In the world of social media, having relevant conversations is essential for growing your professional network. Social media has become a key element in finding and building connections with LinkedIn being the largest professional network on the Internet. On Wednesday, October 14th, LinkedIn will make changes to LinkedIn Groups, the place where professionals meet and engage in conversation, as well as release its standalone Groups iOS app. The social media platform will make all groups private so only group members will be able to follow conversations and see updates. LinkedIn Groups were one of the first features introduced by the social media platform.
“Our research has shown that professional conversations are most effective in a private trusted space, so conversations in groups won’t be visible until you’ve joined the group,” LinkedIn wrote in its Help Center. In an effort to reduce the amount of spam in LinkedIn groups LinkedIn will make all Groups private in order to provide quality content and conversations to its users.
Besides the fact that non-group members won’t be able to see any conversations or contribute to the Groups, LinkedIn Groups that are set as Unlisted won’t show up in in search results so users can have discussions in a private space.
Group owners can only choose between Standard and Unlisted Groups after the update. Standard Groups will allow only group members to post in the groups and members can invite 1st degree connections to join. Conversations will not show up in search engines. Unlisted groups will have a padlock icon next to their names and are completely closed for everyone unless the group owner invites a user to the group.
The LinkedIn Groups iOS App
The new standalone iOS LinkedIn Groups app will help users find content and discussions from groups they have joined. When you log into the app you will first see the highlights, which will be refreshed daily. Users will be able to engage in discussions, discover interesting groups, receive push notifications, and more. For now the LinkedIn Groups feature will be available for desktop and iOS. LinkedIn will be releasing an Android version of the app soon, according to VentureBeat.
4 Tips to Use LinkedIn Groups to Boost Your Business
1. Identify Groups
Before you decide to join a LinkedIn Group we recommend users to identify LinkedIn Groups with members who are industry influencers or prospective clients. All groups are different and all groups have different rules that users need to follow. If there are only a few discussions shared weekly then you want to make sure to post every other week.
2. Establish Yourself as an Industry Expert
It would make sense to be considered a professional in a social media network that is known for its professional users. Yet people still fail to do so. Make sure you post professional content such as articles, how-to’s, guides and blog posts. The goal is to establish yourself as an industry leader or expert through valuable content, group discussions and comments.
3. Start New Discussions
Make yourself visible to the group by starting discussions or commenting on Group discussions. Look for interesting topics that are relevant to the group and share them with members. Create a discussion topic that will allow other members to engage and share their expertise or ask questions.
4. Commit
Imagine being in a room with 15 people, starting a discussion topic and then turning around and leaving the room in the middle of the discussion. When joining a group or discussion on LinkedIn you want to make sure you commit to those discussions. There is nothing worse than starting twenty discussions in twenty different groups and leaving them all unfinished.
If users don’t engage in a discussion you started, analyse what you did wrong. Change posting time or a topic, and try looking at discussion topics that were successful. Your consistency will definitely be beneficial in the long run.
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