LinkedIn has recently announced several changes to the Groups. According to them,
We’ve simplified several group features to ensure that groups will always be the most trustworthy place for you to gather with like-minded professionals. The new Groups changes will make sure that the LinkedIn experience is easier to understand and navigate for all members. – LinkedIn
LinkedIn groups have been redesigned to make interactions more engaging and less spammy for members. Here are some of the key changes
1 – No more open groups
The biggest change is that there are no more open groups. The two new group choices are standard and unlisted.
- Standard groups: These groups are “request to join” or a member or admin can invite you to join. Standard Groups do show up in search results and any member can invite any of their 1st degree connections to join.
- Unlisted groups: These groups are “invite to join” by the group admin only. Unlisted Groups don’t show up in search results and only the group’s owner and manager can invite members to the group.
Tip: If you want to join a new standard group, ask a friend who is already a member of that group to add you.
2 – No member search option
You can not join a group just to get access to new potential clients and prospects. I am hoping this will reduce the number of spam messages I get in my LinkedIn inbox.
3 – No Promotions tab
LinkedIn has also removed the Promotions tab on groups. If you post any promotional messages, they will likely go into the spam. According to Viveka von Rosen, LinkedIn is going back to the era of true engagement and I totally agree.
4 – Better content filtering
LinkedIn has improved the filtering of content so that spammy and promotional conversations stay out of the conversation feed. Job listings and job conversations posted to the main conversation feed are automatically moved to the Jobs tab. “It’s about being professional, so start sharing insights with one another”, per
5 – Groups iOS Mobile App
LinkedIn now has a Groups mobile app. This app makes it super easy to share content and engage with group members on the go. You can receive push notifications for conversations in your groups so you stay updated on what’s happening in your community.The mobile app is currently only available on iOS, but an Android version will also be available soon.
Marketers have mixed feelings about these new LinkedIn Groups features. IMHO these changes are for the best and here is why…
- LinkedIn groups will be full of high-quality content and real engagement
- You can create private groups (unlisted) for internal communication e.g. for employee engagement and customer service
- A better platform for building business relationships, which is what social media is all about
- We can expect to see less spam and bots
Now over to you. What do you think of these new changes by LinkedIn?