Tweak Your Biz » Technology » Creating a Successful LinkedIn Group (P2)

Creating a Successful LinkedIn Group (P2)

by Niall Devitt on August 23rd, 2010
31 Comments



My apologies, but it’s taking me a while to get around to following up on Part 1, where we discussed the basics of setting up your group.

Paul Mullan from  Measurability Careers & Jobs Club made an insightful comment when he said “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”

Paul is right! The ongoing challenge for the group owner is ensuring that the group remains a destination of value for its members. So here are some pointers to ensure that this happens:

# Goal

The goal of your group should be to create a valuable platform for members to share knowledge and best-practices around the particular group interest – to make each other better!

# Content

Like any other social media, content is key to a successful LinkedIn group. Always ensure that posted content relates to the general themes & interests of the group.

# Discussions

Encourage members to use the discussions forum to post thought provoking questions and ideas that will generate a discussion and not just in one hit wonder or self promotional type posting.

# Links

Links to articles, videos blogs and websites should be used to genuinely support a dialogue.

# Participation

Encourage posters to also actively engage with other members through asking and answering questions & seeking out opinions.

# Advertising

Police your group so that it does not become a place for advertising or posting links to landing pages or any other kind of lead generation tactics.

# Jobs

Job opportunities should be posted in the Jobs tab & not as a discussion.

# Events

Allow members to post relevant upcoming events, workshops, webinars, etc. but ensure that there is no spamming or repeat posting.

# Be tough! But always lead by example

Delete posts that break the rules and kick out any repeat offenders but remember that not everyone understands social media and only a few understand it well. Try to lead by example, when someone posts, leave a comment or ask a question, as Paul says “more you put in the more the group develops”

I’d love to hear your own suggestions in the comments below.

Thank you for reading

Niall



Category: Modern business, social media

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The Author:

Niall Devitt is a doer, not a talker when it comes to social media. Niall advises organisations how to plan, design and implement social media strategies that generate real business returns.  Niall is Chief Digital Strategist & Founder at the Ahain Group, an independent, ideas-led social business consultancy with experience of working with all types of clients and sectors– from large blue-chip multinationals to the 1 SMEs. Download our industry specific and researched social business reports. In 2009, Niall co-founded TweakYourBiz.com (formally Bloggertone.com) an international, business community and online publication. http://www.ahaingroup.com/

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  • http://twitter.com/fredchannel Fred

    Good one Niall.
    In addition to that, something that I saw working very well for other LinkedIn groups is meeting offline.
    I know this is not always possible, especially when you have members in different countries but if you could at least put together 30% of the people to meet face-to-face once a month, it could make a huge difference.

  • Tim Tpalding

    Thanks Niall,

    I’ve recently started a LinkedIn group and have found your previous blog and this one really helpful. I have found that I really need to support people to participate. One way I have found is when they introduce themselves and mention something they are working on I write privately to them and encourage them to start a discussion on it.

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

    Thanks Tim, gald you found them useful. I agree sometimes you need to give people a little encouragement :)

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

    Great point Fred, you can’t beat getting people all together in a real world setting.

  • http://www.writewordseditorial.ie Derbhile

    That’s given me food for thought. Thanks.

  • Anonymous

    More sound and useful advice Niall. Fred makes a good point. This would add value even though it’s not something I do myself :-( Did meet a few friendly faces, from the my own group, at the NCIRL Career Bootcampl last week though!!Another point (you may have mentioned this in your last post). Try to minimise the spam advertising. Think this can turn people off ….

    Thanks for the mention above :-)
    Cheers Paul

  • http://www.encouragingexcellence.ie/ Mairéad Kelly

    I like the concept, I’m just wondering how time-consuming it is, especially if it turns out to be an active group?

  • http://www.stopthinksocial.com/ David Christopher

    Nice post Niall. There is this 90-9-1 rule (for every 100 community members, 90 lurk, 9 comment, and 1 posts) that constantly gets quoted to me and really irritates me. A community (like a LinkedIn group) will be successful if you follow some of the basic rules you highlight above.

    For a community to be successful it needs to be nurtured and lead not managed (“managed” suggests policing and administration and whilst these need to be done, providing community leadership is much more important).

    I would also add one more to the list and that is #Recruit posters regularly. What i mean by this is that every time you are having a conversation / discussion with someone, and the conversation is relevant for your LinkedIn group, encourage them to join and post in the group to share with the other members.

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

    That’s a great tip David, really excellent! I usually connect but you are right it makes wonderful sense to also invite the person back to my group/s.

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

    Good Question! It’s not so bad, It’s takes more time at the start when you are bulding the group up, once you get as some momentum and a good community going, the manager’s job becomes easier.

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

    Thanks Derbhile

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

    All the comments mentioned already also should be applied anywhere there is a group and leader, including blogging sites ;)

    Summer can be a quiet time, as priorities change, so a good nudge, kick and dodge can help inspire people to get back in the action.

    I agree it can be time consuming, and for that reason I haven’t begun another interaction online, such as a LinkedIn group. I am thinking they are becoming more active in recent months, so perhaps it’s time for a change of strategy for me :)

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

    Sounds like you have a plan :)

  • Anonymous

    Great post Niall. and great advice. Like all things in life you get back what you put in.

  • http://twitter.com/ballymountaccs Tom Holmes

    Thanks Niall – yeah the 25% R&D tax credit is a very useful tax break to consider and it’s not just test tubes in a lab type stuff that qualifies. The definition of what constitutes R&D is quiet wide ranging and could very easily apply to a lot of corporate businesses out there! Cheers :)

  • http://www.FionaAshe.com/ Fiona Ashe

    These are all excellent insights, Tom. Many thanks for sharing them! Best wishes, Fiona.

  • http://twitter.com/ballymountaccs Tom Holmes

    Cheers Fiona – hopefully it will help to save a few quid for someone. Have a good Xmas break. Chat again soon!

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    Tom,
    A huge welcome from me to TYB, this post is hugely informative and beneficial for all. Some really valid and accessible reliefs and refunds to be had.
    A great post – thanks for the timely share – pity for some, 2 weeks won’t be enough to avail of un-known or forgotten reliefs and claims. I hope people act with haste as you suggest :)

  • http://twitter.com/ballymountaccs Tom Holmes

    Thanks Elaine for the welcome – feel like the new kid!! Anyway glad you found the post useful and informative – hopefully it can save someone somewhere a few euros. Happy Christmas to you and hope you have a successful new year! :)

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

    Wow! Amazing post, well done Helen!

  • http://twitter.com/xcelbusiness Helen Cousins

    Thanks Niall!

  • http://twitter.com/xcelbusiness Helen Cousins

    I’ll be giving the multi-currency (#6) a test run with a client tomorrow – shall be looking for an enlightened face and no head scratching!
    Thanks Sian – hope it helps a few people out.
    ~ Helen

  • http://twitter.com/writerlyderv Derbhile Graham

    Interesting, particularly the Research and Development point. Would that include books you buy and courses you take? Also, in my case, late payment is often caused by customers simply forgetting. When they’re gently reminded, the money wings in.

  • Izzy

    Excellent Post, very thorough. I’ll be passing this info around to a few people who I know will be interested.

  • http://twitter.com/bengii bengii

    A realy useful post Helen, thanks. There is something in here for everyone, all levels

  • http://www.thesmarttrain.com/ Elaine Rogers

    A worthy resource to keep on record Helen, seeing as you are discussing the importance of recording.
    Great tips for all business owners, and I commend your use of best practice, especially when it comes to using spreadsheets to manage accounts, a big NO-NO!

  • http://twitter.com/xcelbusiness Helen Cousins

    Thanks Begjii – hope it helps a few folk.
    ~ Helen

  • http://twitter.com/xcelbusiness Helen Cousins

    Thanks Izzy – good to know it’s a resource post.
    ~ Helen

  • http://twitter.com/xcelbusiness Helen Cousins

    Hi Derbhile
    R & D would tend to apply where you are developing something new and unique – a specific project. So, books and courses could count as R & D, but only where something major, new and unique was being created. I would spend quite a bit on books and courses each year, but wouldn’t classify it as R & D because it is a routine and necessary part of my business.
    Good point about late payers forgetting. When it come to debt collection, consistency and persistence is the only game in town – so reminders are vital :)
    Thanks for adding to the post and for your comment.
    ~ Helen

  • http://twitter.com/xcelbusiness Helen Cousins

    I guess we have both been in the trenches with spreadsheets :) Thanks Elaine, I’m delighted you find it of resource value.
    ~ Helen

  • http://twitter.com/xcelbusiness Helen Cousins

    Good point on the stock count Eilish, Some retailers do weekly or even daily counts where there is high value stock or where they need to identify the source of problems such as falling profit margins. These can be be stock- related through fraud, theft or human error in the sale process.
    Thanks for the blog suggestion – one of us might write it, it would be a useful post.
    ~ Helen

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