LinkedIn Tip #8 - LinkedIn Group Overwhelm

Are you feeling overwhelmed with all the changes that LinkedIn has just launched?

You are not alone!

It can be just a tad daunting when you are not that familiar with LinkedIn to suddenly be faced with the feeling that you have lost all your work. This has prompted me to share some tips to help you adjust to this new platform.

There are two types of groups:

a. Open Groups

b. Closed Groups

Open Groups

You can view the discussion thread before you join the group to see if it is a group you want to join. You are accepted into these groups immediately without having to be approved first. Once you are in an open group, you are free to mix and mingle with the members.

Closed Groups

You cannot view the discussion thread before you join the group. You have to join the group before you can view the discussion thread. Once you click to join a closed group, you then wait for someone in the group to approve you. You can wait weeks for this to happen sometimes, depending on how often the manager of the group checks it. Once you are accepted into the group, you are free to mix and mingle with its members.

LinkedIn will allow you to have up to 5 pending acceptances for the groups. It lets you know with a message when you have reached your limit for the day.

When you are wanting to start your own group on LinkedIn, there are also some things to consider very seriously.

1. If you set your new group up as an open group, you cannot change your mind and switch it to a closed group.

2. If you set your new group up as a closed group, you can always decide later to switch it to an "Open" group. However, remember that once you switch to an open group, you cannot switch it back to a "Closed" group.

As you join groups, remember that you do not need to stay in that group forever. You can join up to 100 groups. You are free to leave groups whenever you wish. Nobody knows when you leave the group, especially if there are more than 25 people in the group.

My suggestion would be to check out the new format for the groups. There is a tutorial that will walk you through some of the basics. I recommend that you take advantage of this short walk-through.

Remember LinkedIn is the most professional platform on the "net". There is none other like it. Everyone on this platform is there to do business.

Treat LinkedIn like you would a live networking group. The members are real people and it takes time to build trust with people. You build the relationships online, and real business gets done offline.

For answers to your LinkedIn questions, feel free to contact me.

Christine Till

The Marketing Mentress

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