On topic, professional conversations with business insiders in the safe environment of LinkedIn Groups can prove very useful for growing your professional network. Here are some ideas that can help you grow yours.
Be Visible
When starting a group, make it easy to find. Use keywords in the description and the title of the group. This is the same advice given for blog posts:
- Artsy titles are artsy, but keyword-heavy articles are more easily found by Google bots and people.
- Many experts advise you to send e-mail to all your e-mail and LinkedIn contacts about your group.
- However, these very same experts suggest that you have a narrow niche, a well-targeted group of professionals of the same field, or same area, or something otherwise relevant – go figure.
- Handpicking your invitees might be a slow method. So try to balance somewhere in between: group your contacts on LinkedIn and in your e-mail list and send invitations only to them. This might be time-consuming but it sharpens your aim.
You can also start a closed group, which means joiners will need to be approved, so this way you can mass-invite everyone you can reach and select who you let in, which might be effective, although it lacks elegance.
- What would your colleagues or business partners think if you invite them to a LinkedIn group which focuses on a topic they have absolutely no interest in?
- You need to decide which method works for you.
Related article: 4 Ways To Grow Your Business Using LinkedIn
Be Active
As you can might have noticed, LinkedIn groups require more effort than other social channels, because this is a special environment. It’s for professional growth, not entertainment, which is what people are looking for on LinkedIn.
- After joining or setting up a group, you will need to spend time with management regularly.
- You need to lead your group and the discussion, especially in the beginning, when engagement is low.
- Make the most out of the group features, like Announcements and auto-emails.
- Joining a LinkedIn group requires greater dedication than liking a Facebook page, so people should be okay with receiving regular e-mail updates about the group.
Lead The Party
Be a Host! Whether you’re a member of a group or the owner, you run the party.
- Invite, connect people, ask questions, join the conversations.
- Spewing out useful links one after the another might not be enough to get people involved.
- Bringing life to your group early on is important because joiners will decide if the group is good upon engagement.
- If they see the group is active, they possibly instantly invite their own professional contacts as well.
By adhering to these 3 suggestions, you can be part of a huge professional network boost from LinkedIn Groups.
Please contact us to learn other LinkedIn alternatives to grow your professional network.
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This article is published by Will Sherwood | The Sherwood Group |Website Design | Graphic Design | Marketing Communications: The Sherwood Group has over 30 years of experience working with all sorts of companies, small and large. Our clients range from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 firms, in nearly every business sector, from across the street to around the world (and yes, even Europe, China, and South America). Our goal is to create advertising, graphic design, website design, and marketing communication that still looks fresh and relevant 10-15 years later. Our mission is to stir your imagination and leave your competition shaken and wondering, Now what do we do?” We are located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
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9 Comments:
By Dimitrios 24 Sep 2014
I am using Lyconet to grow my professional network. More sales with regular customers
The Lyoness solution Pack Offers SME Partners everything they need to manage regular customers properly. The MTERM app makes it possible to register regular customers on MTERM in seconds and the Co-branded or Full-branded Card guarantees a permanent presence. Another first: the Solution Pack Includes a newsletter tool from global market leader, Exact Target. This enables merchants to contact their best customer at any time, send them special offers, for example, and thus create incentives for them to buy more often. On top of that, any regular customers registered by a company with the MTERM app are recorded in a separate CRM system(customer relationship management). Develped by Salesforce, the world’s leading supplier of CRM solutions, the system is customized especially for the needs of an SME. A sales summary with top customers, the contact history, and much more are available at your fingertips.
And since satisfied customers are the best customers, a tool for surveying customer satisfaction will be available to SME partners soon. This makes it possible to build on strengths and eliminate possible failings.
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By David Smethie 25 Sep 2014
LinkedIn promoted posts are a great way to both generate leads and build new relationships.
By Ann Augustine 26 Sep 2014
I appreciate reading your articles today on the Accelerate Business Forum on LinkedIn. The Sherwood Group is doing impressive work!
By Will Sherwood 27 Sep 2014
Thank you for your kind compliment, Ann.
By Glorimar Ortega 26 Sep 2014
Very useful advice.
By Will Sherwood 27 Sep 2014
Glad we were able to contribute to your knowledge base, Glorimar.
By Natalie 30 Sep 2014
Thank you for sharing this information Will! I found it to be very helpful.
By Marcia Widger 05 Oct 2014
Hi Will. I really enjoyed and appreciated the information you provided. I know I will implement some of the information. Thanks for sharing.
By Carolina Delgado 13 Oct 2014
It is always refreshing to hear from someone so generously willing to share his expertise and experience with others who need it. Thank you for that, I hope one day I can pay it forward too.