News flash: LinkedIn still boasts one of the largest, tightest-knit collections of professionals in the social-networking space. And now it wants to be even more useful to marketers. Custom Groups is a new feature at the site that lets users build sponsored collectives.

Simply establishing a non-branded LinkedIn group is still free. But now, for a monthly fee, Custom Groups enables companies to turn their self-made discussion forums into elaborate marketing sites.

According to a recent report at Ad Age, brands that create a Custom Group can import content like videos or RSS feeds into the group itself—features that aren't available on non-branded LinkedIn groups.

Think of a Custom Group as its own microsite for executives, colleagues, clients and other business-owners, but free of the hassle of funneling traffic from a broader untargeted audience.

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