Improvements Make LinkedIn Groups More Valuable

by Kathy Bernard

Recent changes to LinkedIn groups make them a more effective way to stay in touch with clients and prospects. LinkedIn groups have always been a valuable free way to form an online community, share posts, and get reader input, but these improvements make managing and growing your group easier.
Improvements include the ability to:

- Grow your membership by bulk inviting LinkedIn members to join.
- Recommend posts to your group members once a week.
- Manage multiple new member requests to join, all at once from your desktop or mobile.
- Add a cover image to showcase your group’s brand or personality.
- Moderate members’ group posts for appropriateness and relevancy before they’re shared with all members.
- Manage your group’s visibility. This is important because for a long while only the largest groups could be easily found.
- Quickly find posts that ran months or weeks earlier.
- Filter members using advanced search filters.

To launch a LinkedIn group, log into LinkedIn, click the Work icon, select Groups, and then “Create a new group”. Follow the prompts to add your group name, cover image, logo, and group rules. Choose a group name that will attract prospects, like “St. Louis Pet Lovers” not your company name. Post articles, videos, images, documents, questions, and news to engage with your group members.

Kathy Bernard (kathy@wiseru.com), CEO of WiserU.com, is a St. Louis-based LinkedIn expert/trainer who equips businesses to maximize LinkedIn for sales, marketing, or fundraising.