Birds in flight are called a flock, fish swimming in unison are called a School, insects swarm, land animals herd, and a collection of human beings is called a group.
“The tendency to join with others in groups is perhaps the single most important characteristic of humans and the processes that unfold within these groups leaves deep-seated imprint on their members and on society.”
Why Groups Matter!
Much of the practical work in the world is done in groups. Groups hold key to solving social problems like racism, sexism, and international conflict. Any attempt to change society will succeed only if the groups within society change! Groups are also keys to understanding people. Human behavior is very often group behavior and humans cannot be studied in isolation, away from their families, friendship circles, work groups, and so on. In the modern age, people may be becoming more isolated and alienated, but the single man or woman who has no connection to other men or women is an extraordinarily rare human being!
Members of our species are capable of surviving alone, but few choose to, for virtually all human activities—working, leaning, worshipping, relaxing, playing, and even sleeping, occur in groups. To understand people, we must understand their groups.
Groups are important for personal reasons. You will spend your entire life being in groups, getting out of groups, leading groups, and changing groups. Through your membership in groups, you define your values and beliefs and take on or refine your social identity. Groups influence you in consequential ways, so ignore their influence at your own risk!
LeRumba Groups provide a place for people, professionals, and business owners in the same industry or with similar interests to share content, find answers, post and view jobs, make business contacts, and establish themselves as industry experts.
You can find groups to join by using the search feature under the GROUPS tab. You can also create a new group focused on a particular topic or industry.
Lerumba Groups can be a powerful way to connect with other people and professionals in a meaningful way. People are just discovering the potential, and there aren’t a lot of guides to social media group management. So, here’re some tips that would be useful for beginning community managers as well as the experienced ones. Remember, creating the group is only the first step. It won’t thrive if you don’t nurture it.
Getting started (by owner)
- Complete your group profile.
- Clearly state the purpose of the group in summary/description.
- Provide some rules for the group.
Encouraging others to join (by owner)
- Invite your friends and connections; and encourage your group members to do the same.
- Open your group to the public.
- Promote and share your group.
Starting and engaging in conversation (by owner, manager, moderator)
- Ask open-ended questions to get the discussion going.
- Share timely and relevant content, for example breaking news, exclusive product info, and events.
- Ask your members about their goals for the group.
Keeping your group engaged (by owner, manager, and moderator)
- Check at least 1-2 times a week for requests to join, submissions to approve, and flagged posts to moderate. If possible, check daily.
- Listen to your group members.
- Keep it professional and polite.
- Keep your group spam-free by flagging spam and reviewing flagged content in your moderation queue. Spam is the top reason people leave groups.
- Highlight important conversations and information.
- Celebrate milestones. For example, you could send an announcement when your group reaches a certain number of members.
- If you need help managing or moderating, ask one of your top contributors for assistance.
Promote (by owner)
- Promote your group by sharing it with other groups on LeRumba and ask members to do the same.
- Post the group URL on your website and related social media sites to encourage growth.
- Create a badge for users to put on their websites, linking to the group.
- Talk about the group and feature conversations (with permission) on your other social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc.
- Consider advertising on Facebook and LinkedIn to promote your group.
- Whenever you do a presentation or attend a conference spread the word about your group.
Closing your group (by owner)
- Before closing the group, check to see if anyone else can take ownership. If so, you can transfer ownership.
- Learn how to close your group− only the owner can delete a group.
The whole idea behind starting a group is to create a place where you, your peers, and friends learn together and share ideas. Do take the time to enjoy the group and the people in it.