I have certainly been trying to. Maybe I can help you out with some of my methods. I have been adding and deleting groups over the last few days. I now have distinctly more groups focused on the categories of animation, cinema and entertainment. This is intentionally to attract that crowd for job offers and project collaboration offers while in school and after graduation. Many of the rest represent other interests.

The marketing and open networking groups aren’t as relevant to me now as when building up my contact list. I still keep a couple of groups related to those areas because a good contact can come from anywhere. However now that I have a critical mass of contacts I can probably do O.K. without a couple of those original groups. So I got rid of a few of those types and added more of the direct career related variety.

Now I’m at a point where I can put some much needed time into perusing each group in detail for members who’s goals seem closely aligned to my own. I’m bound to find some interesting discussions to comment on as well. I’m counting on this tack to be an effective strategy to mutual benefit to myself and potential contacts. It early indications of my prospecting are an indication then this should work out great for business opportunities relatively quickly.

My key groups to research further at this point are all animation and illustration specific. I’ll keep you posted on how the strategy works and share with you as time goes on. We’ll see if my speculations are confirmed. In the mean time remember the earlier tips. Max out your fifty groups in what ever categories interest you. Once you start getting the daily or weekly feeds from the groups, that will give you an idea of whether or not you want to continue your membership with a given group. Then let the fine tuning begin.

Click on my profile button to the left for ideas. Then share with the rest of us and tell us how you’re maximizing your LinkedIn strategy.