Facebook and LinkedIn host thousands of online groups where once again you will find a diverse array of topics. One of my favorite examples is something I stumbled across on Facebook: The Honda Civic Owners Club. Yep, that’s right. If you own a Honda Civic, a large network awaits you. Most interesting is that this group is moderated by a Honda auto parts distributor. Talk about brilliant marketing. Attract your ideal audience by building a welcoming community, and then serve their needs.

For more business-focused groups, look to LinkedIn. Here you will find groups for human resources professionals (led by an HR trade association), chief information officers (led by CIO magazine), and nonfiction authors (led by yours truly). There are also alumni groups, groups based in specific locations, and all kinds of specialty niches.

Joining a group is just the first step. If you really want to build business connections, you must engage in the group. Participate in the community forum by answering questions asked by members. Also ask questions, share news and articles, and get involved. Each group on LinkedIn features a sidebar with “Top Influencers This Week,” showing the photo and name for each person who contributed the most content. Showing up here gives you visibility with active members and demonstrates your authority in the subject matter.

I recently responded to a question in the nonfiction authors network that I lead on LinkedIn. I simply gave some advice, which I do frequently. Another member followed my post with this:

Stephanie didn’t mention this herself, but you should know that her book Booked Up: How to Write, Publish, and Promote a Book to Grow Your Business is wonderful and has a lot of additional promotion ideas.

You can’t pay for that kind of marketing, and when you get involved in a community where the members are familiar with you and your work, this kind of thing happens all the time.

Also, if there’s more than one group focused on your topic, find out where you can make the most impact. It may be harder to make an impact on a group with 10,000+ members. A smaller group may actually have more advantages since it will be easier to stand out.

This post is an excerpt from Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business by Stephanie Chandler.