Chapter 14
In This Chapter
Getting to know LinkedIn Groups
Joining a group
Searching a group
Creating a group
Inviting others to join your group
When it comes to the reasons why people get to know each other, there's more to a professional's life than colleagues and classmates. People have always been drawn to groups based on common interests, backgrounds, or goals, and this natural tendency to join together can be seen from sports teams to Boy/Girl Scouts, from social action organizations to nonprofit charity groups. Naturally, LinkedIn also offers a way for people to connect with each other as a group — LinkedIn Groups.
In this chapter, I discuss the benefits of value in LinkedIn Groups, from information and exposure to growing your network, and cover the overall idea and structure of LinkedIn Groups and what you can expect to find. I then talk about how to search for existing groups on LinkedIn, and I walk you through the steps necessary to join that group. Finally, if you see that there should be a group for something on LinkedIn but it doesn't already exist, I discuss how to start your own LinkedIn group and how to invite others to join it.
When people who are familiar with other social networking tools are first exposed to LinkedIn Groups, they see some similarities. The group interaction in LinkedIn Groups — members list, discussion threads, and so on — feels just like Yahoo! Groups or groups on most other social networking sites. And yet, being a member of a LinkedIn group has extra benefits over other networking sites:
Some LinkedIn Groups are extensions of existing organizations, and others are created on LinkedIn by an individual as a way to identify and network with people who share a common interest. In either case, they're useful tools for growing your network and leveraging your existing affiliations.
Because there are lots of reasons to create a group, LinkedIn has established the following six primary categories of groups:
Before the conference, you can relay important information, such as subject matter and agenda, and any events, lectures, seminars, parties, or other info that matters to the attendees. Perhaps there are last-minute changes or announcements that need to get disseminated quickly. During the event, you can quickly relay announcements, as well as news being generated at the conference and any on-site changes. After the conference, these groups allow attendees to stay in contact and help the conference organizers and presenters see how the subject matter and industries have changed or progressed.
Also, if the conference becomes a yearly event, the conference group becomes a constant area of discussion and planning.
When you look at the LinkedIn groups out there, one of the most important things to keep in mind is that you should join only those groups that are relevant to you. Although you might think it's fun to join another alumni association group besides your alma mater, it won't really help you in the long run.
As you use LinkedIn more and decide that you want to get involved by joining a LinkedIn group, you have a couple of options for getting started:
The first option may come about when you're browsing your first-degree connections list, and you see a group that you're interested in joining. After you click the logo, you simply click a Join This Group button on the next page that you see, and you've completed your part of the process. Keep in mind that some professional groups have special requirements and you may not be eligible to join due to your particular educational or professional experience.
If you plan to seek out a group to join, just follow these steps:
You're taken to your Groups page on LinkedIn, as shown in Figure 14-2.
Use keywords to describe the group that interests you. If you're looking to join a group that promotes or encourages public speaking, for example, type public speaking into the text box.
Go through the results list, as shown in Figure 14-3, and read the descriptions of each group on the list. If you need more information about the group, click the group name to see that group's summary page, which contains the group's contact e-mail, owner information, and member count. From this page, you can also contact the group owner and send him a message requesting a few details about the group.
That's it! You see a confirmation message, as shown in Figure 14-4, and you're taken back to that group's home page. Depending on the requirements for membership, your request may be sent to the group manager for manual approval, instead of getting immediately approved, and if that occurs, you are returned to your Groups page from Step 1. As mentioned before, your request may not be approved depending on the criteria for that group.
After you join a group, you'll probably want to see who's in the group and how the group members are connected to you. After all, the point of these groups is to stay in touch with like-minded individuals and have them be part of your extended network.
To search a group, follow these steps:
Your Groups page appears.
This brings up a search result of the members in the group, sorted by how many degrees they are away from you in your LinkedIn network, as shown in Figure 14-5.
This brings up an Advanced Search Results page, and you can see that the search is automatically limited to members of your group. Now you can scroll down the page and use more of the filters provided as search requirements, such as names, companies, user types, and locations.
Your search is carried out according to the refined search criteria you entered.
When you're ready to create your own group, just follow these steps:
You see your Groups page, with the main section See what's new in your groups and a Create a Group button along the right side of the screen.
This step brings you to the Create a Group page, as shown in Figure 14-6. This is where you input all the information about your newly requested group.
LinkedIn requires a logo. The file format must be PNG, JPEG, or GIF, and the memory size of the logo cannot exceed 100KB. Click the Browse button next to the logo box. In the Choose File dialog box that opens, locate the logo file on your computer so LinkedIn can upload it; then click Open.
“But where do I get a logo?” you might ask. Well, you can design your own logo at sites like www.logoyes.com or www.logoworks.com. If a logo already exists, like for an alumni association, ask one of the administrators for a high-resolution copy of the logo, or save a copy of the logo from the group's personal Web site — as long as you know you have the rights to use that image, of course.
Your logo can't exceed 100KB, so watch that file size as you create your logo.
You have only 300 characters in your group summary, so choose your words wisely.
If you're wondering what to write for your group description, search for similar groups using the search box at the top of the page and read through similar groups in your group type. Then, go back to the Create a Group page and enter your description. (If you check other group descriptions while writing your description, you'll lose whatever you typed.)
At this point, your page should look something like Figure 14-7, where your logos and information are uploaded and ready for review.
If you want your group discussions to be visible to everyone, click the Create an Open Group button. If you want your group discussions to be visible only to members, click the Create a Members-Only Group button. Either way, after you click that button, you're taken to the newly created home page for your new group, and your request is submitted.
You should see your newly created group page, as shown in Figure 14-8. Your new group is ready for members!
After you get your confirmation from LinkedIn that your new group has been created, your next step is to invite members to be a part of this group. This is actually a multi-part process:
You should do this before you send out any invitations.
LinkedIn provides you with a Web page that you can use to generate your invitations.
If so, she automatically becomes a member. If not, you (the group manager) see a member request in the Manage section of your group entry, which you have to manually approve so the person can officially join the group. The person's status shows up as Pending on her My Groups page until you approve her membership request.
The easiest way to build your list of members is to use a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel and create a Comma-Separated Values (CSV) file, which is simply a text file of members and their e-mail addresses. You should definitely have your member list in front of you before starting this process.
When you're ready to build your list of members, just follow these steps:
As you fill in your list, it should begin to look like Figure 14-9.
The Save As window pops up, as shown in Figure 14-10.
This brings up the Pre-approve People page for your group, as shown in Figure 14-11. At first, you're the only member of this new group.
This brings up the Upload a File page, as shown in Figure 14-12.
The next page attempts to determine whether the file was uploaded correctly. You should see your member list uploaded correctly, as shown in Figure 14-13. You have two options:
You're done! Your new members appear on the pre-approved list for this group.
You can always choose the Pre-approve People option and use the form to manually add names at any time.
LinkedIn allows you to send group invitations from the Groups page because the folks at LinkedIn feel that invitations should come from the group owner — namely, you. Here are a few do's and don'ts to keep in mind as you craft your invitation:
You can use any e-mail program to create an invitation to your group, or you can go to the Manage link of your group and click Send Invitations from the navigation options on the left-hand side of the screen. You simply type in the name of your first-degree connections (separated by commas), a Subject line, and a Welcome Message, which can look as simple as this:
After you send out the invitations, as members respond, they're moved from the pre-approved list to the current list of your group, and the small group logo appears on their profiles.
As more and more people find out about your new LinkedIn group, and as members start joining, you may find that some of the people who have clicked the link to join aren't on your pre-approved list. Perhaps they are people you didn't realize were on LinkedIn, or you didn't realize they were valid group members, or they clicked the wrong link and/or they don't belong in your group.
Regardless, you need to go into LinkedIn and either approve or reject people's membership requests so they can be members (or non-members) of your LinkedIn group. When you need to do that, just follow these steps:
By default, you should see your Groups page, although all your group options are just a click away.
This step brings up the list of people waiting to be approved for your group, as shown in Figure 14-15.
You can approve people individually or all at once if you want. You can always select the person's name on the list to read his LinkedIn profile and decide whether he belongs in the group or send him a message through his profile.
You can also click the Decline & Block button if you want to permanently block someone from trying to join the group.
Similar to the approval process, you can decline people one at a time or all at once. (The easiest way to select everyone is to select the empty check box at the top of the list; the one with no name associated with it.) In either case (approval or decline), the user's name disappears from the Request to Join page. Lastly, remember that you can remove someone from the group membership at any time after you initially approved him.
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