One of the most successful social media platforms is LinkedIn.
Founded in December 2002 and launched a few months later in May of 2003 it is a network designed for business professionals.
As of January 2013, this network boasts 200 million users in over 200 countries.
It is available in over a dozen languages.
A few of these are Russian, Romanian, Turkish, Malay, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean.
Business professionals worldwide use LinkedIn as a major part of their networking, employment and marketing strategies.
There are 1.
5 million LinkedIn Groups.
These groups represent like-minded individuals with common associations and/or occupations.
As a participant of these groups you can build credibility and make new connections within your profession or business.
This is also an excellent way to help grow your business.
How do you know what groups to join?

• Find a Group - With so many groups in existence, it shouldn't be difficult to find groups that share your interests.
  On the other hand, even that could be overwhelming.
  
• University or College Connection - A good place to start is with LinkedIn alumni associations.
  Just about every major university, college and graduate degree program is listed
• Profession/Occupation/ Business Affinity - Whether you are a doctor, lawyer, baker or candlestick maker, there is an association or group within LinkedIn for you.
  

You can participate in up to 50 groups at a time, although that might prove difficult to effectively manage.
Open conversations on current events, business, ethics and legislation are all topics for discussion or fodder for debate.
LinkedIn has made it very easy to access the groups.
At the LinkedIn search bar, just type the group you are interested in joining.
The search engine will take you right to the group listing.
From there, just click view or join.
It is that simple.
Each group page has the following tabs:

• Discussions - topical entries with industry relevance that allows participation and discourse from group members.
  
• Members - a comprehensive listing of the group members, with position information.
  It allows you to follow a particular member and see their activity within the group.
  
• Promotions - industry articles or requests placed within the group to obtain advertisers, specialists or other information.
  This is not for member self-promotion of websites.
  
• Jobs - recruitment ads, open positions, available employment opportunities
• Search - complete content search for members, polls, discussions as well as previously archived information.
  

Two categories to consider in any search are open and member only groups.
Anyone can access the open group discussions and content.
On the other hand, member only means just that.
Only members are allowed to view and participate in group content.
LinkedIn also has corporate sponsored groups such as Intuit, Wells Fargo, Venture Capital and J.
P.
Morgan.
Corporate groups will focus on making their groups successful.
There is robust activity among the group members, brand promotion for the company that sponsors the group and vigorous discussion participation as well.
Recognizing these dynamics in a corporate sponsored group points directly to a well- managed association with high credibility and industry influence within LinkedIn.
Whether you join a regular or a sponsored group for your networking, it is important to spend time and engage with the other members.
Participate in the open discussions and frequently provide relevant, thoughtful and insightful contributions to the group.
This will build your own influence and credibility with your associates and peers.