Why Do People Start Groups on LinkedIn and What Makes Them Work?

"I can't speak for everyone, however, having recently started a new group, I thought I would share my vision for my group and why I think it will be one of the successful LinkedIn groups" states networking strategist, Robyn Henderson.

The Connections, Collaborations and Conversations with Robyn Henderson LinkedIn Group, was in fact launched on August 1, 2020.. One of her favourite quotes is

“To go fast, go alone. To go far, go together” African Proverb

To host a successful LinkedIn group, Robyn believes you have to be very clear on the Why? the What? and the How?

WHY did we start the group?

Having run several online webinars in recent months, Robyn saw the potential for collaborations with a variety of participants. Being mindful of the privacy laws, and not wanting to share the attendee list (without permission), Robyn discussed starting a LinkedIn group to fast track potential networking and collaborations locally, nationally, and globally. And by encouraging members to use the “code “at the start of their message – time poor members will be able to scan the daily or weekly messages and respond to the ones they are interested in.

WHAT we hope to achieve:

·       Regular group discussions.

·        “Ask for Help” – when you have a specific need or request from the group. Would suggest that you start your message with ASK FOR HELP – so that those wishing to share their knowledge can respond to those quickly.

·       “I Have an Idea” – when you want to discuss an idea that you have in a mastermind group or instant Zoom meeting to get some feedback and support for your idea.

·       “I’m Looking for a Potential Ally” – an idea that you have that would grow faster if you had a win/win collaboration or ally to progress/assist the project.

·       “Let’s discuss …………” – and include whatever you want to discuss.

·       “This is Me!” – an opportunity for you to give a 50-60-word description of your business, product, or service. We have deliberately put a word limit on this section. Ideally if the 50-60 words generate interest, the group member/prospect may check out your profile and LinkedIn activity and make contact directly.

·       “Open Mic Opportunities” – when individual group members arrange a small (10-15 people) Zoom or online meeting (with a specific theme or focus) to showcase their offer, product, or service in a 60 second time frame. These may also have a best business tip focus, best book writing idea, the opportunities are endless and can be arranged by individual members.

·       Potential connections and collaborations for like-minded people – ideally as we grow the group membership, we encourage all members to send invitations to individual group members, mentioning the group in your invitation to connect.

·       “Promotion” – when you are promoting an event, product, or your services that members are welcome to support, attend and/or share with their networks.

·       “Online networking events” – these events will be held at a variety of times and days of the week again with a themed focus e.g. health and lifestyle, resiliency, leadership, etc.

HOW are we going to do that?

·       Audio Programs - Mid August Robyn Henderson will be releasing a series of podcasts/audio files where she is asked a question by an industry expert or vice versa. This will be on a variety of subjects and it is Robyn’s intention to have an audio conversation with all members in due course.

·       Webinars - Robyn will also be hosting a series of Ask the Experts webinars, where members can pre-send their questions to be answered on a variety of topics. These webinars will be themed over the next 6 months.

·       Cover social as well as business – Linking like minded people with a common interest can often fast track building trust. To this end, we will have a “What are you reading? What are you watching?” area where people can share what they are doing in their spare time.

·       Build a Community – Decades ago Robyn ran a women’s network in Sydney and is still in contact with many of the old members. Through Connections, Collaborations and Conversations with Robyn Henderson, Robyn knows that she can duplicate the successful face to face networking and collaborations and create opportunities for online networking, collaborations, and strategic alliances and business and career opportunities for all.

·       Encourage members to write articles, blogs, eBooks and share them with the group members. In the ideal networking environment, members reading a group members post/article that they like, will share it with their networks via the current LinkedIn system. Rather than just ‘liking’ a post, it is great to comment on the post and/or share it with your LinkedIn connections.

Where will the members come from?

In August 2020, Robyn will initially invite selected men and women from her LinkedIn connections (14,500+) to join the group and encourage new members to invite others to join the group. Members will also be encouraged to invite their connections to be part of the group and hopefully the group will grow organically.

For the LinkedIn group to succeed - three main things need to happen:

1. Proactive members and lots of interesting contributions. This will result in many members checking into the group every day when they normally do their LinkedIn updates. Group activity is often not included in daily LinkedIn activity, Robyn hopes that the content (both hers and the group members posts) will be interesting enough to drive regular traffic to the group.
2. Facilitating connections and career and business opportunities by the host and the members. What's In It For Me? The old WIIFM radio station - when people can see the results of their LinkedIn activity and can see the point of expanding their connections consistently, there will be a return on effort ROE.
3. Robyn recommends that firstly all members connect with each other by viewing the members profile and sending an invitation to connect. The invitation message would state that they are part of the Connections, Collaborations and Conversations group. Also by participating in the group events - Open Mic Events, the Webinars, Ask the Expert Zoom sessions, etc. more people will get to know who you are, what you do, where you fit in their network and how you can do business with them or someone in their network.

Robyn's final message, "I firmly believe the global pandemic will create opportunities for us all. If we identify LinkedIn as a primary source of career and business opportunities for the next three months and proactively spend 15 minutes per day building quality connections and networking on LinkedIn, the results will be evident. - We can identify that task as a daily income building activity, plus we will be able to measure the results and expand our networks. Being proactive on a group is just like attending a regular networking function. I look forward to welcoming you to the Connections, Collaborations and Conversations with Robyn Henderson LinkedIn Group

Watch this space in 2020.