LinkedIn Groups 101

My background

• Lead LinkedIn strategy for American Family Insurance

• Manage LinkedIn groups

• LinkedIn member since 2003

• Lead strategy for Business Accelerator, AFI small business program

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Are you active on LinkedIn?

Launched: 2003

Current 2013 membership: 225 million+ worldwide

Company pages: 3 million +

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Build awareness for your business

“…Those who post or engage in group

conversations receive four times as many

profile views as those who don't. Each minute,

more than 200 conversations take place on

Groups across the platform.” - Mashable

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Groups Overview

You can join up to 50 at one time.

Try them out and leave to try new ones.

Plan to listen (observe first) then engage.

Research members.Sample of groups I belong to.

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Searching for groups: use keywords

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Join groups for your business

• Chambers

• Trade associations

• Small business owners

• Your college

• Interests

• LinkedIn local groups

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Don’t try to meet everyone

• Make a list

• Be strategic

• Have courage

• How will this help your small business?

• Plan to connect with 2-3 people

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Who do you want to meet?

BONUS – You can meet group members who are 2nd and 3rd degree connections OR outside your network.

• It’s not all about you or for you.

• Be helpful and kind.

• Participate in on-topic conversations.

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Personalize your message

• Avoid the canned message.• Mention a contact you have in

common, and / or group.• Take the time to research posts

from this person / company.

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You are a thought leader

• You’re an expert on something

– “Everyone is SMART about something!”

• Plan the topics you like to talk about

• What do you want to be known for?

– (think keywords: )

• Sharing articles on these topicsLinked in Groups Training | Debra Hermsmeier 11

Share the Love

• It’s not all about you: sprinkle in links to your blog or website.

• This links to her Facebook business page.

• Don’t use HTML in posts.

• Only comment on your post to respond to another person.

• Spell check your posts.Linked in Groups Training | Debra Hermsmeier 12

Saving face - your presence on LinkedIn

Who can see your photo from your profile?

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“A picture is worth 1,000 words”

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Invitations to join groups

• Take the time to learn about the group before you join.• Is it valuable?• Is this a fit for your business?• Look at members and your degree of connection.

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How to share content

• Articles you found helpful

• Posts from people you want to

meet and be associated with

• Industry news

• 1 to 3: your articles, blog, etc.

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Best Practices for Sharing Content

• Type in name of group to share with

• Add title, or ask a question

• Write a description. Add value with your post.• The group rules may state your posts will

bedeleted if you don’t add these elements.• Avoid spam. Group moderators can delete your posts and choose to ban you from the group.

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It’s a conversation

• Share content targeted to the group you’re posting in.

• Write for the audience.• Avoid blanket spamming to a long

list of groups.• Edit – you can edit your post for

15 minutes.

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Proof your posts, test links

• This got posted twice.• Proof your posts • Are they published in real

time or is the group is moderated?

• LINKS – click on them to test them.

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Tagging & Hashtags

• July 2013 LinkedIn eliminated standard use of hashtags.• Tag people and businesses in posts.• ONLY if they are in your SAVED CONTACTS.

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Where does your group post show?

Your profile

LinkedIn Home page

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Focus your home page

• Use your home page setting to see group updates and comments.• Saves time instead of clicking into each group.• Helps you see who is active in groups.

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Quiz – What do you see?

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Use Notifications

Mobile

Email

• Continue the conversation without logging in to LinkedIn.• See real time updates on mobile.• When you turn off notifications you only see updates

when you’re logged in.• Be timely – keep the conversation going.

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Company Pages

• People post in groups. People own or work for a company.• Your personal profile link from your post. • Networking in groups to add visibility for your business.• A link to your company appears in your profile when you have a company page. • You may want to have a simple company page on LinkedIn.

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Getting Started with LinkedIn groups

My profile photo visible to everyone

(settings)

Research groups by keyword

Plan thought leadership (keywords, topics)

Write titles and descriptions for posts

Don’t spam groups message or InMail

Research group members

Plan personalized messages

Simple company page setup

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Appendix

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Resources

RESOURCES:• Books

• The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success by Wayne Breitbarth• Free weekly newsletter

• Return on Relationship by Ted Rubin & Kathryn Rose

• Courses• Dean Delisle• Business Accelerator courses

• Join the group• Enroll

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Visualize your network

The color coding shows the company affiliation. In this example the blue is for American Family Insurance, orange is from my previous job; and magenta is from the Business Accelerator group I manage on LinkedIn. URL: http://inmaps.linkedinlabs.com/

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Types of Connections

1st-degree - People you're directly connected to because you have accepted their invitation to connect, or they have accepted your invitation.2nd-degree - People who are connected to your 1st-degree connections. 3rd-degree - People who are connected to your 2nd-degree connections. You'll see a 3rd degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile.If their full first and last names are displayed, you will be able to send them an invitation by clicking.

Fellow members of your LinkedIn Groups - These people are considered part of your network because you're members of the same group.

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Let’s Connect

• Connect with me (mention this session)

• Follow our company page LinkedIn.com/

• Join the Business Accelerator group:

linkedin.com/groups?gid=1943664&trk

• Enroll in Business Accelerator for more LinkedIn tips:

www.amfambusinessaccelerator.com

debrahermsmeier@gmail.com

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Q & A

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