I’m frequently asked, “Gina, how do I get people to participate in my Linkedin group?”
It is a common frustration among group owners and managers. You spend time creating a Linkedin group. You invite your associates to join you. In the beginning, you have a flury of activity and it looks like you have created a terrific “online clubhouse” for your community to discuss common goals and issues.
After a few weeks, the activity dwindles and despite your efforts, you just can’t seem to get people talking and interacting the way you had envisioned. You get frustrated.
Although there are no magic bullets for increasing participation in your Linkedin group, here are a few ideas to spur participation.
1. Make participation easy for members. Ask questions that can be answered easily. Use fill in the blank questions like this: “The worst mistake I see sales people making is ___________.” Occasionally use the Poll feature. It gives people an easy way to provide input.
2. Encourage members to post their own articles and questions that are related to the group’s mission. They can also post related articles that were written by others. – OPC – Other People’s Content. Feature some of these as “Manager’s Choice.”
3. Feature a member as “Member of the Month (or Week).” Tell the group a little about that person and why it would be beneficial for group members to know him or her.
4. When members post articles and questions, be sure to thank them and to comment on that article. In addition to a public thank you, a private LI message will let them know that you appreciate them and might encourage them to post again.
5. Have a Member Promotion Day once a week. On a specific day each week, host an “It’s All About Me” or “The World Revolves Around Me” day. Encourage members to promote themselves, their blogs, their events – anything they want. Another variation might be “What Can We Do To Help You?” day.
6. Remind people to go to the group in your other marketing channels – Facebook, blog, twittter. Give them a reason to do so – post your questions, give us your input, join the discussion, etc.
7. Host a contest related to your mission. It can be as simple as “Question of the Week” where you recognize the best question that someone has posted. People love to win anything. Be creative and think of some good contests that relate to current events or special occasions.
8. Welcome new members publicly. Invite new members to introduce themselves to the group. Allow them to give a brief “elevator speech” and share links to their blog, website, and other social media networks.
9. Ask for recommendations about products and services that people in your group use. This shows that you value their opinions and seek their guidance.
10. Encourage group members to give testimonials to other group members. That is powerful word-of-mouth endorsement. People often would like to do this but don’t know if it is appropriate. Teach by doing. Others will follow.
Look at the Marketing Over Coffee group as a model. They do a great job of fostering interaction among the members. They also do a terrific job of promoting it each week on their very popular weekly podcast, Marketing Over Coffee.
I manage a group called Communicate with Confidence® with Dianna Booher. I invite you to join if you are interested in how communication affects organizational performance, marketing results, and business relationships.
I’d love to get your ideas about how to engage members of a Linkedin group. I’d also love to see links to groups that are doing a great job with this. Feel free to post links to your own groups and tell us about them. Please post in the comments below.
Related Articles:
Best Practices for Linkedin Group Management by Janet Fouts
LinkedIn Group Guidelines or Rules of Engagement
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Gina Carr is an Entrepreneur, Speaker and Marketing Consultant who works with entrepreneurs and thought leaders to leverage social media marketing for publicity, profits and success. Combining her street-smarts learned as a publisher and small business owner with her book-smarts learned at the Harvard Business School (MBA 1990) and Georgia Tech (BIE 1984), Gina helps business owners turn great ideas into profitable money-making machines. Known around the world as The Tribe Builder, Gina helps passionate people build powerful tribes of raving fans for their business or non-profit organization. Get connected with Gina at www.tribebuildingtips.com and www.ginacarr.com .
Gina Carr
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