It’s hard to believe that LinkedIn was founded 17 years ago this month – but it’s true! Created at the end of 2002 and launched by May of 2003, the social networking platform was designed for business professionals to connect with each other. But, it needs no introduction, by today’s standards. Today, it has over 630 million registered members spanning 200 countries.
Unlike other social media sites, LinkedIn is dedicated to helping businesspeople grow their professional connections. This is what makes LinkedIn groups such important parts of business growth in today’s world.
What are LinkedIn Groups?
LinkedIn Groups are designed for members of the platform to join and discuss similar business interests. Groups are to function as channels where like-minded professionals share content to others who may find it valuable. It’s all about building quality interactions to grow your brand image and personal reputation as an industry expert. Groups are not meant for businesspeople to simply blast advertising materials.
As Dara Fontein explains on Hootsuite.com, having an active LinkedIn Group will help you connect with your customers. “In building a LinkedIn Group, a brand creates a forum for their customers and audience to connect,” she explains, “This allows companies to reach a targeted audience of industry professionals and establish authentic relationships with these people.”
John is part of Advertising & Marketing Industry Professionals.
In April of 2013, MeloTel’s Founder and CEO, John Meloche joined the LinkedIn Group known as Advertising & Marketing Industry Professionals. It is a group for professionals who work in advertising, marketing and communications. The goal of the group is to encourage discussion of topics including Advertising Strategy, CMO Strategy, Digital Marketing, Communications, Social Media, Mobile, Email, Video, Analytics, PR and more.
There are five group rules that are meant to keep the group interesting and active. They are as follows:
1) Keep all discussions related to marketing and advertising, communications, PR, social media, etc.
2) All job postings must be in the job sections.
3) No commercial promotions or surveys are allowed in the group.
4) Do not repeatedly post your own content with no intent to start or engage in a conversation with the group.
5) Keep the community in mind – Be nice to each other.
“In general, if you are posting something without the intention of starting a discussion, it will be removed,” warns the group’s page, “This includes links to outside stories posted without comment.”
This LinkedIn Group encourages conversations and interactions.
As a result, the Advertising & Marketing Industry Professionals LinkedIn Group makes for an excellent place for John to engage with other industry pros, gaining new ideas while being able to share his own. It has worked wonders in helping John to grow MeloTel’s brand image.
As Fontein points out, “sharing relevant content is also a way to drive more visitors and prospects to your website. These individuals are in a LinkedIn Group relevant to your business, which makes them extremely valuable as potential leads.”
Would you like to join Advertising & Marketing Industry Professionals? For more information, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-888-MELOTEL or use the Live Chat feature on our website!
