LinkedIn and the In Group

It’s an understatement to say that curating your business’s social media can be a full-time job. There are so many different avenues that your company can use to engage your customers and colleagues that you often have to limit your approach to make an impact. Facebook, Twitter and Google + often dominate the top of a social media to-do list, and for good reason. They provide instant feedback and are great for sharing a variety of different media in creative ways, not to mention the community they help cultivate.

Between all the status updates, the links, the photo sharing and the tweeting, other forms of social media often take the backseat. It’s better to do well with a few venues of social media than to spread yourself too thin. As I handled social media for a non-profit organization, I mainly relied on those three staples. As we worked  to expand our connections and revitalize our social media platforms, however, I began using a previously ignored opportunity—LinkedIn Groups.

You probably have a company LinkedIn page already (hopefully it’s even optimized), but you may be less familiar with Groups. LinkedIn Groups require a little legwork initially. You are allowed to join up to 50 groups, but you can realistically only contribute consistently to a few. Finding a well-managed, valuable group amidst the thousands of options will take research and time. If you’re overwhelmed, find leaders in your industry and look at what groups they are in. If you’re willing to put in a little more work, you can look at any group’s statistics to see their make-up by clicking on the group, clicking on the “i” icon on the top right of the screen, and clicking “Group Statistics” under the “About” section. You’ll see not only group memberships, but extensive demographic summaries. This can help you target your group memberships very specifically.

Now that you’ve joined your specific, well-managed groups, you can begin contributing to them. Be as thoughtful, human and genuine as possible in your comments. As with every social media platform, if you’re talking just for the sake of talking or pushing your own content, it won’t reflect well on your company. Once you’ve gotten used to participating in discussions and learned the general dynamics of the group, you can be a little bolder and initiate your own discussions.

Dipping your toes into LinkedIn Groups can have a positive impact upon your company’s reputation (and your own!). With its potential for connections, discussion, and visibility, it’s definitely worth adding to your daily social media checklist.

Sarah Hamilton  – SEO Writer / Editor