The 7 most important changes LinkedIn is making to LinkedIn groups

 To offer a better user experience LinkedIn will make changes to its LinkedIn groups. I have listed the most important ones below. The changes will be released over the coming weeks.

1. All groups will be made private

Only group members will be able to see the content and only group members will be allowed to contribute. I think that this is a positive change as groups are meant to offer a setting in which you can discuss things freely with like-minded people. I have never liked the idea that everyone can see how you comment on discussions, so I welcome this change very much.

2.  Groups are either standard or unlisted

If you are a group owner your group will either become standard or unlisted. If you choose unlisted, the group will not show up in search and only the group manager can invite and approve new members. Standard groups will do show up in search and any member can invite their 1st degree connections to join.

 3. Groups will be ‘members-only’ groups

Joining a group will require approval of a group manager or an invitation. For groups that could be joined without approval, a more active role of the group manager is required as people don't want to wait very long for approval. It is expected though that this change will lead to more engaged conversations.

 4. The promotion tab will disappear

 To avoid the level of spam, there will be no longer a promotion tab. Promotional posts will be moderated by the owners, managers and moderators of a group.

There will be no changes to the Job tab. Job listings and job conversations posted to the main conversation feed are automatically moved to the Jobs section.

5. Images can be part of the conversation. 

It will be possible to post images to any new conversation. An exciting change which will definitely make conversations more engaging.

 6. Bring people into the conversation through mentions

You will be able to reference other group members and bring them into a conversation by typing "@" followed by the group member's name. A great new feature as it enables you to make discussions more relevant by bringing in more relevant people.

 7. Better content filtering

 As a lot of groups contained spam and low-quality content, therefore LinkedIn has improved the filtering of content. The aim is to create more relevant discussions.  

What do you think? Will these changes lead to better content and conversations in LinkedIn groups?

About the author

Thanks for reading my blog. I am a marketing communications & social media consultant who helps small and medium sized companies to translate their passion and vision into an (online) communication strategy that results in visibility, impact and new business.

My customers are often internationally focussed and operate mainly B2B. Most of them have a clear vision about their industry, but lack the time or capability to communicate their vision effectively. Please go to www.pr-minded.com for more information, connect with me on Twitter or Facebook, follow me on LinkedIn, or contact me directly via email ([email protected]).