Category Archives: Knowledge Sharing

May 11, 2013

How to create and manage a LinkedIn Group

By Recruiterpoet - Professionalism With Flare

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LinkedIn has distinguished itself as the premiere social platform for the global professional community. Providing a space for professionals to network, engage, discuss, poll and share knowledge, LinkedIn is a resource tool that is invaluable to many professional sectors.

One of the features on LinkedIn is Talent Groups. These are groups of like professionals that have the opportunity to start discussions, respond to inquiries, poll others professionals, network, brand, promote events and post and respond to career opportunities.

It is a euphoric playground for career professionals from individual business owners to consultants to business leaders.

Currently there are over 80,000 talent groups on LinkedIn and unfortunately, a large majority are under utilized. Why?

It could be:

  • Over-saturation of social platforms
  • Not enough time in the day to network with work and personal life obligations
  • Fear that opinions and knowledge sharing can be taken out of context
  • It is easier to glance and like than to read and absorb
  • Lack of understanding on how to join and participate in talent communities
  • Overwhelmed with the amount of information sharing

All very valid possibilities.

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I currently manage six talent community groups, three subgroups and three company pages.  I was recently approached by a senior professional in the Human Resources space about providing consultation on how to grow and expand the presence of a LinkedIn group.  I had an exceptional meeting with his group leadership and feel this is valuable information worth sharing for those that currently manage or feel there is value in a LinkedIn community group.

Designing a LinkedIn Talent Community is based on a few key focus points:

  • Understand your audience and stay focused on targeting and admission of those relevant to the mission, content sharing and engagement
  • Accept that it will take three to six months or longer of intense focused marketing to develop a strong growth pattern.  Many groups put in a big initial thrust and then give up.
  • Stay in the forefront of knowledge sharing, discussion development personalized admission outreach until it becomes a self breathing entity.

I have developed some guidelines for design, development, implementation and maintenance of your LinkedIn Talent Community Group:

Guidelines for design, development and implementation of LinkedIn Talent Community Group

  • Set up Google Alerts to provide daily media content focused on the domain of the group.
  • Bookmark professional websites that can provide information sharing for the group (SHRM, Compensation Organizations, Total Rewards, World at Work, HCI, etc.)
  • Set up partnering sites to help promote and identify potential membership opportunities (about.me profile and Google+, Google Groups, Yahoo Groups)
  • Reach out to members, use your LinkedIn network, Google circles, and other personal network connections to reach out and promote membership
      • Ensure the outreach is enticing and with specific focus on mission, content, knowledge sharing.
      • Once the membership population has grown to 50 – 100, use the announcement option to promote key content and recommendations/referrals for community promotion.
        • Do not exceed more than two announcement options monthly as this could drive people away
        • Use all the functionality within the group
          • Discussions (promote engagement by starting and responding to discussions)
          • Add periodic polling questions
          • Use the promotions section to promote events, webinars and other information sharing options
          • Use the career section to promote career opportunities regionally/nationally/globally
          • Promote success (recommend following the most engaged members, asking for Twitter accounts, growth numbers, etc.)
          • Promote the group to other large like community groups.  Do this periodically every few weeks to keep it fresh
          • Set up a best practices call once the membership has grown (solicit feedback from the members in a conference call or networking happy hour to learn what type of information the members want shared in this talent community)

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 Tips:

  1. Stay focused on the content domain (As the community grows, people will push the limits and stretch the content).
  2. Manage all approvals for membership, discussion, promotion and jobs.
  3. Like discussions.  Show they are being read until comments start to flow.
  4. Be very positive.  Promote constructive communication but keep the energy level high.

There you have it.

I cannot say enough about how valuable community groups can be if they are launched properly, well maintained and promoted in a positive way to create an environment of sharing.

1 comment | posted in Knowledge Sharing, Linkedin, Professionals, Social Media

May 28, 2011

Why aren’t you using Quora (The future of Social Crowd Sourcing)?

By Recruiterpoet - Professionalism With Flare

It is interesting that I am writing a piece on a platform that exists on the premise of networking through Q&A and information sharing. Thus, the title has a much deeper meaning.

As a computer and mobile technology generation knee deep in the ever growing pursuit of networking, the competition is fierce for advancing niche communities and getting the attention of investors and customers. In a social networking environment, who are the true “customers”. That is you and I. The bloggers, the wall posters, the group organizers, and the passive communicator. For each piece of information we share about ourselves, HAL 3000 is running an algorithm and compiling information on our interests, lifestyle, social status and personality traits. Right now, as you read this, a virtual robotic profile is being created on you based on these hash tags, the theme of this blog and how you mapped your way to this site.

“I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.” – HAL 3000 (2001 A Space Odyssey)

As the complexity of the technology begins to overwhelm us, it is becoming more essential to make the tools user friendly to the common man, woman and child. Then again the youngest generation is more advanced than the Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. Take your local or national daily periodical for example. Most newspapers are written at a 4th grade reading level or below providing short summarized commentary in their respective pieces. There is a reason behind that very strategic decision and that is simplicity and ease to the targeted audience. That is not a negative commentary on society, but the acceptance that there is a full and diverse range of readers that pick up the newspapers daily.

What is Quora?

Quora is a continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by everyone who uses it. The most important thing is to have each question page become the best possible resource for someone who wants to know about the question.

Quora is focused on the principles of:

Accumulating knowledge
Reusable resources
Continuously improving knowledge sharing
Organized and targeted populations

Focus on the people that bear the knowledge
Co-Founders Adam D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever

What makes a website about asking and responding to questions, the future of social crowd sourcing?

First, each profile provides the option to create widget links to Facebook, Twitter and your blog. Once someone follows you or responds to one of their questions, you will see their name, avatar and immediate links to their other key social networking accounts. Within 30 seconds, I can follow back, follow and review their last ten tweets and add them as a Facebook connection. To date, I have added nearly 70 people on Facebook from Quora and not one decline. The primary reason is that the people that follow you or respond have similar backgrounds or interests based on the topic matter that they are drawn to.

Next, when you pose a question, based on key words and phrases, the system will tell you all the potentially similar questions that have already been asked and answered.

Each profile provides a summary of the type of content that the individual is sharing or researching to gives you a better feel on whether this person can have value in your pursuit of continued knowledge.

As an active member, you have the ability to follow questions. You are not required to answer a question to see what others are saying.

What if I see a question that I feel is important to others but they are not registered on Quora? You have the ability to share your question on Twitter, Facebook or an instant blog post.

The bottom line is that Quora is the most effective tool I have seen for linking up like people with like interests to the key social network and providing an avenue for deep discussion, research and resolutions.

Whether you want to know why Darth Vader’s electronics system never malfunctioned or what the five year revenue generating strategy is for Microsoft, Quora is here to answer your inquiry and connect you with the world. From coast to coast, ocean to ocean, one thing is certain, we love knowledge. That principle will not change.

1 comment | posted in Charlie Cheever, Knowledge Sharing, Quora, Social Crowd Sourcing

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