Tips For Using LinkedIn Effectively #8

Groups are the bomb...

One of the things that I enjoy using in LinkedIn is the Groups. In the Groups, you can do additional networking with people that have common interest. And best of all, you have the opportunity to post and respond to messages that are specific to that group.

Lets first define what Groups are. First off, Groups are made by users of LinkedIn. Anyone can create a group even you and I. So if you want to create a group for Breeding Goldfish for Fun and Profit, you can do that. Groups are a great way to talk and connect with others with like interest.

Lets focus more on how we can use groups to our advantage. First lets look at finding a group that we may want to join. Using the Search option at the top of any screen in LinkedIn , you are able to search for any keyword or topic that you may have interest in. Everything from Abacus to Zooligy there is probably a group on the topic.

Many times you may find a number of groups for a given topic. Here is where you have to look at the value of a group. Look at the number of participants that are in the group. If you have a couple of good fits, join both and get a feel for the topics that are discussed. If after a week or so you see one group is better than the other, you can unsubscribe from the unwanted group.

One thing you will want to do is keep the groups that you are members of relevant to your professional branding. So you may not want to join groups for political, religious, or others that are controversial in a corporate environment.

Once you have joined a group or groups, you are able to start posting and answering questions. This is a great opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in your area of interest or expertise.

A hidden gem that is part of being members of groups is that you now have access to the membership list for the group. You can access this from the More > Members secondary menu when you are on the page for a specific group. Here you will find the complete list for all the members in that group. Once viewing the Members list, you are able to search the members of the group for specific keywords.

When searching within the Members list you could look for contacts at specific companies for that you may be targeting for a work search or sales opportunity.

Groups allow us to add a whole new dimension to our networking with professionals in our area of interest. By responding to post we can establish our expertise in a given subject. Then using the members list we can find people in our area within companies that we may be wanting to connect with.

While Groups in LinkedIn are a great way to network, NosalCentral is a great way to gain control over your web presence. Weather it is Analytics, SEO or a Social Media we can help you with increasing your value on the web.