But, they’re not exactly magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s still a lot of best practices that you need to keep in mind to optimize your networking efforts and make the most out of your engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ready?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s dive in.<\/p>\n\n\n
- LinkedIn Groups: A Quick Summary<\/a><\/li>
- Building Your Reputation On LinkedIn Groups<\/a>
- Ask Questions<\/a><\/li>
- Answering Questions<\/a><\/li>
- Give Your Opinion<\/a><\/li>
- Share Links<\/a><\/li>
- Take the Conversation Somewhere Else<\/a><\/li>
- Don’t Self Promote<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Scraping a LinkedIn Group<\/a><\/li>
- Adding Everyone in a LinkedIn Group with a Custom Message<\/a><\/li>
- How About Just Emails?<\/a><\/li>
- Creating Your Own LinkedIn Group<\/a>
- Why Create Your Own Group?<\/a><\/li>
- How To Create a LinkedIn Group<\/a><\/li>
- Growing Your LinkedIn Group<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Takeaways<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
LinkedIn Groups: A Quick Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
LinkedIn Groups are a goldmine of targeted leads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think about it. You don’t have to go around trying to compile a list of like-minded individuals that you have to individually segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are groups that cover everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Golf-Groups.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/seo-groups.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nJust pick out a subject matter and check if a group caters to it. (And, if it doesn’t you can even start your own group!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s another plus factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone in a LinkedIn Group is there to connect, engage and learn more from each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, this means it’s already ripe for networking opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Groups are also a great platform to promote yourself as a thought leader through careful reputation management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember, every time you engage with someone in a group, it’s not just the person who sees your post or comments, other people see it, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can easily build your reputation over time and turn your group attendance into a passive lead generation machine on your profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Groups can be used by brands to cater to their customer’s questions, build a community, help and support each other, and nurture leads through the pipeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you’re looking for a place to talk to people who speak “your language” there’s definitely a group for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, and did we mention that it’s also a good place to look for new team members?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Building Your Reputation On LinkedIn Groups<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Leveraging groups is all about your reputation management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are a couple of best practices to properly network with a LinkedIn group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask Questions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Asking questions helps in three ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Mainly, it gives you answers that you need, provided that you’re asking the right questions.<\/li>
- It helps drive discussion, you want to be one of the people who contributes to the growth and engagement of the group.<\/li>
- It provides an avenue for you to engage with other people, you’ll find that the group’s thought leaders will have the best answers. If you’re looking at connecting with them, this is the best way to get one foot through the door.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
However, be warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People on LinkedIn are smart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You don’t want to engage in blatant self-promotion, ask questions that aren’t relevant, or worse, ask ones that sound scripted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Answering Questions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Make sure you join groups that you have a clear interest in. This way, answering other people’s questions becomes easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aim to answer questions as clearly and concisely as possible. You don’t want to wrap up the entire potential for engagement by writing an essay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While you’re at it, try to mention other people in the thread. People like it when they’re mentioned, it also builds you up as someone who’s open enough to engage with other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think of it as sharing the credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only do you enhance your own reputation but you get to build rapport with strangers at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Give Your Opinion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes people don’t want the answers, but instead are looking for opinions on certain matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the reason why forums such as Reddit and Quora have gained a lot of momentum in the digital world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Giving people your own personal opinion makes you more relatable with your posts or comments. It gives people something that they can resonate with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, be careful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the opinion is too personal or if it involves something people feel too strongly about, make sure you temper your emotions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When in doubt, use your professional opinion<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Share Links<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
No, we don’t mean links to your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s unless, you really, really, <\/em>have to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we say share links, share links to other content that could spark the interest of other people in the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Promoting links to your site or your content is great on your own profile, but on groups, it could come off as self-promotion and that’s frequently frowned upon. On the positive side, if you share other people’s links you come off as someone who’s in the group to help instead of “be helped.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Links and articles are a great way to get the conversation going, you can ask for people’s opinions or even share something that’s relatable to the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take the Conversation Somewhere Else<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Passive lead generation and leveraging your reputation to gain passive leads is great, but the meat is in directly communicating with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your goal is simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take the conversation somewhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Say, you’ve actively engaged with someone and they look they could need some more help or would be a perfect lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, it’s probably time to connect with that person directly on LinkedIn and send them a quick message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, here’s what.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You don’t want to start selling to them immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has to be kept as organic as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chat with them and continue the conversation on LinkedIn’s messaging platform, then slowly bring them in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don’t attempt to convert everyone you talk to a client. Sometimes the next person you connect with could become a friend, a partner, or even a part of your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You also don’t want to come off as an overzealous salesperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don’t Self Promote<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Do you like pushy salesmen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neither do the people on LinkedIn and the groups you’re in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You want to avoid self-promotion or actively touting your brand when you engage with other people. It comes off as pushy, sneaky, and ingenuine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s a general rule: don’t mention your brand or company, unless you absolutely have to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If people love the stuff you’re saying, won’t they visit your profile and check out who you represent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scraping a LinkedIn Group<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Growth hackers can also opt to grab all of the group members’ details and send them personal messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, we personally do not like this approach because it doesn’t allow you to personalize your outreach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You want to be able to customize the message you send out to anyone. It’s relatable and resonates well with the people that you are targeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Plus, who likes receiving a generalized message?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only does it seem spammy, but you also run the risk of getting kicked out of the LinkedIn group that you’re in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Important Note: Neither, I, nor the team at BAMF Media condone the use of scraping. This is merely an educational exercise to show readers how it is done.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
If you do want to go ahead and scrape a list of members of the group with some of their, for let’s say: list building in the future. You could use an app like Phantombuster to help you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Phantombuster is basically automation software that allows you to run a bunch of scripts on your LinkedIn account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All you have to do is to create an account on their platform and search for the LinkedIn Group Members phantom. (They’ve got other great automation as well on other platforms.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note: Make sure you download their Chrome extension<\/a> first so that the platform can easily retrieve your session cookies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-extension-1024x311.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOnce you’ve got that sorted out, look for the Phantom called “LinkedIn Group Members”. Click on “Use this Phantom”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Group-Members-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThis will take you to a new page where you can connect the platform to your LinkedIn account – provided that you’ve downloaded their extension beforehand. Hit “Save”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Group-Members-2-1024x463.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPlace in the URL of the LinkedIn group, you can also put in the URL of a spreadsheet on Google Drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Group-Members-3-1024x467.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou can go ahead and customize the behavior of the tool. Remember, this tool can only work on 2,500 members of the group. You won’t be able to grab everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LinkedIn is also adamant about blocking out bots, so be careful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Group-Members-4-1024x479.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFinish up with your launch settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Group-Members-5-1024x472.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOnce you click on “Save”, it will take you to a new window where you can just simply hit “Launch” for the phantom to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Group-Members-6-1024x243.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOnce it’s done, you’ll get a CSV file with all your results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sheet will have some basic details about the profiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Group-Members-7-1024x435.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAgain, we don’t condone this method, but it’s here if you want to take a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adding Everyone in a LinkedIn Group with a Custom Message<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The platform also has options for you to add everyone to a LinkedIn group and send them a quick message at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Network-Booster-1-1024x343.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOnce you click on the phantom, you will need to connect Phantombuster to LinkedIn so it can grab your session cookie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Network-Booster-2-1024x458.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNext up is uploading the list of profile URLs you want to invite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Network-Booster-3-1024x450.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThen you will be taken to the next step which is your message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get a custom message in here and there are even options for you to automate the custom fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Network-Booster-4-1024x369.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAgain, you have another behavior screen, this will allow you to tweak the way Phantombuster interacts with the LinkedIn profiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Network-Booster-5-1024x512.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNow, we’re all familiar with email discovery services and the platform has some of the more popular tools integrated within itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They use Dropcontact, Hunter.io, and Snov.io. However, it will come at an additional cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Network-Booster-6.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTweak your last settings, and save.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Network-Booster-7.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIt will take you back to the same screen we showed you earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-Network-Booster-8.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNow all you have to do is click “Launch”, give it some time, and you’ll have sent your network requests and custom messages!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How About Just Emails?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
As we mentioned earlier, BAMF doesn’t really condone scraping. There are however a number of tools you can use by simply taking advantage of the full names of your contacts, or – if you use Phantombuster – their Linked profile URLs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will find an option in their featured phantoms on the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Phantombuster-LinkedIn-profile-Scraper-1-1024x377.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCreating Your Own LinkedIn Group<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
LinkedIn also offers you the chance to create your own group so that you have control over the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Create Your Own Group?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
There are plenty of reasons to consider making your own LinkedIn group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Interacting with your customers – if you have an existing product or a group of customers you want to engage with, you can invite them all into a LinkedIn group. This will with customer retention and it has the potential to increase LTV.<\/li>
- Dominating a specific niche – if you find a niche that has no group yet, then it would make sense to create your own and start growing it.<\/li>
- Sharing ideas – do you have something great to contribute in a particular subject matter and want to control the conversation, then this is the way to go.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The list goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How To Create a LinkedIn Group<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Log in to the platform and click on the “Work” icon, once you’re done, click on “Groups.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/LinkedIn-Groups-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
- How To Create a LinkedIn Group<\/a><\/li>
- Answering Questions<\/a><\/li>
- Building Your Reputation On LinkedIn Groups<\/a>
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/LinkedIn-Groups-2-1024x419.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/LinkedIn-Groups-3.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/LinkedIn-Groups-4.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/LinkedIn-Groups-5.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n