies while promoting your group:
- Invite others in your network to be a part of the group.
- Highlight your group’s presence to others.
- Ask your members to invite others from their network.
- Encourage other members to display the group on their profiles.
7. Keep Your Group Free from Spam
Spam is one of the primary reasons for members leaving any Linkedin group. It’s important to moderate your group posts to avoid spam. When it comes to sugaring links in the group, try to be extra sensitive with your members.
You can remove a post or an inappropriate comment by clicking the three dots in the top-right corner of the posts or comment and select “Delete.”
Step Into The Spotlight! by Tsufit is one such Linkedin business and marketing group that regularly moderates the posts to remove spam. On the other hand, Social Media Marketing takes time to moderate their posts because of their massive followers.
Here’s a little reminder; building an active, engaging community on Linkedin is not an overnight thing. It takes three things, time, effort, & patience. So, if you are not getting results after two or three months, don’t lose your patience and follow these steps for some time.
Why Should You Start a Linkedin Group?
Linkedin groups open a gateway of leads, opportunities, and connections. Active group members already know about the advantages of these groups. If you are a newbie looking for the benefits of Linkedin groups, then this list is especially for you.
Build Your Own Brand
When you consistently participate in every group discussion, ask questions, and post relevant content, you are making your own brand. You are letting people know that you are an expert in this field. For instance, if you are a social media marketer and continuously post about social media marketing, people will know that you are well aware of the digital world.
In recent times, people are getting aware of marketing tips and tricks. If you bluntly promote yourself or your business, it will damage your brand reputation. Instead of promoting a focus on giving value in the Linkedin groups will open loads of opportunities for you.
Build Meaningful Connections
Linkedin groups are best for building a meaningful connection. When you engage with other members by posting, responding to comments, and liking, you will become visible to more connections. Also, people will send you connections just because you are a leader of a Linkedin community. Thus, you can grow your network and create more opportunities for yourself and your business than an average Linkedin user.
Drive Organic Traffic
You can easily drive organic traffic to your personal blog or company website. It is the best thing about Linkedin groups. All you need to do is put your blog or site link in the group profile. Next, add the site link in the News Section’s RSS feed and send a message related to your group niche and add an article link from your site. You can add your site link in the group discussion also.
Lead Generating Machine
Linkedin groups can be a lead-generating machine for you. If you provide value to the group selflessly, you’ll receive a lot from it. Think about Linkedin groups as a goldmine for B2B businesses. Indeed, LinkedIn is the #1 social network platform among professionals who crave for relevant content. So it is up to you to provide them with educational content that they will enjoy reading and sharing. You will end up increasing your thought leadership in the eyes of your targeted group as well as generating high-quality leads.
Remember, we lift by raising others, so, connect with people, share valuable tips, referrals, leads, and content to reach their goals. And, by doing so, you’ll get loads of quality leads without even your realizing it.
You can Create Sub-Groups
If you want to target different locations across different parts of the world or sub-niche within the main niche, Linkedin groups will help you in that. Subgroups are groups within groups and they can help you by making bulk user management easier. You create a maximum of 10 subgroups on Linkedin.
Subgroups will allow you to simplify understanding Learning reports, providing recommendations, and adding sub-admins. Also, subgroups will help the Linkedin members to focus on a specific topic of the group. Subgroups are great for throwing events in different parts of the country by sending a message.
If you manage a group with a broad niche like Marketing, you can narrow the subgroups by focusing on specific niche under the broad topic. For example, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Podcasts, etc.
Showcase Your Credibility
As a business organization or an entrepreneur, your first job is to demonstrate you are a credible personality in your industry. Linkedin groups are the perfect way to do that. If you share valuable content regularly, sooner or later, people will start to respect your opinion.
For example, you may be a mental health expert and post articles on Linkedin groups for raising awareness about the stigma around mental health. Other group members will ask your advice on mental health, and you can provide them valuable information about this issue. Eventually, you’ll be able to demonstrate yourself as an expert in your field.
Winding Up
Linkedin groups are the most valuable and powerful feature of Linkedin. Hands down! Just be willing to give a little time and value to the group, and you’ll receive so much more in return.
If you are looking for a place to build your brand, make yourself visible, and build a community of your own, there’s no better place than the Linkedin group. As a group moderator, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in front of your connections.
So, what do you think? Will you consider building your own Linkedin Group? If yes, we hope these tips helped you!
