Bloggertone » Technology » Creating a Successful LinkedIn Group (P1)

Creating a Successful LinkedIn Group (P1)

by Niall Devitt on June 30th, 2010
30 Comments



Linkedin groups recently had a makeover. I currently manage a number of Groups including Social Media Ireland & Sales Leadership Ireland. In the post 50 ways to get more from Linkedin, I mentioned that creating a group is a really great way of using Linkedin to network effectively. Here are some pointers to get you started.

# Group Name, Logo & Description

Choose a name that clearly describes what the group is all about.

Create a colourful logo that stands out.

Choose a short concise description including what makes this group unique?

# Setting the Group Access Level

Open Access means faster growth with less control.
Request to Join probably means slower growth but with more control.

So which one should you choose?

Well it’s up to you but It’s perfectly OK to initially set this to open, and then change to RTJ once the group has gathered some momentum and members.

# Managing Group Templates

You can create a number of template e-mails in LinkedIn

  1. A Request to Join Message.
  2. A Welcome Message.
  3. A Decline Message.
  4. A Decline and Block Message.

I only use the first two – In the welcome message, It’s a good idea to include the following:

  • A welcome obviously and a little more detail about group.
  • A request to engage, contribute, make suggestions and give feedback.
  • Who you are and an option to connect.

# Group Discussions, Where to Start?

The discussions feature will be the engine room for your group, It’s the place where members will come to engage, ask questions & share Information.

2 of the first discussions I recommend you create are:

1. Guidelines

Many groups have now become polluted by people & messages that add no value, prevent this from happeing to your group by creating some rules that encourage people to engage in a meaningful way rather than self-promote.

2. Introductions

Allow members the opportnity to introduce themselves, their business & how they would like to benifit.

Ensure that these two discussions always remain featured (now called manager’s choice) so that new members can introduce themselves & familarise themselves with the rules.

Tune in next time for P2 :-)

Thank you for reading

Niall



Category: Modern business, social media

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Author: Niall Devitt

Niall Devitt is a doer, not a talker when it comes to social media. Niall works with businesses and organisations on how to create and implement social strategies that get real business results. His background in sales has taught him to ensure that any learning around social media was based on results, rather than theories. In a very short space of time, Niall has co-founded and grown tweakyourbiz.com to become Ireland’s largest and most successful business blogging network. He has founded and grown Social Media Ireland to become Ireland’s largest social media focused business community. He is community manager for Bizsugar.com, a leading international B2B social media and an adviser to the Social Media Today group of websites. He has managed to do this while continuing to get involved with some of Ireland’s most exciting social campaigns to date http://tweakyourbiz.com

Read more and connect »

Add Your Comment

  • http://twitter.com/fredchannel Fred

    Good one Niall. Thanks for sharing :)
    In terms of publishing news in a specific or many LinkedIn groups, I recommend that you go then and “follow” that article. The idea is that you get an instant notification as soon as someone makes a comment on your post on any given group. That way you can keep the conversation flowing immediately and make the group look much better :)

  • Anonymous

    Thanks Niall

    Useful info for those thinking about setting up a group …..

    I set up a Group “Measurability Careers & Jobs Club” about 8 months ago focused on offering career and jobseekers advice and discussion – currently have about 300 members.

    Below are a few points I have to add about LinkedIn Groups

    Groups don’t create themselves – Groups don’t set themselves up and require ongoing effort. The more you put in the more the group develops. I have noticed how some groups have faded when the owners take the foot of the accelerator.

    It is important to encourage participation – I find that there is a general shyness from users but after a few contributions to a group this shyness fades. “Introduce yourself to the group” discussion is a great ice breaker for users. Staying on top of the next point helps as it keeps content relevant and useful.

    Advertsing/Spam – There is limited advertising in my group except jobs and free career events. My stance is that members can bring attention to their product or service through the quality of their contributions and not blatant ads.

    Members – I like your point about access to a group Niall. My view is that I want to focus on quality and relevant members rather than quantity. For example I only invited about 30% of my connections when I set up picking out the relevant career and recruitment professionals I felt could add contribution and may get personal benefit. I prefer quality over size BUT others may argue this point.

    Look forward to the next episode :-)

    Paul

    P.S – Are you going to cover benefits of setting up a LinkedIn Group? I think it would be a nice post to finish your series with.

  • http://twitter.com/KevinKent Kevin Kent

    Cheers Niall, simple and clear tips.

    Kevin

  • http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

    @Kevin, Thanks for reading.
    @Paul, great comments, I think that you are right about there being a general shyness & yes it’s very important that the manager ensures that people are not simply using the group to promote. I like your point about inviting selected contacts, try to only invite people with an interest in the area and therefore likely to bring value. As regards benefits Paul, yeah sure that’s a good idea so let’s do it :-)
    @Fred Thanks man, it’s also important to respond to these comments where possible.

  • Facundo

    Agreed Paul, I have dropped out of many groups because of lack of “motion”. I totally understand it though, if somebody has a good intention in setting up a group but then just doesn’t manage to “make” time for it. It happens to me in other walks of biz and I’m starting to be more selective in what I get involved in :)

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for this post Niall. This is something I’ll certainly be looking into, as I’m keen to increase my network as I search for new job opportunities.

  • http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

    Great tips Niall and definately food for thought!
    I’m sure anyone considering managing a group will follow your tips and be extremely successful…I may be one of them!

    Tina

  • http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

    A great start Niall – thanks for sharing :) Looking forward to P2

  • http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

    Thanks Elaine ;-)

  • http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

    Sounds interesting! Keep me updated.

  • http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

    Cheers Frank! Want to have a chat during the week?

  • Pingback: Sunday Reading. « BLITZKRIEG BOPP

  • Anonymous

    Hi Niall. That would be great. I’m focusing on a deadline that will pass at the end of tomorrow, so I’ll be in touch later in the week.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for that Niall, can’t wait for part deux :-)

  • http://www.ivanwalsh.com Ivan Walsh

    Congrats!

    and whoever did the layout did a really great job!

  • http://twitter.com/fredchannel Fred

    Cheers Ivan. It was the Channelship team :)

  • http://www.famousbloggers.net Hesham Zebida

    One of the best ideas ever! I’ve enjoyed the e-book and probably I will share it on my blog soon! it really worth it!

  • http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

    Hi Hesham, glad you liked it! It would be absolutely great if you share it over at http://www.famousbloggers.net/ thank you, Niall

  • http://www.dailyblogging.org Mani Viswanathan

    Thanks for the ebook..reading it now :)

  • http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

    Thanks Mani :)

  • Kathiecrane89

    Thanks Niall your a lifesaver !

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    My pleasure Rob, great article! Thanks for writing :)

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    My pleasure Tommy, that’s some great FB advice!

  • http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

    Its sad to hear Sian, but then everything in business is about reacting to the changing trends in the marketplace. In five years time, who knows what will happen – we could be selling on the moon!

    I would just like to say that there are many alternative option, but that having your own website is always a benefit. I also believe that if you are going to compete online, you should make the effort to build a professional looking site. This is especially important for online retail as trust is a deciding factor to whether you purchase or not.

    I agree that Ebay is a great way to start selling.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Great advice, Sian! I’d add that local businesses need to work together (Local Heroes is a super template) to become greater than the some of their parts, collaboration is the new competition :)     

  • http://www.sianphillips.ie/ Sian Phillips

    Good idea Niall 

  • http://www.sianphillips.ie/ Sian Phillips

    Thanks for the suggestion Tina – I completely agree a professional site is definitely worth it

  • Deirdre Wyvern

    I’ve said it elsewhere before but most businesses should have a fairly up-to-date website with the minimum of opening hours and phone number on it, that’s easily navigable by mobile, even if all you have is a Hairdressers or coffee shop, I regularly try to check whether or not somewhere is open when I’m heading for the city centre after work to plan a shopping route.

    Remember, as well, that what people call your shops location may not agree with the physical address of the shop, make sure people can find you, particularly if you have a few locations, how do you tell people how to find the shop? that makes it less impersonal to a browser, they make a personal connection to it, particularly if they’re emigrants.  Listen to customers or ask them how they notice/guide people to the shop.

    Have a history piece on your website, if your shop is old, all the better, if not, why not have a history of the location? Particularly if there was a similar shop and the reason you opened was because you had a personal connection with the site “when I realised that xyz sweet shop that I loved going to closed I had to open something, in respect of my memories of that shop, we make Love-Heart cupcakes (picture), many of our regulars love to share their memories as they pick up the cakes.”  This anchors the shop in people’s psyches.  

  • http://www.sianphillips.ie/ Sian Phillips

    Thanks for the comment Deirdre – you have some great suggestions

  • http://twitter.com/TheRetailProj The Retail Project

    I agree that every retailer should have an online shop, but I think the high street is far from doomed. Amazon are opening high street stores, Google is opening a high street store in Dublin, Apple have high street stores. On the face of those big names one could suggest that the opposite is happening – online is coming to a high street near you!

    Where I live in Kilcullen the high street is booming because there are some unique and beautiful shops – a butchers that has it’s own slaughter house and sells the best meat in Ireland, 2 or 3 artisan food shops, a baker, a vegetable shop, a haberdashery, a sweet shop, a boutique florist, a shoe repair shop, a few good eateries, and a saddlery. I can’t see any of those shops being put out of business by online (but I do think they should be online as well).On the other hand for reasons I don’t understand there are many villages in Ireland where you have a butcher that only sells 5 cuts of meat, a load of Spar type shops, a crusty looking coffee shop, and a petrol station. No wonder people go to Tesco or go online.

    Great article – I just think it should look at why the high street is losing out rather than assuming it is because online is inevitably going to dominate because it is intrinsically better – it is not – it is just an alternative or even a complimentary outlet. Crappy online stores will go out of business as fast as crappy offline stores!

    I do have a vested interest - http://theretailproject.com/

Related Posts


«
»