Have you every been in a small company that seemingly overnight exploded?

• You took pride in being one of the original employees
• You loved the freedom to make decisions
• You hated the changes that came with growth

Similar complaints like that last one have been said about the growth of LinkedIn®.

Growing Pains

If you were one of those employees who experienced that growth, wasn’t it sometimes painful?

• There were more rules
• Less freedom
• More control

Control is the key word – we want control.

When we don’t have control, we get cranky.

Without getting all philosophical on you, here’s the thing.

You have control – especially with social media.

Growing Up

From the start, LinkedIn® has been promoted as a business professional networking platform.

It grew from 4,500 members in 2003 to over 90 million members.

Like the small business employee, some members are unhappy with the changes. Most of the criticism centers around Groups.

• Too much self-promotion
• The loss of discussions
• Spam marketing

I admit it. I have similar complaints.

But, I have control.

Seizing Control

Here are a few suggestions for taking back control of your professional networking.

1. Look for smaller groups.

Find groups with similar interests or in your targeted market, but look for groups with hundreds of members instead of thousands.

Generally, smaller groups are better managed.

That’s not always the case.

• I have been in small groups that served up all of the above complaints
• I am currently in one group with almost 20,000 members that is well-managed
• It does not tolerate blatant self-promotion

It all depends on the group manager.

2. Review past posts.

It becomes apparent very quickly when you join a group that could care less about discussions.

• Posts topics are product or service-specific
• There are few (if any) comments on the posts
• Posts are filled with links

Unfortunately, there is no way (that I know of) to view the posts before joining the group. If you know a way to do this, please share. If not – LinkedIn® – new suggestion.

If you don’t like what you see – leave the group.

3. Start a discussion.

Start your own discussion. Again, you’ll find out pretty quickly if the group is interested.

Granted, you need a topic that interests someone. A good discussion-starter is asking for help.

You know you are in a “care less about discussions” group if –

• You receive absolutely no responses
• You receive responses with a promotional link
• The link doesn’t answer your question

Participate by posting a discussion – then you decide –

Is this group right for you?

4. Start your own group.

You know the old saying –

If you want something done right, do it yourself.

Egotistical? Maybe. At least you have the control of what happens in the group.

There are a few things to think about.

• Managing a group is a lot of work
• You need to weigh the return on your investment of time
• Now you have to listen to all those complaints

5. Use Answers for quick questions.

If you have a very specific question, a good alternative to Groups is posting the question in Answers.

• Headline your question
• Use Add details to expand the question
• Select the appropriate category/subcategory (e.g.,  Technology/Blogging)

I am constantly gratified by the generosity of people who truly want to help.

If you think LinkedIn® has lost that close networking feeling, take control of it.

How do you manage your networking efforts?

======================

Helping you Keep it simple, clear & uniquely yours – contact me for help with your business writing needs.

====================