LinkedIn Groups are something that many businesses and professionals are utilizing to this day; however, there is a lot of discussion about their usefulness. LinkedIn confirms the groups are worth using because they are coming out with a slew of new updates that should make using these groups even better.
While the groups may not be a hit for everyone, it certainly does make connecting over 600 million users together with people in their industries possible. Now, they are rolling out a whole new list of updates that may make managing and contacting people within the groups even easier. But will these updates come with any real changes for you?
What’s coming?
The majority of updates coming are for those who are running LinkedIn Groups with the goal of making it easier to manage your inner circle and find other groups. Because let’s face it, sometimes it can be stressful being an administrator of a group, especially a large one.
Luckily, LinkedIn is here to help. One of the updates coming out changes how members send invites to groups. Now, there will be a separate permission for inviting members. By default, you will be able to invite your first-degree connections to a group; however, if this is disabled in your group, only administrators will have that permission.
All invites will still require admin approval. But as an administrator, this option lets you know that invited members will be contributing new members and not just random connections. After all, the whole point of these LinkedIn Groups is to be a place for relevant industry professionals and workers.
Another upcoming update involves listed vs. unlisted groups. This works the same as Facebook public or private groups in terms of them showing up in searches. With this new update, unlisted LinkedIn Groups will require a URL to be discovered by non-members.
In addition, unlisted groups will not be visible on members’ profiles, making them virtually invisible to anyone who’s not a member of the group. All listed groups will be fully visible to members and non-members alike. They will also be discoverable in any search as well.
What does this mean for you?
These updates are set to roll out in the next few weeks. You will not have to do anything on your end as an administrator. The option to update group settings will continue to be available to owners of LinkedIn Groups only, so you won’t have to worry about changing settings.
If you aren’t an administrator in a group, your group owner will most likely clue you into any changes they will implement. These updates will certainly help keep LinkedIn Groups manageable and productive for everyone.
LinkedIn is striving to stay relevant in today’s world and is improving to get better from here. Let us know what you think of the upcoming LinkedIn Groups changes!
