Creating a powerful LinkedIn profile is just not enough, you need to interact with members with similar interests and also market yourself. Confused how do you do it? Cheryl Rodrigues from our social media team will tell you how to promote yourself on the platform by following these best practices to participate in LinkedIn groups discussions!

1. How to Respond to LinkedIn Group Discussions?

2. LinkedIn Groups

3. LinkedIn Groups provide a place for professionals in the same industry or with similar interests to share content, find answers, post and view jobs, make business contacts, and establish themselves as industry experts
LinkedIn members are currently sharing insights and knowledge in more than 2.1 million LinkedIn groups
LinkedIn permits you to be a member of 50 groups at one time
What are LinkedIn Groups?

4. Building aLinkedIn grouparound a specific cause or niche topic can provide many business benefits:
•Build more awarenesswith your target markets
•Position you and/or your company as an industry thought leader
•Nurture valuable industry relationships
•Showcase and highlight your own thought leadership content
•Generate interest and inquiries for your company
•Convert group members to subscribers and advocates for your brand
Importance of a LinkedIn Group

5. Features of a LinkedIn Group
Members-TheMemberstab provides you with the list of the current members of the group. You can also get the list of the members of the group by clicking the number of members located on the far right of the group's name on the Discussionstab

6. Leave-On the Discussions page, move your cursor over the greyMemberbutton near the top right of the page. The button name will change when your cursor is over the button. Click Leaveand then clickLeaveagain to confirm.
‘i’ tab-Items formerly located under the ‘i’ tab include group owner, group profile, group rules and group statistics. To view these, click theinfo icon near the top right of the discussions tab. Once you click on the icon, you can click on any one of the highlighted links in the black box to view further details.

7. Share –You can share a LinkedIn group to your network. Just click the’Share icon’ located on the far right of the group's name near the top of theDiscussionstab.

8. Attach a Link-In theStart a discussion...box, type in your heading and discussion details. In theAdd more detailsbox, type or paste the URL to the link you want to share and add a space at the end. This will add the link below the text box. Posting Jobs or Promotions-You can now post job discussions and promotions from the ‘Start a discussion...’box on theDiscussionstab. When you post your discussion, selectJob orPromotionnext toDiscussion typebelow the start a discussion boxes before you click Share. You'll need to enter text in both boxes to share a discussion

9. Flag or Delete-To delete a discussion you've started or flag a post as a job/promotion, click on the title of the discussion to access the discussion then move your cursor over the discussion box. Click thedown arrow that appears in the right corner and selectDelete,Flag as a Promotion, orFlag as a Job.

10. You can find and join LinkedIn groups either by searching for groups from the’Groups You May Like’
page or the ‘Search’field at the top of your homepage.
How to Find LinkedIn Groups

11. In the search box at the top of any page, selectGroupsfrom the dropdown list on the left
•Type in the keywords (that would be a natural fit for you) or group name to search. On the search results page, you can refine your search using the advanced search checkboxes on the left

12. Move your cursor overInterestsat the top of your homepage and select’Groups’
•Select the ‘Find a group’option on the right side of the page

13. Once you find the group you are interested in, there are two ways by which you can join a group :
•Click’Join’on the group discussions page or anywhere you see the button
•Respond to an invitation from a group member or manager
How to Join a LinkedIn Group

14. What LinkedIn Groups Should You Join?
There are literally thousands of groups you can choose from. Depending on your goals, you can be very strategic and selective (only joining groups you will actually do stuff in) or all inclusive (joining every group that is remotely related to your work or interests)
If you want traffic back to your website, for example, make sure the group allows people to post links in the discussions. If you want to build authority, make sure the discussions in the group have lots of comments as it shows people are actively discussing topics and not posting promotions or advertisements

15. LinkedIn Group Discussions

16. A LinkedIn discussion is in essence a conversation between a group of people identical to those in a physical environment.
What is a LinkedIn Group Discussion?

17. Connection/Networking: By participating in group discussions, sharing your knowledge on your topic and establishing awareness about your business, you are creating opportunities to network with others in your industry or others whose skills will complement your business endeavors
Job Opportunities: Members post job opportunities within groups. Participating in group discussions helps you get noticed thus increasing your chances of new opportunities
Blog Inspiration: Reading over the pain points of others, or hearing about a really interesting tool or tip can be an inspiration for a blog post
Inbound Marketing: Sharing your views on the discussions is another way to increase some traffic to your profile thus helping increase the visibility of your blog, your website or your social media networks
Importance Of LinkedIn Group Discussions

18. How to Initiate a Discussion in a LinkedIn Group?

19. You start a discussion in the group ( open or closed) you most identify by following the steps stated below:
Enter your topic or question in the "Start a discussion or share something with the group" box (required). There is a character limit of 200 characters in the start a discussion box
Enter details in the "Add more details" box or add a link to a website by typing in the URL and pressing the space bar on your keyboard. There is a character limit of 4000 characters for the add more details
ClickShare

20. How to Participate in a LinkedIn Discussion?

21. Once you are a part of a group and identify with a discussion, you can participate in a discussion by the following methods:
Like:Clicking the’Like’link under a discussion is a way to indicate that you find the discussion interesting. The group and your followers in the group will get an update after you clickLike. However, clickingLikedoesn't mean you'll be following the discussion, and you won't automatically get updates when someone comments on it.
Member of a Group

22. Comment:To post your views on a discussion, move your cursor over the discussion you want to participate in and click on the Comment link displayed below the initial discussion. Enter your comment in the ‘Add you comment’ box. There is a character limit of 4,000 for a comment. If you wish to receive an email for each new comment, check the box below your comment.
Follow:Following a specific discussion in a group allows you to be notified when new comments are made in the discussion. To follow a discussion, move your cursor over the discussion you want to follow and click on the ‘Follow’link displayed under the initial discussion.

23. Reply Privately:The ‘Reply Privately’ link is used if you want to address a specific commenter directly. This link is only visible to the person initiating a discussion.
Flag as inappropriate:You can flag a group discussion as inappropriate by opening the discussion and clicking on the ‘Flag as inappropriate ‘ link below the discussion to notify the group manager that an item might be inappropriate, or that it may need to be moved to the Jobs or Promotions tab. To flag a comment in a group discussion, move your cursor over a comment and click’Flag as inappropriate’under a comment.

24. The options for how non-members can participate in open groups are controlled by the group owners or managers.
Their options include:
Free to post comments, and submit discussions for approval
Submit both comments and discussions for approval
Submit comments for approval only (no discussions allowed)
No contributions allowed
Non-Members of an Open Group

25. Quickly locate a particular discussion/s on a specific topic using search options on the ‘Search’ tab that will allow you to narrow your search by:
Latest Activity
All Discussions
All Polls
Manager’s Choice
Discussions You’ve Started
Discussions You’ve Joined
Discussions You’re Following
Pending Submissions
Track the discussions

26. Best Practices for LinkedIn Discussions
Make sure your posts are relevant to the interests and intent of the group
Ask for members' input on a topic or article that you share to initiate a conversation
If you find yourself disagreeing in a discussion, remember to keep conversations respectful
Avoid postings that may be seen as self-promotion
The best way to promote yourself in groups is by providing value to conversation topics with relevant information
If you're sharing a link or article, provide context on its relevance to the group
If you have a job or promotion to post in groups, post them under the right tabs or check the group rules to see if they're allowed within the main discussion area

27. Thank You!