If you’re looking to target business buyers and professionals with your products and services, LinkedIn is the social media platform for you. Much more than just an online CV, LinkedIn allows you to build relationships, establish thought leadership, generate leads, gain insights, conduct market research, build online communities and so much more.
Here are 9 ways to drive leads with LinkedIn...
- Put relationships first
While LinkedIn was created to foster professional relationships, this can be undermined by users sending unsolicited spam invitations to people they do not know. To make the most out of your LinkedIn presence, it’s important to focus on building relationships with people. Engage with other users on the content they share and use your expertise to help other users when appropriate, enabling you to make valuable connections.
- Make a great first impression
When sending invitations to people, rather than sending the default invitation message, write something more personal. Remind the person where you met, say why you are interested in the subject they were discussing with you and tell them that you would like to connect to find out more about their work.his personal approach will warm people up and make them more likely to accept your invitation.
- Publish your own content to LinkedIn
LinkedIn has its own publishing platform which allows you to publish articles about your areas of expertise giving you the opportunity to further establish your professional identity and authority. When you use LinkedIn to publish an article, your content becomes a part of your professional profile and appears in the ‘articles’ section of your LinkedIn profile. It is also shared with your connections and followers in their news feeds and sometimes, through notifications. Publishing your own content to LinkedIn allows you to position yourself as a leader in your field.
- Write with your audience in mind
In order to make the most of LinkedIn, it is important that the content you publish is written with your target audience in mind. There’s no point in spending time writing content discussing the importance of signing up for an apprenticeship if the majority of your connections are business owners. Instead, write content highlighting the value of taking on an apprentice or advice on how to find the right apprentice for your business.
- Make use of groups
It’s important to take advantage of group discussions on LinkedIn. Take a little bit of time each week to visit the various groups you’re a member of and look for any discussions to which you can make a valuable contribution. It is important however that you use these groups as a way to educate and advise rather than self-promotion. By giving advice, people will see you as a knowledgeable individual and will come back to you for information or support in the future.
- Make it visual
As with any other social platform, it’s important to make good use of visual content. Whether you post photos, videos, logos, links, infographics, screenshots or slides, making your updates more visually appealing will ensure that your posts stand out and catch the eye of your connections.
- Ask for recommendations
Think about the last time you bought something online, what was your process? How long did you spend reading through reviews to ensure the product was the right one for you? Like reviews, recommendations can really help build your reputation in the eyes of both prospective clients and fellow professionals.
Ask those you have worked with - previous employers, existing clients, colleagues - to write an honest recommendation of your abilities. If you feel awkward about asking people to write about you, offer to write a recommendation for them in return.
- Don’t forget the company page
So far, our tips have focussed on improvements to your own, personal LinkedIn presence but it’s important not to neglect the company page.
Having a company page allows you to engage with your followers, share potential job opportunities and demonstrate your knowledge and experience to an audience which is interested in what you’ve got to say. It can also be another avenue to share relevant links to your website - just remember to be consistent and on-brand with your updates.
- Target the right people with adverts
LinkedIn advertising allows you to send highly targeted adverts to the people you want to talk to - you can also create similar audiences and replicate the demographics of users you’ve already been able to generate leads from. Make the most of your budgets by ensuring you know exactly who you want to target and why before you start, to develop impactful and cost-effective advertising campaigns.
Whether you're new to the world of social media or have plenty of experience under your belt, it can be difficult to make sure your posts are seen.Our social media experts can help you make sure you’re on the right track when it comes to your social media marketing.
Get in touch with our team today to find out how we can help you.
