LinkedIn is a great platform for B2B marketers, salespeople, and recruiters.
The only problem is that most people aren’t leveraging it properly.
LinkedIn groups are a great way to build a network, find leads, and learn new things.
However, making use of them doesn’t come naturally to everyone.
If you’re struggling to find success in LinkedIn groups, this article is perfect for you.
We’re going to show you how to use LinkedIn groups effectively so they can become an important part of your B2B digital marketing strategy and building a brand.
So if you’re ready, let’s begin!
What Are the Benefits of LinkedIn Groups
Here’s the thing: LinkedIn groups are incredibly valuable.
They can help you connect with people in your industry, expand your network, get answers to questions and even find work.
The benefits of LinkedIn groups are:
- To communicate with potential customers, partners, and suppliers
- To attract new business, get job leads, or find a new position
- To build relationships and generate referrals
- To network with peers in your industry or niche
One of the first things to understand about LinkedIn groups is that they’re not Facebook.
Groups are populated by people with common interests, but those interests are professional, not personal.
If you want to chat about your kids or post cute cat videos, stick to Facebook.
LinkedIn Groups provide a forum for discussing topics and sharing information.
They can be a great way to build your profile and network, but they won’t do any good if you’re not using them effectively.
Here are some tips to help you get the most out of LinkedIn groups:
1. Find the Proper Groups
LinkedIn Groups are a great way to communicate with potential customers and clients, but you can also use them to promote products in your niche.
The problem is that there are so many LinkedIn groups out there, and not all of them are very active.
How do you find the right ones for you?
If you have or are considering a paid subscription to LinkedIn, you can search groups based on keywords.
Here’s how:
Go to the main search bar at the top of the page and click “Groups” on the menu.
Type in a keyword related to your industry (i.e., “social media,” “marketing,” “tech,” etc.).
To join a group, just choose the one you want, and after you click on it, hit the “Request to join” button.
Note: Remember, it’s important not to just join groups for the sake of joining groups. You have to participate or else there’s no point!
2. Encourage Discussion and Ask Questions
LinkedIn groups are a fantastic way to connect with like-minded professionals, get answers to questions, and promote your business.
However, you don’t want to just run in and start spamming the group with sales pitches or self-promotional links.
You have to take the time to build relationships and add value before you can ask for anything in return.
The best way to accomplish this is by asking interesting questions, engaging in conversations, answering other people’s questions, and sharing relevant content.
This establishes you as a thought leader and helps others see you as an authority in your industry.
This can lead to engagement on your own posts, increased visibility on LinkedIn, and more opportunities for sales down the road.
Pro tip: Consider using LinkedIn’s Groups feature once per day as part of your daily social media marketing routine.
3. Contribute to the community
LinkedIn groups are a place where professionals from the same industry or with similar interests can share content, find answers, post, view jobs, make business contacts, and establish themselves as industry experts.
The best way to use LinkedIn groups is by being a contributor — an active person who is sharing his or her own ideas.
According to LinkedIn, 80% of people who join a group have never posted content in it — and if they’re not posting, others aren’t either.
If you want people who are actively using LinkedIn to see your posts and connect with you, make sure you’re joining groups where there’s lots of activity (such as inside sales, marketing, or customer service).
Your contributions will make you stand out from the crowd and help you build your network.
4. Be Helpful, Not Salesy
LinkedIn is the #1 online business networking platform.
That said, it’s not a place where people typically go to buy things.
The “social” aspect of the site is paramount, and people should be there to connect with others and build their personal brand — not ply their wares.
You just have to approach it differently than you would other social media platforms.
Stay away from promotional posts and instead focus on legitimate information that might help someone else out there.
If you have something you think might be valuable to someone else, post it and see what happens.
Remember, the point of LinkedIn is for people to help each other.
Groups are great for getting valuable information out there, but asking people to buy your product is tacky and will drive people away.
5. Recognize the Experts
If you’re looking to connect with other members of your industry, joining a group is an easy way to do so.
The first step is determining who the most influential members of the group are.
You can look at the number of posts they’ve made, but this doesn’t always tell the full story — some people post more frequently than others, and some may be more active in replying to colleagues than posting their own original content.
Looking at how many people replied to or liked their posts gives you a better sense of their influence in the group.
Another way is by figuring out which members are most popular with other users.
One simple method is looking at the number of connections these experts have made with others in the group.
Another way is scanning the ‘Popular With’ list that appears on each user’s profile page when you click on their name.
This shows you which members have viewed that person’s profile within the last 90 days.
6. Start a Conversation
If a prospect sees you as an expert in your field within the mutual group, they’re far more likely to reach out.
But you can’t just rely on other people to start conversations for you — that’s not going to help your personal brand and business at all!
So start some conversations yourself and see what kind of reaction they get.
This can be as simple as posting an interesting article with some insightful commentary or asking a question that gets people talking.
Leverage Your Conversations Using Tools
We hope these steps will be a valuable explanation of how to use LinkedIn groups effectively, and that they will help you start new conversations and build your network.
It’s up to you to use these tips, start conversations, build your brand & authority, close more deals, build more partnerships, etc.
Only you will know what to do with these new and valuable people you’re connecting with.
To help you leverage your network and conversations we created LeadDelta.
With a LeadDelta capital manager, you’ll be more productive by viewing and organizing your conversations in the way it suits your needs the most.
Whether you’re looking to get in touch and engage with your prospect or simply organize your personal connections, LeadDelta helps you improve your network overview and make the most out of it.
LeadDelta’s CRM view is fully customizable and allows you to tag your connections, hide and unhide them, apply filters, and sort your connections to find the contacts you need easily.
Download LeadDelta extension and improve your LinkedIn business network today.
