Top 10 Tips for Joining a LinkedIn Group

Linkedin is proving to be one of the quickest and most effective ways to extend your professional network. With over 160 million people to connect with on LinkedIn, it may be difficult to know where to start, but joining relevant groups is a good place to begin.

LinkedIn’s groups have been set up by different people and organisations as a way of bringing like-minded professionals together to discuss topics relevant to their industry. Through these groups, you’ll be able to communicate with others in your industry, discuss ideas, share thoughts on a range of topics and become part of a professional support network.

Join relevant groups

It’s important to join groups you will benefit from. These may be specific industry groups or groups that focus on an area of professional development you’re interested in. But with the vast number of groups out there, how do you go about choosing the best ones? Social media expert, Lisa Devaney says the best way to start is to research the field you are interested in by searching the site with the internal group search feature. This will bring up all of the relevant groups on LinkedIn.

“Look at how many people are members of each group you are interested in joining and investigate the most popular ones,” Devaney advises. “It’s also worth checking each group to see who set it up. It could be a company, a trade organisation or another resource. Be aware of who is behind the group. Some people (me included) are members of many groups and these all appear on your profile page, but you may want to be selective and only sign up for a few key ones.”

Be an active member

Joining the groups that most interest you is just the first step – to really benefit from your group membership you need to become an active participant. While you may gain a lot from keeping abreast of discussion threads between other group members, you’ll gain even more by making a contribution. “Think of a relevant and current topic that you can bring to the group, and start a discussion,” advises Devaney. “By posting and starting threads in a group you will build your thought leadership position, and start being seen as an influencer.”

Follow Lisa Devaney’s top ten steps to becoming an active LinkedIn group member:

1. Research the field you are interested in and find all relevant groups on LinkedIn, by searching the site with the internal Group search feature.

2. Look at the individuals in the Group. Are they relevant to you and do you want to connect with them?

3. Look at people you are connected to within your field, and see what groups they are members of. Join the Groups they are in.

4. Be cautious about what Groups you sign up for, as these icons will be displayed on your Profile page.

5. First watch a Group’s discussions to learn what is appropriate, or not appropriate to post.

6. Think of a relevant and current topic that you can bring to the group, and start a discussion.

7. Be sure to answer and respond to any topics other people start in the Group. Be an active participant, not just an observer.

8. Post relevant links to articles.

9. Share any job leads.

10. Don’t criticize or demean another individual in a Group. If you think someone is un-professional or you have other issues with them, a Group is not the place to address these issues.

Top tip: You can set up your LinkedIn profile to cross-post to Twitter. When updating a tweet, simply include #li for it to be posted to your LinkedIn profile.

Check out QS TopExecutive’s recommendations of the top ten groups on LinkedIn for EMBA candidates.

Lisa Devaney is an expert in social media and has trained and hosted DIY social media workshops for corporate communications professionals. She is an account manager at Name PR.