In recent years, LinkedIn Groups has become a popular channel for business professionals interested in networking with industry peers and reaching new customers. There are currently over two million active groups on LinkedIn, and an estimated 42% of users feel that Groups are the most valuable feature on the popular professional network. If you aren’t currently participating in LinkedIn Groups for your business, you could be missing out on some important networking and lead generation opportunities. Here are the top three reasons why you should start using the LinkedIn Groups feature as a marketing tool for your company.
Positioning your company as an industry leader
There’s something to be said for being viewed as an industry leader. Whether you’re regularly sharing your own content on LinkedIn Groups or simply adding to the discussion with insightful commentary, you’re improving the visibility of your company. This is beneficial for a couple different reasons. The most obvious is that you’re raising awareness about your brand as other group members are exposed to your name and your company on a regular basis. It’s also worth noting that regular contributions can help you position your company as an expert resource in your industry. If you’re constantly sharing valuable and insightful content, others will begin to view you as a thought leader in your field. This can have positive implications for both your career and your company’s performance as a whole.
Increasing traffic to your business website
If you’ve never used LinkedIn Groups, here’s a brief overview of how they’re structured. Each LinkedIn Group features a series of tabs for users to explore. You can choose to take various actions, such as participating in group discussions, reviewing job listings, viewing the profiles of other group members, or searching for interesting information among uploaded files. There is also a promotions tab where group members have the opportunity to share content that’s linked back to their company websites. If you’re interested in giving your company website’s traffic a boost, regular contributions that link back to your site in the promotions section of your LinkedIn Groups can help you accomplish this goal. The benefits here are two-fold. Not only is your site obtaining valuable traffic from other industry professionals, you’re also improving your backlink portfolio which can help give your company a much-needed boost in search engine rankings.
Generating new opportunities for your company
Whether your company is interested in marketing to other business (B2B) or reaching individual customers, LinkedIn Groups can help you engage with the right audience to generate new leads for your business. Industry-specific LinkedIn Groups provide an effective channel for networking with other likeminded individuals, and growing your professional network can help you in several ways. Opportunities like business leads, referrals, potential partnerships, and speaking engagements will likely come out of expanding your network via LinkedIn Groups.
If you have a LinkedIn profile but haven’t begun exploring their Groups feature, you could be missing out on some key business opportunities. LinkedIn Groups is one of the most valued features of the network, and business professionals that engage regularly are reaping the benefits. Whether you’re interested in positioning your business as a leader in your industry, increasing traffic to your company website, generating new leads, getting referrals or exploring potential partnerships, active participation in LinkedIn Groups can help you achieve your professional goals. To learn more about how LinkedIn Groups and other social media tools can benefit your business, contact us today to arrange for a personalized digital media marketing consultation.