HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF LINKEDIN - GROUPS

Continuing our series of LinkedIn blogs, we will be discussing the pros and cons of creating a LinkedIn group.

LinkedIn groups don’t have the best reputation and people dismiss creating one due to bad experiences of being a group member.

A lot of groups start off well but due to time pressures, managing groups often falls to the bottom of the list. Group discussions can also end up with an individual or firm posting news and/or selling their services instead of prompting discussion, engagement, and interaction.

However, there are some good LinkedIn groups out there and with social media being at the forefront of firms’ marketing strategies, a closed group might be a great way to form a community and generate engagement in your chosen sector.

Why LinkedIn groups are a good idea:

• People are on LinkedIn to create a professional network and a group can be useful to bring clients and potential clients together to build a community.
• LinkedIn groups provide features not available on other social media platforms. LinkedIn sends a daily or weekly summary of all activities in the group to members to keep them updated and engaged. Admin announcements can also be sent to members where they receive an email to their inbox.
• It helps you build your reputation as a thought leader. The more valuable content and discussion you provide, the better reputation and expertise you will portray in that area, making you the point of contact for a particular sector, issue or service.
• It can drive traffic to your website through a URL on the group page, as well as links on messages to group members.
• People may be more inclined to accept group invitations rather than a personal networking connection.
• You can send direct messages to members of the group.

Even though creating and maintaining a LinkedIn group takes time, the benefits of such an investment outweigh the negatives. Building a group focussing on your niche and target audience with active participation will increase your reach, grow your network, resulting in more leads for your business.

Acting as an outsourced marketing department, Cal Partners is a Newcastle based marketing and digital marketing agency working with professional services firms to develop on and offline strategies to deliver results.