Building a Strong Professional Community Using LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn is a social media platform that has evolved quite a bit since its inception. Once thought to be only a network for professionals looking to connect with employers, LinkedIn has expanded into a powerful social network for all types of businesses, industry leaders, and professionals looking to connect and collaborate for an almost infinite number of purposes. 

With over 900 million users in more than 200 countries, LinkedIn has established itself as one of the most powerful social networks in the world. One of the main reasons for the site’s popularity is that where other social media platforms focus on B2C interactions, LinkedIn is the dominant entity for B2B interaction. 

One of the most productive ways that businesses and professionals connect with each other is through LinkedIn Groups. LinkedIn Groups allow people to connect and build strong professional communities that focus on specific niches within specific industries. 

So, if you are a business owner or professional looking to connect with like-minded individuals, you may want to consider forming your own LinkedIn Group. Here are some important things you should consider before starting a group on LinkedIn.

What are LinkedIn Groups?

LinkedIn Groups are private membership-only groups on the LinkedIn platform where like-minded professionals who operate in the same or related industries or share similar interests can come together to create and share content that provides industry insights and information. They can also use these groups to ask for guidance or promote industry-related products and services while building valuable connections with other professionals and business owners. 

The types of networking connections that are made within LinkedIn Groups can connect professionals and businesses with new career opportunities as well as help members identify other businesses and professionals they would like to collaborate with. 

How do you become part of a Linkedin Group?

To become part of a LinkedIn Group related to your industry, you can find a group and ask to join, be invited by the admins from a specific group based on your user profile, or create your own group and invite others to join. 

If you are looking to join a group, you can search for group names or keywords related to your industry of interest directly in the search bar or browse groups that LinkedIn recommends based on your user profile. When you find a group you would like to join, you can send a join request to the admins, who will then either approve or reject your request. 

If you are a professional or business looking to create your own community to build your brand and connect businesses and industry professionals, you can simply create your group, invite new members, and watch your group grow.

What are the benefits of using LinkedIn Groups as a business and an individual?

LinkedIn Groups have many benefits, whether you use the LinkedIn platform as an individual or a business. 

For individuals, being a part of an engaging community centered around their profession and the industry they work in is great for finding new opportunities, staying on top of industry trends and new technologies, and networking with other professionals who may have insights and helpful advice to share based on their unique experiences. 

As a business, being a part of or creating your own LinkedIn Group that is engaging and active can help develop your employer brand, establish you and your business as an industry thought leader, and connect you with other businesses for collaboration or that may offer products or services you can use to your benefit. 

But whether you would like to be involved with LinkedIn Groups as an individual or a business, there are some general benefits that these groups can provide that you should know about:

1. Strengthen connections with other businesses and professionals within your industry using an exclusive forum.
2. Ability to send members of the group direct messages to discuss opportunities. 
3. Widen your network.
4. Start and be part of relevant discussions.
5. Ability to submit your own relevant blog posts, videos, and articles and increase LinkedIn impressions around your brand, products, and services.
6. Educate yourself on industry trends and new technologies.
7. Get helpful advice from other businesses and professionals with more experience.
8. Expose yourself to new opportunities that you may not have considered before.
9. Be part of a community centered around your professional life.

Again, these are just some of the most common benefits LinkedIn Groups can provide. By starting your own group or joining an established one, you can be connected to other businesses and professionals who take their businesses and careers to the next level. 

How to get started with creating your own LinkedIn Group

If you want to maximize the benefits of using LinkedIn to promote your business, increase brand awareness, and widen your network, creating your own LinkedIn Group may be the best way. As the admin of a LinkedIn Group, you can establish yourself as a thought leader within your industry by facilitating engaging conversations and bringing together businesses and professionals from all over the globe. 

Creating your own LinkedIn Group is not difficult; however, it takes some effort to maintain an active group that is relevant, impactful, and that continues to grow and expand because people want to be part of the group. 

Here are some basic steps to getting started with your LinkedIn Group.

Defining your target audience

Before creating a LinkedIn Group, you need to define your target audience. Are you looking for other businesses that operate within a specific industry, or do you want to create a group more geared toward individuals who work in a specific niche? Or what about a group for both businesses and individuals in your industry and several related industries?

Defining your target audience early on is essential to know what kind of group you want to create, who you want to be in the group, and how to create a group name and define the group’s industries and location in a way that will attract the types of members you are looking for. 

Coming up with a group name and description

When deciding on the name and description for your LinkedIn Group, remember that you will have only 100 characters for the group name and 2000 characters for the description. 

Avoid naming the group after your business or brand name and instead focus on a particular topic or niche within an industry you are a part of. When it comes to the group description, make sure it gives people an idea of what the group is about while emphasizing the value people can gain from being a member. 

Lastly, keep in mind that the group name and description should include specific keywords that prospective members may search when looking for LinkedIn Groups to join. 

Setting up a visual profile

When creating your LinkedIn Group, ensure you have a profile and cover photo that looks professional and visually attractive while remaining relevant to the core identity and mission of the group.

Establishing the industry and location of the group

Another important step to creating your LinkedIn Group is adding the industry and location you want to serve. For the industry, you are allowed to add three different industries to cover any overlap that may occur and one location. Adding the industries and a location can ensure that you attract members who are relevant to your group.

Creating group rules, discoverability, and permissions

The last step to setting up your LinkedIn Group is to define the rules, discoverability, and permissions. The group rules, which are enforced by you and any other admins you designate, are designed to define barriers to what kind of content can be shared to prevent people from spamming the group and keep the content relevant and valuable for members. 

Discoverability defines whether the group is visible in search results and on user profile pages or if it is hidden. Permissions define whether all members or only admins are allowed to invite people to become new members and whether or not all content needs to be approved by admins before being posted. 

Tips for creating a successful LinkedIn Group

Creating the LinkedIn Group was the easy part, but now the heavy lifting of maintaining a valuable and relevant group begins. To have a successful group on LinkedIn, you need to provide a space for industry-related content and ideas while building a community of like-minded businesses and individuals that others will feel they are missing out on if they are not a part of it. 

You need to create value and use exclusivity to attract industry thought leaders and experienced professionals who can bring something new to the table. 

Here are some helpful tips for creating a successful LinkedIn Group.

Create a group centered around a topic that people care about

The biggest mistake that people make when creating a group on LinkedIn is making it all about promoting their brand. A group centered around promoting a specific brand and its products and services is doomed from the start. However, that does not mean you can’t use LinkedIn Groups to indirectly promote your brand and its products and services by basing content around a relevant topic or niche that people in your industry care about. 

For example, let’s say you run a digital marketing agency specializing in SEO content. You could build a website using a website builder with features such as blog post presets and templates and then write in-depth informational articles focusing on issues affecting the SEO industry. 

The article content you create can be helpful to others that may be facing similar issues within the industry while at the same time indirectly offering your products or services as a solution. You could then post these types of articles periodically in the LinkedIn Group. 

That being said, the group’s main purpose should be to add value for your members through shared knowledge and experience among industry experts. The selling and promotion around your brand will occur more subtly and naturally once people have identified you and your group as a go-to source for industry-related news, advice, and information. 

Start discussions, be active, and encourage others to do the same

No one wants to be part of a dead group. Make sure you are starting thought-provoking discussions and encouraging others to do so as well. You will want to ask open-ended questions that encourage dialog and debate rather than questions with only one answer or that can be answered with a quick Google search. 

Additionally, as the admin, you need to be active in discussions by liking people’s comments, asking follow-up questions, and providing additional resources for people who want to take the subject to a deeper understanding. Additional resources could include links to Ted Talks or YouTube videos, helpful articles and guides, or invites to online seminars or speaking events hosted by industry leaders.  

Add new members and grow your group

Adding new members is essential to growing your group and its online presence while expanding its wealth of knowledge. Having a large group of industry professionals means having more shared knowledge for the collective to call upon and more niche experts who can contribute additional insights that others can not.  

To grow the group, you should invite your first-degree LinkedIn connections, create additional marketing channels on social media to recruit new members, and encourage current members to do the same. Also, you will want to ensure that your group description is optimized to include keywords prospective members are likely to search for when looking for relevant groups to join.

Moderate all posts and remove spam

One of the most common reasons that people leave groups on LinkedIn is because of spam. This includes group members who directly message other members with spam links. That is why it is important to moderate all posts and remove members who are habitual spammers. 

Posted content should be informational, helpful, and relevant to the group, and anything else should be removed immediately. Remember, when setting up your group, you have the option to set permissions that require an admin to approve all content before it gets posted in the group. 

Conclusion

With its global reach and focus on B2B interactions, LinkedIn has become an essential platform for businesses and individuals seeking meaningful connections within their industries. LinkedIn Groups offer immense potential for building a strong professional community where members can find new connections, stay updated with industry trends, network with other professionals, and gain insights from industry experts. By creating their own LinkedIn Groups, businesses can build their brands, establish thought leadership, and explore collaboration opportunities with other businesses and like-minded professionals.