Anne 馃悵 Thornley-Brown, MBA

7 years ago 路 3 min. reading time 路 ~10 路

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Is LinkedIn Trying to Kill Groups? They couldn't succeed more if they tried

Is LinkedIn Trying to Kill Groups? They couldn't succeed more if they tried


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I have been managing and owning LinkedIn Groups for over 8 years. Up until Friday, I managed and/or owned 24 LinkedIn Groups. I am left as the proud owner of 6 LinkedIn Groups. I will be managing 5 actively and I am trying to migrate one of them to beBee. 聽

I am in the process of tying up final loose ends for 16 of them. As part of that process, I just took a look at my groups. Take a look at yours. Go ahead and take a look at yours? You'll find them at:

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/my-groups

Here are 40 of my groups. Notice anything?


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In this snapshot of 40 of the groups I belong to, nothing much is happening.


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No new discussions and, in the groups to which I still have access to group management tools, there are hardly any requests to join. Think I am exaggerating? Here are the next 20.聽聽

I recently shared these tips for LinkedIn Group leaders who are interested in breathing new life into dying groups.



Some Group Owners have contacted me by private messages on LinkedIn and beBee. They have shared their frustrations and many are asking:

  • Do I keep trying or pull the plug now?
  • Is LinkedIn planning to shutter groups as soon as the new interface has been rolled out to all members?
These are some of the most frequently asked questions in groups for the leadership teams of LinkedIn Groups. One LinkedIn coach told me he no longer covers LinkedIn Groups in his training but, instead, directs his clients to other platforms. The LinkedIn Group Experts group, which is filled with LinkedIn coaches, consultants, and experts is happily and actively engaging on Google+. Ouch!

Only time will tell if there is future for groups at LinkedIn. Anyone who has the answer to this question certainly isn't in a hurry to provide answers or reassurances and this does not bode well for groups.

In one of my first blog posts on beBee, I shared my perspective and how I have seen the platform decline over the last 8+ years.聽

I used to LOVE LinkedIn Groups and I wrote MANY favourable blog posts about them.聽

After a while, they became a ton of work to manage and a source of frustration. I now have the opportunity to give quality time to 3 LinkedIn Groups and see if I can nurse them back to health despite the decline in the quality of the group management tool suite.聽

The 4th, for B2B bloggers, has been converted to member moderated. It will exist on 3 platforms. Its success will depend on the bloggers themselves.

4cc7a47a.jpgIf I go up further on the list of groups I belong to, in the 12 groups where there are a lot of new "Conversations", members are tending to just post their new blog posts and run. In a tiny handful of groups (4), there is engagement, discussion, and interaction.聽

It's a lot of work for Group Owners, Managers, and Moderators to keep engagement going.聽Without the right tools, it's a losing battle.聽

Almost a year ago to the day, JD Gershbein聽wrote聽The LinkedIn Groups Have Become Ghost Towns for The Huffington Post. Unfortunately, he was right.

What is Killing LinkedIn Groups?

  • Removal of notifications to members (unless someone tags you or comments on a "Conversation" you have started).
  • Broken announcement tools.聽


If you click on Send an Announcement, the LinkedIn system will indicate to how many people it has sent the announcement.聽

In test after test and group after group, even in groups that have been set up for highly enthusiastic Group Owners, Managers, and Moderators, the pattern is clear. People simply aren't receiving the announcement.聽

I opened a trouble ticket over a month ago for some of my groups and nothing has been fixed.

  • Members not being proactive.
  • Members not posting content to stimulate discussion.

By waiting for notifications that never come and not proactively checking into groups, members are contributing to the demise of LinkedIn Groups. Ditto for members who just post a link to their blogs and make no attempt to ask questions to get discussions going.

What Can Group Owners do?


If you are a group owner:

  • Share links to your announcements and hot topics in your group in your Linkedin Status updates, through Twitter, and on beBee.
  • Be honest with group members and ask them to check in regularly.
  • Don't put all of your eggs in one basket.聽

Have a back-up plan. Don't just wait for an announcement that the end has come. Set up a back-up via an email list to keep members informed and also a beBee聽Hive, Facebook Group, or Google+ Group.


What Can Group Members do?


Group members need to realize that it is impossible for group leaders to fix the problem by themselves. Even if they make a point of posting great content and stimulating questions to get discussions going, it won't work unless members:

  • Check in regularly.
  • Participate in discussions
  • Answer questions
  • Post questions
  • Add the group leaders to your network so that, if LinkedIn closes down groups, you'll be advised of any plans to move the group to a new platform.
Here are some more tips for LinkedIn Group Members:


Only time will tell what's going to happen to LinkedIn Groups. By taking these steps, Group Leaders and Group Members will at least be prepared if what some are fearing comes to pass.

Anne Thornley-Brown @executiveoasis 聽is the President of Executive Oasis International, a consulting firm in Toronto that specializes in executive retreats and team building. She has been a LinkedIn Group Owner and manager for over 8 years.
""""
#LinkedIn #LinkedIn Groups #Group Owners #LinkedIn Group Owner #Managers
Comments

Anne 馃悵 Thornley-Brown, MBA

6 years ago #19

I am starting to get notifications about new discussions even in groups I don't own. Anyone else seeing this? Does this mean there is hope?

Anne 馃悵 Thornley-Brown, MBA

7 years ago #18

One of the foremost LinkedIn Experts just posted that she has heard LinkedIn groups will close in about 4 months. So rumours are 1 - 4 months. She quotes a source at LinkedIn so take this seriously. https://plus.google.com/u/0/108192040419269411690/posts/72cvt36w5fi?cfem=1

Javier C谩mara-Rica 馃悵馃嚜馃嚫

7 years ago #17

The key point to understand a big difference between LI groups and beBee Hives is that beBee feed is based on your hives. Your feed is basically your hives. Enjoy beBee ! Enjoy the hive !

Javier C谩mara-Rica 馃悵馃嚜馃嚫

7 years ago #16

#16
Phil Friedman I can see beBee on third position for that search. Many thanks

Lisa Gallagher

7 years ago #15

Thanks for tagging me Anne Thornley-Brown, MBA and you made great points.

Milos Djukic

7 years ago #14

#4
Yes Javier \ud83d\udc1d beBee, that is very important.

Phil Friedman

7 years ago #13

#11
@Javier \ud83d\udc1d beBee for perhaps hijacking the thread here, I have just one more question about beBee and ranking. If you Google "phil friedman yacht" multiple pages of entries are returned. Entries pertaining to my professional and business work completely fill the first three pages (except for one phony Pinterest page that has clearly been put up by one of the trolls with whom everyone who follows me on LinkedIn or beBee is familiar, for the express purpose of smearing my name and professional reputation) and my entries dominate the next five or so pages. https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=phil+friedman+yacht&start=0&* OK, so here's my question: On the first page, the entry from one of my own WordPress pages, Google+, and LinkedIn all rank higher than the beBee entry. Does Google assign an advantage to Google+ or to Blogger or its other Google-owned platforms? And if so, is there anything we, as beBee authors can do to offset that assignment of advantage? Thanks and cheers!

Lance 馃悵 Scoular

7 years ago #12

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Javier C谩mara-Rica 馃悵馃嚜馃嚫

7 years ago #11

#10
Phil Friedman we are expecting to get the best rankings for hives and authors soon. Google loves beBee. Despite of existing others "Phil Friedman" your blog on beBee is starting to rank really great https://www.google.es/search?q=phil+friedman&oq=phil+friedman&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l3.6508j0j4&client=ms-android-samsung&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

Phil Friedman

7 years ago #10

#7
Yes, Google "ranking" is important. https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=groups+on+linkedin:+the+beginning+of+the+end&* Indeed is there a way to somehow group articles on the same or similar themes together, in order to improve said Google rankings for beBee authors?

Anne 馃悵 Thornley-Brown, MBA

7 years ago #9

#2
It is a badly flawed strategy. Why would anyone pay for a platform that if full of glithces?

Anne 馃悵 Thornley-Brown, MBA

7 years ago #8

#7
That was fast. If I could just get them to do that for my own website. Yes, I agree social media organic reach is plummeting and I have spoken about that many times. That is why I started the B2B Bloggers Network. If we don't help ourselves, no one will help us.

Javier C谩mara-Rica 馃悵馃嚜馃嚫

7 years ago #7

Your article is being ranked by Google https://www.google.es/search?q=linkedin+killing+groups&oq=linkedin+killing+groups&aqs=chrome..69i57.14957j0j4&client=ms-android-samsung&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

Javier C谩mara-Rica 馃悵馃嚜馃嚫

7 years ago #6

This is the main issue (but not only on LI) https://www.bebee.com/producer/@javierbebee/organic-reach-on-social-media-is-declining

David B. Grinberg

7 years ago #5

#1
Per Phil Friedman and others -- I have likewise taken it upon myself to point out how beBee excels where LI fails. Here are two of my first beBee on Producer about about a year ago: https://www.bebee.com/producer/@dbgrinberg/user-engagement-satisfaction-bebee-beats-linkedin-in-landslide https://www.bebee.com/producer/@dbgrinberg/bebee-ready-to-swarm-north-america-with-affinity-social-networking You know that saying, great minds think alike (although I'm a bit lower on totem pole in that regard compared to you, Jim and John).

Javier C谩mara-Rica 馃悵馃嚜馃嚫

7 years ago #4

beBee is already sending to your followers your articles through email. beBee is already delivering your content to all of your followers through the feeds. beBee will be also notifying all of your followers whenever you write a new story soon ! CC Alberto Anaya Arcas

Ali Anani

7 years ago #3

I experienced the same Anne Thornley-Brown, MBA. I had initially a good percentage of engagement and mostly engaging comments on LI, but then things deteriorated. I am not cursing or criticising as much as I am explaining why I migrated to beBee. I understand your dissatisfaction. I am not expecting LI to change direction soon. The purpose of a social media is evolvement through interactions and if these interactions are scarce then what is the point of having a social platform anyway?

David B. Grinberg

7 years ago #2

Thank you for sharing such astute observations, Anne, with which I fully agree. I think the answer to your question in the headline is an unequivocal yes. Moreover, this has been ongoing for some time now. It appears to me that LI has intentionally stifled and trampled upon user engagement/satisfaction on a broad range of fronts in hopes of maximizing monetization from non-paying users (like me). The only good news here is that LI's loss of users has resulted in beBee's gain. LI's unscrupulous actions are a sad story of what could have been -- and a story with which so many bees are all too familiar. Yet being a positive thinker who seeks out the silver linking behind clouds, I would just reemphasize this point: without the alleged reckless indifference and insidious efforts LI has blatantly shown to its once loyal users, beBee might not have such quality people moving to this platform based in North America and worldwide -- like YOU, for example. Thanks for all YOU do, Anne, and keep buzzing! cc: Javier \ud83d\udc1d beBee

Phil Friedman

7 years ago #1

Kudos on this one. Could not agree more -- since Jim Murray and I have been saying the same both on LinkedIn and beBee for a while. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/groups-linkedin-beginning-end-phil-friedman Sharing this one. Cheers!

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