Written by Thanks to the advice from our last LinkedIn post, your LinkedIn group is crawling with people, right?! Now it’s time to nurture it. How do we create a LinkedIn group that is teeming with activity – the go to place for those in the field?
Here are a few more notes from Marissa on managing your group:
1. Once you have a bunch of new members, you need to be able to communicate a clear purpose for the group, a mission. What it is, what it isn’t, and for whom it is intended. This is because when people join the group, quite a few will message or call you to ask this very question. Know what you want out of the group — you’re the manager after all!
2. The inviting doesn’t stop here. Continue to selectively invite people who have something of value to offer the group and who will help carry out its mission and keep it fresh (think about importing lists with titles you want, and people you would message for your events!).
3. Only admit those who meet your criteria, or the group can get hijacked by others. (Spam! Such a turn-off!)
4. Moderate the group by checking it daily. It might be a good idea to keep your group locked, so each member who wants to join, each new discussion, job post, etc. has to be approved by you. With open groups a lot of events may get posted which can distract from your own, so you may want to move competitive events to promotions, and keep only yours within the discussion boards and announcement box. Block out 10 minutes on your calendar every morning to go in and clean up.
5. Set clear guidelines about posting etiquette, rules against spam and self-promotion. If you have issues with the group, you can send a note to remind group members that if the rules are ignored, they can be removed from the group. Remove all non-compliant posts immediately. Warn the poster about the rules. Remove them without notice if they do it again.
6. If you find the discussion is slowing down, post a provocative question to stir debate (only 5%-10% of members will ever participate anyway so doesn’t hurt to stir up the pot a little!).
Any other advice on how to grow our groups, and make them into lively places people want to interact?
Participate! My best advice is to make your face known within your group as manager, as well as close competitor groups, or groups where you may find possible delegates. I find when I go and post promotions, comments, quotes or general updates, I get an onslaught of requests to connect, which I always accept of course! Building my presence helps me build my reach and connections are everything within this industry!
Also, make sure to utilize your IQ Marketers! I’ve been working with the team in NY to help grow the groups, and post discussions!
Thanks Marissa! If any of our readers have suggestions on nurturing a group, please share them with us in the comments.
Amber Scorah
Online Content Manager, NYC