LinkedIn Groups have not always had the best reputation. People often think about groups as places for self-promoting profiles and spam links. While this does indeed put a damper on the productivity of a group and can turn members away, there is a vast potential for success of groups on LinkedIn. Luckily, LinkedIn heard the feedback and came out swinging. Small businesses specifically can truly benefit from LinkedIn groups as a platform to engage targeted audiences, especially with all of their newly added benefits.
With the newly added updates and capabilities, Groups on LinkedIn can be vital sources for:
- Driving traffic to your website (sharing articles, updates, etc)
- Growing your LinkedIn Company Page following
- Sharing Industry Insight/Expertise
- Getting a pulse of the industry
- Connecting and networking
- Compiling survey results
When interacting in LinkedIn Groups, whether they’re your own or other industry groups, be sure you are being a good “social citizen”. ‘Like’ other’s posts, comment on things you find interesting, and share when you see fit. Below are a few updates to LinkedIn groups which will enhance your user experience.
Group Conversations
Previously, LinkedIn groups we’re often overlooked. You would have to navigate to the group section of your profile to access the conversation. If you had notifications turned on for groups, you would receive a number of emails, or group digests, however, if you’re anything like me, you deleted them and turned off all email notifications.
Now, LinkedIn is making it easier to access your Groups from your homepage. Visibility of groups has improved and conversations will be more easily accessed.
What does this mean for small business: Instead of taking 5 extra steps to communicate in groups, you can now join the conversation right from your homepage. Small business owners are always running low on time and this makes life just a bit easier.
iOS & Android Apps
LinkedIn has had an app for years. However, their app was missing some key functionality, especially when it came to accessing their groups. If you are a group owner, you can now access and manage your group with a few thumb clicks.
What does this mean for small business: If you need to moderate a comment, jump in on a conversation, or post something on the fly (event insights or photos), the app will be endlessly helpful.
Rich Group Posts
LinkedIn Group posts have always had slightly limited functionality. Make a mistake? You have to delete the post. Want to reply to a comment? No way. Want to post a video? Sorry.
But now, LinkedIn has created richer group posting capabilities. Users are now able to reply to comments directly on posts, edit their posts after they’ve been posted, and even post native videos.
What does this mean for small business: The more comment and post capabilities offer more in-depth ways to communicate with your audience and peers.
Streamlined Admin Roles
LinkedIn groups used to have a whole host of roles from editor to manager and admin. Now, Groups will just be offering owner and manager roles. The former roles were a bit confusing and often led to many back and forth conversations. Now, the choice is a bit easier.
LinkedIn Groups have always been a great resource for small business, and now they are upping the ante. As a free resource, LinkedIn groups are a no-brainer to include in your marketing strategy. It’s time to take advantages of the new updates LinkedIn groups have to offer and join in on the conversation.
