LinkedIn Discussion Fundamentals for the Building Industry Professional:

                                   …How to properly post a discussion in a LinkedIn Group.

By: Heather A. Marchand, NADRA National Program Coordinator

So you have a LinkedIn company profile? Nice work! But now you want to let everyone know about everything you’re doing … all    the    time.

Here is why this isn’t helping you:

LinkedIn groups have management settings that do one of two things:

1. The group moderator accepts all new discussions without approval, or
2. The group moderator controls which new discussions are accepted, or posted in the “promotion” section.

If you post to a group that automatically accepts new discussions, your discussion is approved right away and an email is distributed automatically to all group members.

You’re trying to reach building industry pros, correct? So, you are posting the very same discussion on 3-10 different groups within your industry that many times have the same group members or at a minimum 50-75% of the same members. Most group moderators choose option 1; so new discussions are distributed automatically. Do you know what this means? … It means that our inbox is filled with 3-10 emails of the same notice about your same discussion promoting your product, service, sales pitch. Now that we’ve been spammed with your message, we don’t even want to read what you posted… and so we don’t.

Posting the same discussion in all of your LinkedIn Groups is not the right approach.

So how should you use LinkedIn Groups for marketing?

Well, a discussion is just that, a discussion! 

            Dis-cus-sion

            Noun

• The action or process of talking about something, typically in order to reach a decision or to exchange ideas.
• A conversation or debate about a certain topic.

Start by sharing something we want to read and reply to. We use LinkedIn for professional networking & development; so say something we care about or want to learn about.

Here are a few easy tips to follow to get the most out of your

LinkedIn experience:

1. Connect with the companies you purchase from or sell to. Make alliances.
2. Join a group(s) that is relevant to your industry.
• LinkedIn will offer you suggestions for groups based on your connections. You can also perform a search. Once you find a group you want to be part of, you will be prompted to fill out an application to join the group. Some group settings allow you to automatically join, and some require approval.
• Example: Here is the link to NADRA’s Group: Join Now. Once you request to join it will go through an approval process and you will receive a notification once you have been accepted.
3. Engage in the right discussions!
• If you have a blog, share your stories on LinkedIn. But don’t post it to the same 5 groups on the very same day. Switch up the stories and give it some time.
• Ask questions & stir up conversation! (Try not to be controversial)
4. If you are running a contest on another social channel, share your link and tell your LinkedIn connections what you are giving away.
5. Show your value. Take time to reply to other discussions and offer your insight – but do it without a commercial! Don’t try to sell yourself or your product… just be helpful and it will sell itself.
6. If you are launching a new service or product, and you just want to scream it to the virtual world… by all means, go for it! But this time, try to offer a reward or incentive to your connections for sharing your news! It’s easy and makes it fun for your followers.
7. Lastly, reach out to the groups you want to share news with. Chances are, they WANT to share your stories, news, events and contests… most companies are begging for stories to post, especially via social media! Do it in a professional manor. Send them a private message and ask how you can work more closely together. You wouldn’t hound the company in person, would you? … So don’t do it online.

Follow a few of these guidelines & nobody will be saying, “Not this guy again!”