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How to Respond to LinkedIn Group Discussions?
LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn Groups provide a place for professionals in the same industry
or with similar interests to share content, find answers, post and view
jobs, make business contacts, and establish themselves as industry
experts
LinkedIn members are currently sharing insights and knowledge in
more than 2.1 million LinkedIn groups
LinkedIn permits you to be a member of 50 groups at one time
What are LinkedIn Groups?
Building a LinkedIn group around a specific cause or niche topic can provide many business
benefits:
• Build more awareness with your target markets
• Position you and/or your company as an industry thought leader
• Nurture valuable industry relationships
• Showcase and highlight your own thought leadership content
• Generate interest and inquiries for your company
• Convert group members to subscribers and advocates for your brand
Importance of a LinkedIn Group
Features of a LinkedIn Group
Members- The Members tab provides you with the list of the current members of the group. You can also
get the list of the members of the group by clicking the number of members located on the far right of the
group's name on the Discussions tab
Leave - On the Discussions page, move your cursor over the grey Member button near the top right of the page. The button name will change when your cursor is over the button. Click Leave and then click Leave again to confirm.
‘i’ tab - Items formerly located under the ‘i’ tab include group owner, group profile, group rules and group
statistics. To view these, click the info icon near the top right of the discussions tab. Once you click on the
icon, you can click on any one of the highlighted links in the black box to view further details.
Share – You can share a LinkedIn group to your network. Just click the ’Share icon’ located on the far
right of the group's name near the top of the Discussions tab.
Attach a Link - In the Start a discussion... box, type in your heading and discussion details. In the Add more details box, type or paste the URL to the link you want to share and add a space at the end. This will add the link below the text box.
Posting Jobs or Promotions - You can now post job discussions and promotions from the ‘Start a discussion...’ box
on the Discussions tab. When you post your discussion, select Job or Promotion next to Discussion type below
the start a discussion boxes before you click Share. You'll need to enter text in both boxes to share a discussion
Flag or Delete- To delete a discussion you've started or flag a post as a job/promotion, click on the title of the
discussion to access the discussion then move your cursor over the discussion box. Click the down arrow that
appears in the right corner and select Delete, Flag as a Promotion, or Flag as a Job.
You can find and join LinkedIn groups either by searching for groups from the ’Groups You May Like’
page or the ‘Search’ field at the top of your homepage.
How to Find LinkedIn Groups
In the search box at the top of any page, select Groups from the dropdown list on the left
• Type in the keywords (that would be a natural fit for you) or group name to search. On the search results page, you can refine your search using the advanced search checkboxes on the left
Move your cursor over Interests at the top of your homepage and select ’Groups’
• Select the ‘Find a group’ option on the right side of the page
Once you find the group you are interested in, there are two ways by which you can join a group :
• Click ’Join’ on the group discussions page or anywhere you see the button
• Respond to an invitation from a group member or manager
How to Join a LinkedIn Group
What LinkedIn Groups Should You Join?
There are literally thousands of groups you can choose from. Depending on your
goals, you can be very strategic and selective (only joining groups you will
actually do stuff in) or all inclusive (joining every group that is remotely related to
your work or interests)
If you want traffic back to your website, for example, make sure the group allows
people to post links in the discussions. If you want to build authority, make sure
the discussions in the group have lots of comments as it shows people are
actively discussing topics and not posting promotions or advertisements
LinkedIn Group Discussions
A LinkedIn discussion is in essence a conversation between a group of people identical to those in a physical
environment.
What is a LinkedIn Group Discussion?
Connection/Networking: By participating in group discussions, sharing your knowledge on your topic and
establishing awareness about your business, you are creating opportunities to network with others in your
industry or others whose skills will complement your business endeavors
Job Opportunities: Members post job opportunities within groups. Participating in group discussions helps
you get noticed thus increasing your chances of new opportunities
Blog Inspiration: Reading over the pain points of others, or hearing about a really interesting tool or tip can
be an inspiration for a blog post
Inbound Marketing: Sharing your views on the discussions is another way to increase some traffic to your
profile thus helping increase the visibility of your blog, your website or your social media networks
Importance Of LinkedIn Group Discussions
How to Initiate a Discussion in a LinkedIn Group?
You start a discussion in the group ( open or closed) you most identify by following the steps stated below:
Enter your topic or question in the "Start a discussion or share something with the group" box (required).
There is a character limit of 200 characters in the start a discussion box
Enter details in the "Add more details" box or add a link to a website by typing in the URL and pressing
the space bar on your keyboard. There is a character limit of 4000 characters for the add more details
Click Share
How to Participate in a LinkedIn Discussion?
Once you are a part of a group and identify with a discussion, you can participate in a discussion by the following
methods:
Like: Clicking the ’Like’ link under a discussion is a way to indicate that you find the discussion interesting. The group
and your followers in the group will get an update after you click Like. However, clicking Like doesn't mean you'll be
following the discussion, and you won't automatically get updates when someone comments on it.
Member of a Group
Comment: To post your views on a discussion, move your cursor over the discussion you want to participate in and
click on the Comment link displayed below the initial discussion. Enter your comment in the ‘Add you comment’ box.
There is a character limit of 4,000 for a comment. If you wish to receive an email for each new comment, check the
box below your comment.
Follow: Following a specific discussion in a group allows you to be notified when new comments are made in the
discussion. To follow a discussion, move your cursor over the discussion you want to follow and click on the
‘Follow’ link displayed under the initial discussion.
Reply Privately: The ‘Reply Privately’ link is used if you want to address a specific commenter directly. This link is only
visible to the person initiating a discussion.
Flag as inappropriate: You can flag a group discussion as inappropriate by opening the discussion and clicking on the
‘Flag as inappropriate ‘ link below the discussion to notify the group manager that an item might be inappropriate, or
that it may need to be moved to the Jobs or Promotions tab. To flag a comment in a group discussion, move your
cursor over a comment and click ’Flag as inappropriate’ under a comment.
The options for how non-members can participate in open groups are controlled by the group owners or managers.
Their options include:
Free to post comments, and submit discussions for approval
Submit both comments and discussions for approval
Submit comments for approval only (no discussions allowed)
No contributions allowed
Non-Members of an Open Group
Quickly locate a particular discussion/s on a specific topic using search options on the ‘Search’ tab that will allow
you to narrow your search by:
Latest Activity
All Discussions
All Polls
Manager’s Choice
Discussions You’ve Started
Discussions You’ve Joined
Discussions You’re Following
Pending Submissions
Track the discussions
Best Practices for LinkedIn Discussions
Make sure your posts are relevant to the interests and intent of the group
Ask for members' input on a topic or article that you share to initiate a conversation
If you find yourself disagreeing in a discussion, remember to keep conversations respectful
Avoid postings that may be seen as self-promotion
The best way to promote yourself in groups is by providing value to conversation topics with relevant information
If you're sharing a link or article, provide context on its relevance to the group
If you have a job or promotion to post in groups, post them under the right tabs or check the group rules to see if they're allowed within the main discussion area
Thank You!
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