"Non-hype" Internet marketing articles, reviews from Garland Coulson - Internet Marketing Speaker and Coach
LinkedIn Groups Filling With Spam
Posted 22nd November 2012 at 05:59 PM by ebusinesstutor
LinkedIn Groups (forums) were a great resource for me. I enjoy helping others in these forums and they are a great way to “crowdsource” when I am looking for tool recommendations or marketing ideas.
But lately they have been filling up with two types of spam.
1. LinkedIn Promotion Spam
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Promotion spam is the usual common spam we are used to. A person comes into the group and posts a message looking for business along with a link to their web site. These are getting more common as the moderators who originally started the LinkedIn Group get busy and set the group to “open” so they don’t have to moderate the posts.
2. LinkedIn Article Spam
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Article spam is more insidious. We think of articles as useful content, so what is the harm with letting people post their articles in the group? Well, the first problem is that many of the articles are off-topic. And, if you check the ones that are on topic, they usually only post the first paragraph or so and then post a link to their web site. This is to get you to go to their site where then can sell you and also to get backline “juice” to improve their search engine rankings.
How to tell if the article poster is a spammer or genuinely trying to share an article of interest? Check the group to see if they are actively participating in any discussions. If not, they are a spammer even if the article is on topic. Also, check their web site to see what kind of work they do. Chances are, they offer services or products to people in the field that the group attracts. So the articles are really just a “soft-sell” method.
The Demise of Speakers And Panelists LinkedIn Group
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One group I was in for speakers. I really used to enjoy the discussions there. But lately it was getting fuller and fuller of just articles – many of them off topic. I tried marking some of them as promotions, but the flood continued. I tried contacting the group maker to see if he would moderate it, but he never replied.
The discussions ground to a halt., killing the value of this group.
Unfortunately, this is not the only group this is happening to. I have left 3/4 of the LinkedIn Groups I used to enjoy for the same reason.
Invitation To A New Speakers LinkedIn Group
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Eventually I decided to start my own Speakers LinkedIn Group called Speaking and Presenting. This group is monitored where new members first few posts are moderated and we don’t allow any promotions or spam.
The group and discussions are growing slowly but are more vibrant and useful because there is no spam. If you do any presenting or speaking at all, please come join us at LinkedIn Speaking And Presenting.
Please comment. Have you found the same problem? Are your favourite groups dying or are there LinkedIn groups you love that are spam free?
But lately they have been filling up with two types of spam.
1. LinkedIn Promotion Spam
---------------------------
Promotion spam is the usual common spam we are used to. A person comes into the group and posts a message looking for business along with a link to their web site. These are getting more common as the moderators who originally started the LinkedIn Group get busy and set the group to “open” so they don’t have to moderate the posts.
2. LinkedIn Article Spam
-----------------------
Article spam is more insidious. We think of articles as useful content, so what is the harm with letting people post their articles in the group? Well, the first problem is that many of the articles are off-topic. And, if you check the ones that are on topic, they usually only post the first paragraph or so and then post a link to their web site. This is to get you to go to their site where then can sell you and also to get backline “juice” to improve their search engine rankings.
How to tell if the article poster is a spammer or genuinely trying to share an article of interest? Check the group to see if they are actively participating in any discussions. If not, they are a spammer even if the article is on topic. Also, check their web site to see what kind of work they do. Chances are, they offer services or products to people in the field that the group attracts. So the articles are really just a “soft-sell” method.
The Demise of Speakers And Panelists LinkedIn Group
---------------------------------------------------
One group I was in for speakers. I really used to enjoy the discussions there. But lately it was getting fuller and fuller of just articles – many of them off topic. I tried marking some of them as promotions, but the flood continued. I tried contacting the group maker to see if he would moderate it, but he never replied.
The discussions ground to a halt., killing the value of this group.
Unfortunately, this is not the only group this is happening to. I have left 3/4 of the LinkedIn Groups I used to enjoy for the same reason.
Invitation To A New Speakers LinkedIn Group
-------------------------------------------
Eventually I decided to start my own Speakers LinkedIn Group called Speaking and Presenting. This group is monitored where new members first few posts are moderated and we don’t allow any promotions or spam.
The group and discussions are growing slowly but are more vibrant and useful because there is no spam. If you do any presenting or speaking at all, please come join us at LinkedIn Speaking And Presenting.
Please comment. Have you found the same problem? Are your favourite groups dying or are there LinkedIn groups you love that are spam free?
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