Webinar 4 of the 30 Day Linking Blitz Mk II - presenter Des Walsh

1. 30 Day Linking Blitz
Webinar 4
How LinkedIn Groups Can Help Your Business
Des Walsh
Business Coach, Social Media Strategist, LinkedIn Specialist
Founder, 30 Day Linking Blitz
LinkedIn profile: http://linkedin.com/in/deswalsh
Social web links: http://xeeme.com/deswalsh
Copyright © Des Walsh & The Webarts Company Pty Ltd 2012-2013

2. Disclaimer
This presentation is for information only, should
not be taken as representing the official views of
LinkedIn and should not be construed as
constituting business or financial advice.
Logos are copyright of the respective companies.

3. In This Webinar
Overview of LinkedIn Groups
Joining and Participating in Groups
Setting up and Managing Your Own Group

4. Millions of Conversations

5. Benefits of Groups - General
Research – current issues: what's hot, what's not
Thought leadership – find leaders, be a leader
Networking – build relationships through sharing
Group members can invite one another to connect
Lead generation
Find jobs

6. Benefits of Groups – Own Group
Build professional reputation
Demonstrate leadership
Make a contribution
Build a stronger network
Build lists

7. It's Not All Rosy
Since groups offer the ability to reach a wide audience
without so easily falling foul of anti-spam solutions,
there is a constant stream of spam postings, and
there now exist a range of firms who offer a
spamming service for this very purpose.
Wikipedia

8. Expanding Universe of Groups
Just over 1.6 million groups
A new group every 1 to 2 minutes*
Many are useless or worse – e.g. no spam control
Some are well run and worth joining
LinkedIn measure of “activity level” of limited value
Whether for joining or starting a group, do your research!
* from monitoring increases over a 24 hour period, Nov 27-28/2012

9. A Group for Every Need

10. JOINING GROUPS
50 Groups maximum – go for gold
All You Can Join? or Selective?
“Groups you may like feature”
Read the Group Rules
Check discussions if you can before joining
Your settings adjustable for each group
Members of groups can invite one another directly to connect

12. Groups You May Like

13. Check Your Settings

14. CREATING YOUR OWN GROUP
Purpose
Research
Setup
Rules
Leading

15. Purpose
Your own purpose
Thought leadership | Brand promotion | Lead generation
List building | Professional community building
A compelling reason or reasons for others to join
Research | Thought leadership | Networking | Lead generation |
Find jobs | Professional community support

17. How Will Your Group Stand Out?
Some suggestions
A subject you know better than others
Promise of a professional, sharing community - Rules
Spam free zone
Part of a wider network/community you lead
Geographic/location focus
Demographic focus – gender, age, economic
Role focus – CEOs, sales managers, solopreneurs
Interest focus – history, travel, SEO, astronomy

18. Research
For Purpose and Name of your group
Keywords
Existing industry or topic groups
If subject already there, can you do it better, differently?
For how it's done
Join groups
Observe what works and what doesn't
Use that to write your manifesto

19. Researching Groups

20. Vary Search Parameters

21. Drill Down

22. Keep Drilling

23. Group Details

24. Does Local Work for You?

25. Setup
Form Group
Open or Closed
Rules
Templates
Logo – 100px x 50 px
Invitations
Leaders/influencers (be daring, aim up!)
LinkedIn connections
People not on LinkedIn
Note: List building – see Denise Wakeman post on this**

26. Open or Closed Group
Or
Start Closed, get group into a smooth operation, then go Open

27. Create Group

28. Setup Details - 1

29. Setup Details - 2

30. Leading
Spam free zone
Set moderation controls
Commit to holding the space for the community
Recruit moderators – (not clones)
Start discussions, ask questions
Comment (no dog in the fight)
Moderate actively
Polls
Send updates (maximum allowed 1 per week)

31. “LinkedIn Groups is the EASIEST way to expand your
LinkedIn network.”
Donna Serdula +
“LinkedIn Groups are a great way to find and network with
professionals. I've created several groups over the years and
really enjoyed learning from others.”
Mike Delgado ++

32. Admin Stuff -1
Notes
* Rate of growth of LinkedIn Groups numbers. This rough estimate of 1-2 new groups a
minute is drawn from a 24 hour observation November 27-28 2012, from 2.04 am UTC
to 2.03 am UTC: number of groups grew from 1,497,136 to 1,498,476 = 1,340 or 55.83
ave per hour (slightly smoothed to allow for a couple of minutes difference in the actual
reading).
** Denise Wakeman post: List Building Tip – Most LinkedIn Group Owners Miss This
http://denisewakeman.com/list-building-tips/list-building-tip-linkedin-groups/
+Donna Serdula quote: http://www.linkedin-makeover.com/2011/09/12/an-easy-way-to-
expand-your-linkedin-network/
++Mike Delgado quote: http://www.linkedin.com/company/linkedin/linkedin-groups-
533541/product
Image credit
Gold panning, Australia 1900 – via Wikimedia Commons: Powerhouse Museum: CC BY-SA
3.0 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gold_panning,_Australia,_1900.jpg

33. Admin Stuff - 2
Crowd image: Besucher der Friedenskundgebung am 22. Juni 1950 22. Juni 1950 (tr.
“Visitors to the Peace Rally”) – Leipzig, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
Group management nuts 'n bolts
http://learn.linkedin.com/group-management/
Webinar recording
Video version to be uploaded to YouTube
Audio version also to be available
Watch email for access details
See/download this slide deck at my Slideshare page http://slideshare.net/des

34. Coming Attraction!
Project Wrapup Webinar

Highlights of 30DLB2 and Building on the Experience

35. Thank you
30 Day Linking Blitz is an online collaborative project where
participants are helped to create and implement their own
plans for a 30 day “blitz” to amplify their presence, reach and
influence on and via the professional networking platform,
LinkedIn. Information at http://deswalsh.com/30-day-linking-
blitz
Des Walsh
Business Coach, Social Media Strategist, LinkedIn Specialist
LinkedIn profile: http://linkedin.com/in/deswalsh
Social web links: http://xeeme.com/deswalsh
Copyright © Des Walsh & The Webarts Company Pty Ltd 2012