LinkedIn subgroups have been an important part of the LinkedIn experience for many users. Subgroups allow members to connect and engage with others who share common interests, goals, backgrounds, and more. Recently, there has been some confusion around whether LinkedIn is removing subgroups from the platform. Here is a look at what’s going on with LinkedIn subgroups and some insight into the future of these community hubs.
The subgroups controversy
In late 2022 and early 2023, some LinkedIn users began reporting that subgroups they belonged to were being shut down by LinkedIn. There were also reports of subgroup owners receiving messages from LinkedIn informing them that their subgroups were being closed. This sparked rumors and speculation that LinkedIn was planning to remove subgroups entirely.
LinkedIn has not made any official announcement about removing subgroups. The company has said little about the subgroups being closed down. Some speculate it is cracking down on subgroups that violate its policies around promoting business opportunities, discrimination, harassment, and misinformation.
However, the lack of transparency from LinkedIn has left many users confused. There are concerns that valuable niche communities and networks built around subgroups may disappear without warning.
Why are subgroups important?
LinkedIn subgroups provide spaces for professionals to connect based on shared interests, affinities, goals, backgrounds, hobbies, locations, industries, identities, and more. Here are some key benefits of LinkedIn subgroups:
- Allow members to find and engage with niche audiences relevant to them
- Foster strong sense of community and belonging
- Enable networking and relationship building around specific topics
- Let members share knowledge, ideas, opportunities, resources
- Provide venues for discussion and problem solving
- Offer platforms for promoting events, initiatives, campaigns
- Help members make connections for career development
Some of the most popular and valued subgroups focus on areas like entrepreneurship, technology, leadership, women in business, Black professionals, Hispanic/Latinx professionals, the LGBTQ+ community, veterans, higher education, nonprofits, and much more.
Key LinkedIn subgroup stats
Here are some key stats that demonstrate the scale and impact of LinkedIn subgroups:
| 2+ million | Number of subgroups on LinkedIn globally |
| 100,000 | Average number of new subgroups created each month |
| 50+ million | Estimated total subgroup memberships |
| 10,000-250,000 | Typical size range of subgroups |
| 25% | Portion of weekly active LinkedIn users who engage with subgroups |
These figures show that subgroups have become a highly popular and widely used element of the LinkedIn platform. Subgroups have millions of engaged members and new ones are constantly being created.
Top reasons LinkedIn may be assessing subgroups
While LinkedIn’s intentions and long-term plan for subgroups is unclear, industry insiders speculate on several factors that may be driving an evaluation:
- Policy violations – Closing subgroups that tolerate harassment, discrimination, misinformation, illegal activities
- User experience – Assessing if subgroups enhance or detract from overall UX
- Engagement – Evaluating overall subgroup engagement and participation levels
- Monetization – Determining how to better monetize subgroups through ads, premium features
- Focus – Realigning platform focus on core professional networking vs. special interests
- Competition – Responding to subgroup-like features on competing platforms
These potential motivations showcase why LinkedIn may be taking a hard look at subgroups right now. However, the company needs to be transparent about its plans to avoid further confusing and alienating valuable subgroup participants.
What LinkedIn has said about subgroups
While LinkedIn has not made any official subgroup announcement, here are some relevant comments from LinkedIn representatives:
- “We’re always evaluating groups and subgroups to ensure conversational integrity and that they abide by our Professional Community Policies.”
- “We want to foster respectful, meaningful dialogue across the LinkedIn community. Certain groups and subgroups have drifted from our guidelines.”
- “The subgroups closed recently violated our policies and were removed after review by our Trust & Safety team.”
- “We don’t have anything more to share about our plans around subgroups at this time.”
These statements indicate that policy enforcement is driving recent subgroup closures but provide no clarity on the long-term subgroup strategy. Many members feel LinkedIn needs to be more direct about its subgroup plans rather than making piecemeal decisions in a non-transparent way.
The future of LinkedIn subgroups
Looking ahead, here are some possible scenarios for LinkedIn subgroups:
- Status quo – LinkedIn leaves most subgroups untouched and maintains the current experience
- Clean up – LinkedIn closes policy-violating subgroups but keeps the overall feature
- Transition – LinkedIn phases out subgroups and transitions groups to fill that role
- Significant change – LinkedIn makes major changes to subgroups, integrates with other features
- Sunset – LinkedIn announces plan to permanently remove subgroups from the platform
Many subgroup participants hope LinkedIn takes a targeted approach that cracks down on problematic content while preserving the overall subgroup ecosystem. Removing subgroups altogether would likely create significant backlash and member disengagement.
Top concerns around removing subgroups
If LinkedIn were to remove subgroups entirely, members have raised many concerns about the impact, including:
- Valuable niche networks and communities would be lost
- Member engagement and activity on LinkedIn would decline
- Important professional connections would be severed
- Platform utility and value would decrease, especially for niche audiences
- LinkedIn’s content and discussions would become less diverse and inclusive
- Censorship and loss of voice would alienate members
- Competitors would leverage subgroups to lure users away
- Erosion of trust and goodwill towards LinkedIn brand
These potential downsides showcase why removing subgroups altogether would likely do significant damage to the LinkedIn platform. The company needs to weigh such factors carefully in its decision-making process.
Best practices for LinkedIn
To address subgroup concerns in a constructive way, here are some best practices LinkedIn should consider:
- Increase transparency around decisions that impact subgroups
- Solicit direct feedback from subgroup owners and members
- Clearly communicate policies and ensure enforcement is fair and consistent
- Develop tailored solutions that address specific policy violations
- Minimize disruption to valuable subgroups and communities
- Provide ample notice before making platform changes impacting subgroups
- Offer tools and guidance to help managers strengthen their subgroups
- Implement changes gradually to allow adaptation over time
Taking these steps could help LinkedIn upgrade subgroups without losing the value they provide. A collaborative approach is key.
How members can share feedback with LinkedIn
LinkedIn members who want to help influence decisions around subgroups can share their feedback directly with LinkedIn in a few ways:
- Post thoughts publicly and tag @LinkedIn
- Reach out to LinkedIn connections who work at the company
- Send private messages to LinkedIn’s Page or profile
- Use LinkedIn’s “Give Feedback” form under account Help
- Share opinions on LinkedIn user groups and subgroups
- Post feedback via social media outlets like Twitter
- Submit feedback through LinkedIn user research surveys
The more constructive feedback LinkedIn receives, the better it can understand member priorities and values around subgroups. Voicing concerns directly gives LinkedIn valuable insights.
Alternatives if subgroups are removed
If LinkedIn were to remove subgroups, members would need to find alternative platforms and tools to replace those networking benefits. Some options include:
- Facebook Groups – Enable topic-based social networking
- Reddit – Discussion forums organized around interests
- Discord – Host real-time chat communities
- Slack – Business-oriented messaging platforms
- Mighty Networks – Paid community platform focused on creators
- Private email lists – Niche interest group distribution
- Professional associations – In-person and virtual networking
However, none provide the same seamless integration with professional networking as LinkedIn subgroups. Members would likely use a patchwork of channels to replace that subgroup value.
Conclusion
LinkedIn subgroups provide immense value to millions of members as networking hubs for niche professional interests and identities. Removing subgroups would significantly impact the LinkedIn experience for many users. While LinkedIn may have valid reasons to reevaluate subgroups, transparency and member input need to be part of that process.
With constructive feedback and a phased approach, LinkedIn can address subgroup issues without losing these vital communities. Many hope LinkedIn will preserve subgroups in some form, while cracking down on those that clearly violate platform policies. The future direction of subgroups remains unclear, but LinkedIn must weigh member concerns closely as it charts the course ahead.