LinkedIn Lead Generation Secrets by LinkedIn Speaker Philip Calvert

So, the new look LinkedIn groups are now rolling out. The first version of this new approach has a much better look and feel, following the design of the LinkedIn home page. As hinted at in the announcements, there are still several shortcomings, but which we are told will change over the coming weeks. Your groups are at this link for the time being:    https://www.linkedin.com/groups/my-groups/  but groups that you run are at the BOTTOM of the list! You are now encouraged to use hashtags, which will be great if they appear in searches for your tag, but at the moment they do not. Neither is there a search tool in groups. Members can't yet be flagged as needing their posts moderated, which means considerable extra work for group owners. You can't yet send announcements to all members either, and neither can you send auto-responder messages to new joiners or those that you have declined. The most important feature that's needed, where group posts are visible...

Correct! They have removed the ability to share articles to groups. It’s a shame because it was a quick and easy way to reach your target market with one click. The only way to do it now is to visit each relevant group individually and paste it in… (yawn). Even then, there is a text limit, so copy in the first paragraph of your article and link to the article. LinkedIn are currently revamping groups, with big changes promised over the coming months. Mind you, they’ve been saying that for the last year, and an update this week said exactly the same thing. They are clearly working on groups, because other functionality within them has also been removed. I think it’s a case of ‘watch this space’… If you want to keep right up to date on all things LinkedIn, you should join our private group ‘ LinkedIn Secrets ’ on Facebook. Click here…

A couple of tips in this to help you make more from LinkedIn groups. The theory is fine, but the user experience of LinkedIn groups is quite different. Since they changed the look, feel and layout, engagement in groups has fallen off a cliff. However, I have two groups on LinkedIn - one with around 7,000 members and the other with 24,000 and I continue to invest time in them because it will pay dividends in the long run because of the Community aspect. Good news though, LinkedIn has announced that they will soon be upgrading groups, and one of the key ways they'll be doing that is by posting group content into the home page news feed. Click here to read the short article on Business News Daily...