Complete Guide to LinkedIn Groups: Network with the right people. Generate new leads. Get new business

LinkedIn Groupsa golden opportunity

http://bit.ly/1gVTk02

http://marketingforprofessionals.co.nz/complete_guide_to_linkedin_groups

If you want to …

Raise your profile Find and engage more of your ideal prospects, and Get new work

then

LinkedIn groups are a great toolhttp://bit.ly/1gVTk02


Well-run groups are their own community of people with similar interests

Join groups to which your ideal prospects belong Consider setting up your own group if there’s a gap

(or badly run group) in that area

They’re a fantastic place to find and engage your prospects



7 reasons to run your own LinkedIn group

Build your profile in your area of expertise Position yourself as an authority in your area Find and attract those with similar interests or who

may need your help Widen your professional network by building

relationships with group members Learn more about the views and perspectives of

those in your industry Establish a community Generate interest in you and your organisation,

including inbound enquiries


How to set up and run a LinkedIn group that

delivers value

to its members



STEP 1: Plan What’s the purpose of your group? What

product/service are you looking to build a community around?

What’s the scope of discussions you want to see? Who do you want to join? What benefits will your group offer to these people?

Why should they join? What benefits will your group offer to these people?

Why should they join? What will you name your group? Who’s going to help you manage it? What discussions will you start each week?



STEP 2: Create your group

Use keywords in the name if you want people to find it.

Write a clear summary and description that will appeal to those you want to join.



STEP 3: Invites

SKIP the step which prompts you to send invitations to join your group

Why would anyone want to join an unpopulated group?



STEP 4: Populate your group with at least 2 discussions

A welcome discussion is always a good one, as people like to comment on these.



STEP 5: Get your house in order

Select your settings and permissions Draft your group rules and templates Set up sub-groups (if appropriate)



STEP 6: Group Owners

Pre-approve your group managers (you can have up to 10 including the Owner) and a few ‘friendly’ clients and colleagues who you’d like to join the group early

Ask them to comment on the existing discussions and to add their own so that, when you invite others to join, there is already some activity



STEP 7: You’re now ready to invite others!

You can use LinkedIn’s standard one liner but it doesn’t really tell people why they should join so…

Consider a personalised email that tells people WHY they should join.

Work from a template so that you’re only having to insert their name each time.



STEP 8: Commit to the ongoing moderation of your group

If people have to request to join or have their discussions approved before they’ll post (a good option to prevent spam), ensure you, or one of the group managers, goes in at least once a day to do so.

It’s really frustrating for group members if they try to post something and it takes a week or two to be approved – often it’s out of date by that time.



STEP 9: Start one new discussion each week in the early days

You need fresh, relevant content if you want people to return to your group.

You’ll need to drive this until the group takes on a life of its own.



STEP 10: Comment on others’ discussions and stay involved in threads that you start

Consider summarising these at the end, or Putting together blog posts summarising a

discussion. Remember to give credit to each contributor.



STEP 11: Continue to invite people to join the group and encourage others to do so

Ask your PA to send out a certain number of invites on your behalf each week.



STEP 12: On your website …

Promote your group Add it to your email signature Your newsletters Your blog



STEP 13: Look for opportunities to move relationships beyond LinkedIn

Hold an event or a webinar for group members Invite someone in the group to write a guest article, Seek a group member’s opinion on something.

The opportunities are endless



STEP 14: Monitor & analyse key statistics

Track its growth, Determine what’s working well, Understand what you need to do differently, and Track leads generated by the group



The complete guide to setting up your group

If you would like more info about setting up and running a successful LinkedIn group, download our e-book for NZ$18.97

“Complete Guide to LinkedIn Groups: Network with the right people. Generate new leads. Get new business”

(available as a pdf and Kindle format)

http://marketingforprofessionals.co.nz/complete_guide_linkedin_groups



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Complete Guide to LinkedIn Groups: Network with the right people. Generate new leads. Get new business