Let’s be realistic here, the majority of us have a busy schedule. Even reading this article is taking up a few minutes of your day and you are probably skimming through it. I usually try to see how I can be more productive by maximizing my results in the least amount of time. I have started to apply a new strategy to increase my engagement on LinkedIn group discussions without consuming most of my networking time. This strategy has increased my profile visibility by 11% in one week; thus expanding my network. Now I can better commit my time to developing branding and powerful resumes for my clients while networking in an efficient way. I would like to share these tips with you, so that you can also participate in LinkedIn group discussions in the least amount of time.
Set Group Email Notifications on LinkedIn
Set the frequency of group digest emails under the groups tab in your LinkedIn settings to either daily or weekly. This way, LinkedIn will notify you of the trending topics and group discussions happening in your groups, as opposed to having to log into LinkedIn, entering every group to which you belong, and reading the discussions to see where you can add valuable insight. Also, doing this will show you which groups are more active and which ones you can probably opt out of.
Select Topics of Discussion
Now that you can see the discussion topics occurring in your LinkedIn groups, you can choose which ones you would like to post a comment. To quickly detect the number of comments each discussion has, you can look at the bottom of your email notifications, as it sometimes shows the number of comments the post has.
A good rule of thumb I like to follow is that if a group post already has 15 or more comments, depending on the substance of the previous comments, I will more than likely not post, as my comment will probably be overlooked. I definitely do not post on group discussions with 50 or more comments. Instead, I take time to post valuable insight on group discussions with around 10 comments, the less the better.
Ideally, your comment would occupy three lines, so that viewers do not have to click on the show more option to read more of your message. Normally, I write more than three lines, because sometimes to convey a point, you need to provide examples of your statement. I think this adds more value to your comment.
Once you select the discussions that interest you, click on the URL that leads you to the actual LinkedIn group page. Out of respect for the group members and your time, read a few of the previous comments to ensure you provide new insight and information, as opposed to repeating what a previous member said. Also, this will enhance the quality of the group for the network itself and you will be seen as a valuable contributor.
Increased Visibility
The comments and likes you make will appear under your profile page’s updates; thus, your connections will see the information you have shared with your groups. This increases your credibility within your trade, which in turn attracts people to view your profile and results in a higher profile view ranking and visibility.
Being strategic about your group engagement will yield greater results, as more people will view your comments, even those outside your network. These comments and discussions can lead to a personal dialogue through the group’s private messaging system, which you would not be able to develop with second or third degree contacts. Once you have incorporated this networking practice into a regular routine, you can start adding more ways of networking.
If you were able to read through this article, then get ready to increase your profile visibility with quality connections in less time than it would probably take you. Start with engaging more on your LinkedIn groups. If you are not a member of any group, then search for groups within your topics of interest and set the notification settings you prefer. I suggest starting with 5 groups and engage in one of them per day to start seeing how your profile begins to rank higher in no time.
