Posted by Pat Henseler in Uncategorized
LinkedIn groups aren’t like the mafia…you can join and leave these groups far more simply and safely than in a jail cell or a body bag.
You should constantly be researching, joining, leaving and participating in the right groups to test their ability to connect you with your prospective clients.
Sure, you can still be a part of the “Left-Handed, Blue-Eyed Crossword Players of America” group or whatever other personal interest groups that float your boat. But if you are looking to use LinkedIn to generate leads, you should create a plan for joining groups that are dedicated to connecting you with your prospects.
Here are some helpful tips for getting the most out of your LinkedIn groups:
1.) Avoid Groups Full of Your Competitors
Connecting with your competitors on LinkedIn can be beneficial for keeping up with trends in your business and gaining a better understanding of your target market. But when joining your LinkedIn groups, you'll need to find the ones that your ideal prospects are interested in.
For example, a web designer interested in selling their design services to local restaurants and bars should avoid wasting their groups on the ones full of web and graphic designers. Those groups won't contain their prospects.
Instead they should find where the local restaurant and bar owners are hanging out on LinkedIn – like a local business networking or restaurant owners group.
2.) Check the Groups Statistics
When investigating a group that looks promising, you should always check the lit
tle information button on the upper right-hand corner of the group page and click on the group statistics page.
This section includes tabs that break down all the demographics of the group. You'll be able to easily see just how many CEO’s, Presidents, Karaoke All-Stars, etc. are in the group. Once you're in the group, there won't be any surprises about which key decision makers are already in the group. You can then easily reach out and connect with them.
3.) Look over the Group Rules
Make sure you are aware of the group rules before you have joined any group.
Is this an open or a closed group? Do the owners require posts to be moderated? Moderated groups can be a blessing and a sign of a well-managed group.
Group moderators will cut down on the spammy material and will give your posts the owner’s stamp of approval for the audience you are looking to reach.
Remember to only post content that your prospects will find valuable. You don't want to be THAT group member who is posting the spammy stuff that nobody reads…do you?
4.) Read the Group Profile
It would be beneficial to take the time to ACTUALLY READ through the group’s
statement under the group profile.
Again, all this info can be found under the information button in the upper right-hand corner of the group page.
What is it that attracts your prospects to this group, specifically?
Having as much group information as possible will make it easier to provide the right content that interests your prospects. This will put your name and profile in front of their eyes consistently in a positive light.
5.) Check the Discussion Board
Look through the posts that have gained the most traction in the group and borrow from the ideas that have worked in the past in that group.
Is this a group people are active in? Are people commenting, liking, sharing, and posting an array of information on the board? Is there a salesy or spammy vibe to the posts?
You’ll want to make sure to reach your audience by providing insight or content they'll actually want to read and discuss. Not just the topics you want to discuss and sell them. Help the audience by providing posts, quotes or questions that prove useful to them.
6.) Don’t just sell, be social
By being a member of a group, you will have access to message and contact all other group members freely. But don’t abuse this power by only messaging prospects with your sales pitch.
Introduce yourself, interact socially with the other members of the group, or just share a link to an article that they might find interesting.
These prospects will be much warmer to you and your product when it comes time to make your pitch if they view you as person they can trust and have an honest conversation with.
7.) Start your own group
If you have the time to dedicate to running a LinkedIn group, I would definitely recommend it. But you'll need to make sure you create a group that targets the interests of YOUR PROSPECTS.
You don't want a group that will attract your competitors. Try and fill the void with a group that your prospects will want to get involved with.
Now What??
These tips are just a small piece in learning how you can best use LinkedIn to generate leads and sales – but utilizing LinkedIn groups will go a long way in helping you stand out in front of your ideal prospects.
Need more LinkedIn group tactics for your company? Check out our FREE LinkedIn Campaign Planning Toolbox.
