Shopping for LinkedIn Groups: The way to pick LinkedIn Groups is to select groups based on your business and career needs.
Some groups are great for creating many connections. If you want to connect with people, join large groups. In the connect page on LinkedIn, there are seven options. One of the options is that you are a member of the same group as that person.
Colleague
Classmate
We’ve done business together
Friend
Groups
Other
I don’t know …
Some groups are great for getting information on how to do things. These groups have names that include products, services, or applications. You can look at the discussion in these groups and see the type of discussions they have. If the members are asking questions on how to do things and getting good responses, you have found a great group for do-it-yourself or research.
If you are looking for a lot of great discussion, you might look at company or school alumni groups. These groups are great for chat purposes and are great for researching questions about company histories.
If you want to promote your company or your career, some groups have discussion that is more open. Look to see what type of discussion is taking place in a group. Some huge groups limit discussions to only a select group of three or four people. These groups are great for making connections. They are useless for getting any questions answered.
Related Articles
Career Keywords
Your Know Network
Can You Keep a Secret?
LinkedIn: Creating Credible Invitations
Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter for Business and Career
Building Professional Relationships Everywhere