Most Popular ArticlesOctober 20, 2009
Add content
Before inviting people to join your group, start by adding content so that new members will have something to read when they first join. The first thing you should add is a discussion item which states the purpose of the group and how members should use it. Mark the “Make this discussion featured” box so that it will appear at the top of the discussion list, making it the first thing members see when arriving at your page.
The next step is to post articles in the news section of the group. This can include posts from your blog or articles featured on your website. If you have a blog, go to the “Manage” tab and select “Manage News Feed.” You can add your RSS feed so that all posts from your blog automatically post to your LinkedIn group. You can also include feeds from other news sources you think are relevant to the group. Be sure that all of the content you are including is relevant to the group, so that your area of expertise is clear to members.
Invite group members
Now that you have a new LinkedIn group rich in content, you need to find people to join your group. The first place to start is to go to the group “Manage” tab and “Send Invitations.” This will enable you to invite your existing LinkedIn connections to join your group. If you have a large number of connections in your target market, you will quickly grow your group this way.
Next invite people from your CRM system or database. Go to the group “Manage” tab and “Send Invitations.” Click the “Upload File” link under the Connections box and follow the instructions. You will be able to upload a .CSV file with your contacts’ first name, last name and email address. Some of the people you are inviting may not have a LinkedIn account. So for those non-members, explain LinkedIn, the purpose of the group and include a link to join in the Welcome Message. You can find the “Group Join Link” at the bottom right hand corner of the page.
These first two methods allow you to invite your existing contacts to your group. If you want to invite people you don’t know, you’ll need to take another approach. First, you will need to find out which groups people in your target market already have joined. For example, if you are specializing in the healthcare industry, you will want to research which groups these professionals typically join. You can do this by searching using keywords in the “Search Groups” box or by looking at the groups your current connections have joined. Whenever possible, join groups with members in your target market. Sometimes a group has membership requirements precluding you from joining, but other times no one is monitoring membership.
The more groups you join the better. as you will soon discover.
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