LinkedIn groups offer an excellent platform for professionals in the same industry to create and share similar content among themselves. This can also include finding answers for certain queries, posting about opportunities, making essential contacts, and viewing jobs.
With more than 260 million monthly active users, the platform allows your business to stand at an industry expert level and engage with other industry leaders. Thus, if you are an entrepreneur and wish to truly benefit from LinkedIn, you must join one of the business groups to enjoy better opportunities.
The question is, ‘what LinkedIn groups to join’?
What Kind Of Groups Should You Join?
The first most essential tip is to join a LinkedIn group where you have potential clients. This can mean having your industry’s customers, influencers, and related businesses within the same circle.
You can custom create content, which is also a strategy that many digital media marketers endorse. It allows you to establish your industry standards and promote your products and services in a good light. It is an organic way to market your services and establish relevant contacts with your clientele.
You can also create groups on LinkedIn with businesses that stand on a similar position to interact and create a network within your field.
Try not to join multiple groups that are of no help, but to join relevant LinkedIn groups and remain an active member.
The Best LinkedIn Groups
Many LinkedIn business groups allow you to explore different avenues within your field. We have curated a list of the top 6 LinkedIn groups that can help you.
1. Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing is one of the biggest groups on LinkedIn, with around 1.1 million members. This is the place where you will get all your digital marketing solutions. It covers topics like mobile marketing, SEO marketing, online advertising, and more and can help you create a diverse network of marketers.
2. Bright Ideas and Entrepreneurs
The bright Ideas and Entrepreneurs group is popular as it facilitates enterprises from all around the globe. The group has 22,000 members and can connect you with insightful people.
3. Executive Suite
If you are in the executive league, this is group is the right fit for you. With over 321,000 people, you can share advice on leadership styles, corporate culture and hold discussions on the required areas.
4. Private Equity, M&A, and Venture Capital Investments
This group might sound like a mouthful, but it is actually one of the most beneficial for those in the investment field. The community of 272,000 members includes venture capitalists and people within private equity firms.
5. Linked Business
The linked business has 11,000 members, and it specially caters to smaller businesses. So, from marketing, logistics to sales, you can get all kinds of advice here.
6. Entrepreneurs HQ
Entrepreneur HQ is one of the best LinkedIn groups to join for startups and new ideas. It has 162,000 members currently, which consists of small to medium-sized businesses. It includes discussion on essential topics of marketing, design, business strategy, and more.
Now, how to use LinkedIn for business?
How-To Guide for LinkedIn Groups
Many business owners often think, how can I take advantage of these LinkedIn groups? Well, you don’t have to worry about it as we have curated a list of 8 tips that you can use to benefit from LinkedIn groups.
Creating Your Own LinkedIn Group
Your business demands might not be met with already existing groups. Thus, it’s good to build your own community from scratch.
Many marketing and communication firms create LinkedIn groups for different businesses, helping establish a place in the industry. For example, if your business deals with paper, your essential contacts would be publishing, magazines, and other print media.
- You can create a group with specifications that help you connect, build, and engage others within your industry. This kind of audience engagement is very helpful with your clientele.
- Slowly others too will join your groups, depending on the engagement and how they would want to avail of your products and services.
- You can switch between having an open group or a members-only group. The latter allows you to moderate who gets to join, while the former is open to all.
Focus and Minimize
As a business, it is very easy to join hundreds of groups to mass market your product or service. However, marketing experts always recommend focusing on and minimizing where you spend your time and resources.
- What your business can do instead is be active in the groups that you have already joined. You might have multiple groups, supposing one for clients and the other for suppliers.
- It is recommended to spend your time in these groups and establish your brand instead of joining multiple groups that don’t benefit you at all.
- Once you become a contributing member, others take you a lot more seriously, and it helps your business establish connections.
Establishing Your Name/ Becoming an Industry Expert
Always make sure to join groups where you can actively contribute. Spam groups won’t help you or your business image.
Make sure your business correspondent is contributing to the discussions on these groups; it helps you get more and more profile views as well. Make sure your answers and comments provide useful insight and help you gain attention from relevant people.
This strategy is essential in creating a larger network of people. LinkedIn also awards this as it promotes you as one of the top contributors and helps you get more recognition for your input.
Recruiting New People
LinkedIn is an obvious platform to hire people from your field for relevant positions. Many people also use the LinkedIn group feature to hire people.
You can send out a group email that advertises the need for an employee to fill a job position at your firm.
If not directly, then indirectly, it can recommend someone perfect for the position. The people in the group might know others who are interested that can lead to a successful hiring process.
A strategic tip: Make the job opportunity to the point and concise, so people have an easier time navigating through the role.
A Great Way to Conduct Market Research
Many people might not know this, but you can very well use LinkedIn groups for relevant market research.
If you find your relevant market, you can pose different questions that can help you know what you are looking for. It can also connect you to a larger sample to conduct your market research and contact people accordingly.
For example, you might be someone working in the education sector; you can ask questions in relevant LinkedIn groups about what applications are more popular to support online learning during a pandemic.
LinkedIn groups also allow polls, which can also provide useful insight regarding the data you require. You can get up to 5 answers on your poll for free. This can also be used to get feedback and reviews for your product or service.
Using Groups for Testimonials and Reviews
As a business owner, you can also use the LinkedIn groups feature to ask your clients for reviews and testimonials.
If you want to make fresh contacts, it is also necessary for your business to establish trust. You can ask for feedback and recommendations, which can also help to improve your line of work.
Try using the free poll option or send out an email for recommendations!
Involving Your Employees
Another great tip is to encourage your employees to engage in their groups. You employees can make personal connections with your potential clients and related industry personnel.
This makes a good impression of your company and can help people establish trust with your product or service.
However, make sure you provide your employees with the right training on how to engage in these groups and what kind of presence does your business want to represent in the larger market.
Final Words
The importance of LinkedIn for business is non-negotiable, and you must leverage its power to benefit your business starting with making a professional LinkedIn profile. All these tips will help improve your Industry awareness and build a larger presence. You should also try out our LinkedIn Profile Checker. It’s free.
