After a year of uncertainty and lack of social interaction we’ve seen countless companies accelerate the digitalisation of their internal operations, as working from home has become the new norm. We’ve become globally starved of in-person communication and the importance of keeping connected virtually has never been greater. Whether it be for business or pleasure, talking about shared interests with one another will continue to be a crucial part of 2021, which is why LinkedIn’s introduction of the Groups Discussions option has arrived at the perfect moment.

This great feature allows you to have conversations with up to 50 members, share content, job postings, make connections and more, which will undoubtedly encourage some much-needed interaction.

To help you get to grips with all it has to offer we’ve outlined some key Group Discussion features you can utilise:

Creating your group 

When creating your group it’s important to have a clear and relevant choice of conversation, this ensures members stay on topic and have genuine care and interest in the concepts being discussed but before committing to creating a group you should ask yourself:

• What are your goals for the group?
• What topics of conversation do you want to cover?
• What commonly asked questions and topics can you expect customers to raise?

You can always edit your group information to include keywords and phrases that potential members are likely to search for. So, if you feel ready to create your group it couldn’t be easier. Simply navigate to your LinkedIn groups icon and click ‘Create Group’ or follow this link if you’re already logged in: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/create

Create a sense of community

Once done it’s important to use LinkedIn to its full potential. It’s a great platform for bringing together people from all walks of life and connecting with former colleagues, friends, alumni and new people in the same industry. You can create a diverse network that can offer differing perspectives, insights, tips and questions. It’s a good idea to encourage fellow group members to invite like-minded people from their network to help expand the group.

You are also able to keep your group members up to date with the latest activities and goings-on, as LinkedIn sends a daily or weekly digest. This helps keep users engaged and in the loop even if they don’t check LinkedIn religiously.

Interact

It’s important to be as interactive as possible to ensure you’re connecting with the other group members. This is a chance to talk shop and like the conversations that feel relevant to you. By liking posts, you are showing your interest in that topic and it may encourage more engagement from other group members. 

It’s also important to comment on conversations to showcase your views, profile and create a sense of character. You can even reply privately to the group members to start up a conversation and chase potential leads, as it can feel more organic originating from a group setting with shared interests.

Report the post or comment 

Another crucial aspect to remember with the LinkedIn Group Discussion is the importance of keeping the conversation and group spam-free. This means the focus remains on building genuine connections. This can be maintained by reporting posts or comments that aren’t relevant or are inappropriate. This will notify the group’s administrator who can review and access the issue before taking further action and creates a much nicer environment for all.

There’s no doubt this LinkedIn feature has the potential to encourage well-run groups with users from similar fields and it’s a great way to utilise a platform that allows you to reach and connect with other professionals.