LinkedIn Groups - driving the conversation
Companies and brands see the ability to form a ‘community’ for sharing knowledge and learnings as the ultimate achievement. In B2B terms, this often defaults marketing strategists to turn to the platform where business folks spend their time networking online – LinkedIn.
The Field of dreams philosophy of ‘build it and they will come’ unfortunately doesn’t stand up. B2B marketers potentially fall into the false assumption that LinkedIn is different from its social cousins: Twitter and Facebook. LinkedIn is used by many professionals as a utility platform, and unless groups are wrapped as part of a chain of channels and communications, they will fail.
So what are the keys to running a successful LinkedIn group?
Content.
Ensure a steady drumbeat of genuinely useful content that not only informs your desired audience about new innovation, points of view and advice as to how to navigate their industry, also be sure that it provokes the right kind of conversations.
Promotion.
You may be creating fantastic content, but if no-one knows where to find it, it will never be read, and crucially, no-one will ever comment on it or share with their extended networks (which supports the halo effect of attracting new and relevant members to the group).
Ensure you tease out your content out over your other owned channels to your existing and prospective audiences. Use your weekly emails/newsletters, share group content on your Twitter channels. If you run any webinars through the group, publicise the recordings of it. Essentially you need to sweat your assets.
All promotion should link the reader back to the LinkedIn group where they can get access to your full treasure chest of content, as well as interact and share thinking and debate with peers in their field.
Moderation.
Think back to any party, wedding, sporting event or concert you’ve ever been to, they all had one common denominator – someone at the centre of the event guiding the agenda of the day.
Every LinkedIn group needs a credible and relevant conductor to ensure that members remain engaged, motivated and are contributing. Having someone join the group is only the beginning – you need to nurture their interest with the aim that they become an advocate to your group and brand, thus providing real value to members.
Here’s a use guide from LinkedIn to help you make the most out of your LinkedIn group.
Thinkers.
