One of the most powerful tools that LinkedIn has developed is the Groups function.  By allowing the 60 million+ members on LinkedIn to organize around a specific topic, Groups allow people to find others who have the same interests, ideas, and concerns.  This has in turn created over half a million small, mini-communities on LinkedIn. 

How do you take advantage of this fantastic opportunity to connect with others who have the same interests as you – without being overwhelmed!

1. Join the Right Number of Groups – It’s possible to join up to 50 groups on LinkedIn, but unless you are going to spend all day in front of your computer, it’s better to limit your group membership to 15–18.  Of these, you’ll want to have 3–5 that you participate in daily or weekly, with the rest being Groups that you check in with regularly, if not as often.
2. Join the Right Groups – There are many different reasons to join Groups: you can find prospects or professional connections, stay informed of events in your area, or keep up to date with the advancements in your field.  The groups you join will be determined by your goals on LinkedIn, but I recommend at least 2–3 Groups each from these categories:
   • Geographic Groups – your neighborhood, town, city, or state
   • Alumni Groups – from your previous employers and schools
   • Professional Groups – official industry associations and the like
   • Networking Groups – that are focused on building relationships
3. Join Active Groups – There are over 500,000 LinkedIn Groups because any LinkedIn user can create a Group in about 5 minutes.  That means that many are “spur of the moment” creations that don’t have a lot of activity.  Join Groups that have over 100 members and with discussions posted in the last 2 weeks.  It doesn’t make sense to belong to a moribund Group.
4. Set the Proper Contact Settings – It can be a challenge to continually check each Group you belong to; that’s why the LinkedIn system creates a handy digest of Group activity that it can email to you.  In the Settings section of your Group, you can choose to get this email digest daily or weekly.  Unless you are very involved with the Group, a weekly digest email is enough to keep you connected without your inbox getting clogged.
5. Participate in the Group – With 15–18 Groups, it will be hard to participate regularly in all of them. However, with your 3–5 most important Groups, take the time to start discussions or comment on other’s posts.  It’s also useful (and less time-consuming) to share news articles that might be of interest to others in the Group.  With the bigger Groups (3,000+ members) it might be more useful to observe; be sure to find a few Groups where you can become a recognized participant.

Follow these guidelines to make your LinkedIn Groups an important part your LinkedIn strategy.