How to Join a Group on LinkedIn

Groups are powerful.

Belonging to a group is a basic human desire. It is a person’s way of connecting with people who share the same interests and experiences.

From a business perspective, being part of a group is a great way to get involved with like minded people but it’s also a key way to get in touch with your target market to find out what they want and what their pain points are.

On many popular social media sites today, it is possible to join groups. Facebook has groups. LinkedIn has groups. Each operates slightly differently.

LinkedIn, for instance, allows users to create groups and join groups to give and provide support mainly in the context of business. It’s a forum where members of a group can share what they know with the other members of the community plus also get their own questions answered.

LinkedIn users have varied choices in terms of joining groups. Groups on LinkedIn tend to be composed of professionals, business owners and top executives.

There are many groups already in existence on LinkedIn and you are free to choose to join several groups that fit your field of expertise and those in line with your interests.

How to Join a Group on LinkedIn
To become a member of a group, first go to Groups on the topmost bar of your LinkedIn profile page. It’s the fourth item from the left.

A dropdown menu will then appear and you can choose to go directly to Groups You May Like or Groups Directory.

To find groups that match your area of expertise, you can go to Groups You May Like. These are already recommended for you.

But if you’d like to join other groups outside of your main area of interest, you can go to Groups Directory.

Here, you will find lists of groups in mixed categories from alumni groups, non-profit organizations, special interest groups and business groups.
When you have decided on a particular group, just click the Join Group button.

You will immediately be brought to the page and get a confirmation that you have successfully become a member of the group.

For some groups, however, you will have to wait for an approval from the manager before being accepted as a member.

What happens when you are member of a LinkedIn Group?
Moving forward, you will receive notifications in your inbox when there are new discussion topics within the group.

As a member, you can join in the discussions by commenting or sharing information that might help other members.

LinkedIn users also have the capability of following influential people in their groups. They can browse previews of the latest comments in a discussion, find interesting topics and view the people who liked and commented on a discussion.

Who can see discussions in a Group?
Note that membership and discussions on LinkedIn are strictly confined within the group.

Non-members cannot see the activities that take place among members unless they join a group.

How to Adjust Your Group Notification Settings
With regards to discussion, activities and announcements, you can also easily adjust your settings.

Choose the email address you’d like to use when receiving notifications and decide if you want to receive an email for each new group discussion, a digest of activities in the group, announcements from the group manager or email from the other members.

Save your settings when done.

It pays to be part of a group on social media sites.

It not only boosts your credibility but it also helps with connecting with those online.

Wendy Moore is the founder of www.savvywebwomen.com and creator of the Savvy List Building Blog