In today’s fast-paced world, social media is attracting more and more people and can be a major source of networking.
It can also offer a prime opportunity to boost your lead generation efforts.
Social media lead generation requires a unique strategy, however, depending upon which platform you focus on.
While each one has something to offer, not all are ideal for finding those high-quality leads more likely to convert to clients or customers.
One platform that can provide this, however, is LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is the professional network online today, and if you’re not already on it, you need to be.
Whether you are a freelancer, small business, agency, or growing company, LinkedIn provides you with a unique opportunity to increase your lead generation capacity.
Why Use LinkedIn for Lead Generation?
While you know it’s advantageous to be on LinkedIn, you may be failing to use all it has to offer.
If so, you are passing up on the many opportunities to network and generate both B2B and B2C leads.
LinkedIn users are on this platform, specifically, to find and consume content geared toward their professional needs, which may include information on how to scale their business, discover better ways to meet customers’ needs or find beneficial and strategic ways to save money.
Another positive attribute of LinkedIn is that it allows you to communicate with potential customers directly.
It provides you with a social platform focused on more than entertainment, allowing your business-related content to reach those that need it most.
5 LinkedIn Lead Generation Strategies
Once on LinkedIn, you’ll need various strategies to accomplish lead generation success.
While your strategies might slightly differ depending on whether you are a freelancer, growing marketing agency, small business, or sizeable company, the following ones will set you well on your way to finding a number of new leads.
1. Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile for Better Connecting Results
Your profile is a crucial part of your LinkedIn presence. It is your foundation and one that users will return to again and again to learn about or be reminded of who you are and what you can offer.
When creating this individual profile, incorporating LinkedIn SEO (search engine optimization) efforts is crucial.
Two reasons for optimizing this vital piece of online real estate include:
- To increase the chances that viewers will connect with you once they review your profile; and
- To increase the chances that potential leads will find you on their own through the search feature.
To start, optimize for the keywords most relevant to your industry and your target audiences throughout your profile.
In other words, determine what keywords or keyphrases potential leads will be looking for to determine if what you offer – product or service – will match any of their needs.
These keywords will also bring in leads that conduct searches on the platform.
Here are beneficial tips to help you optimize your profile:
- Start with your LinkedIn headline, and use it as a way to announce to the world who you are and what you do.
- Tailor each section of your profile and incorporate those keywords where they naturally fit.
- Keep each section brief and focused.
- Write a LinkedIn summary that is informative and enticing so that other professionals on the platform will want to connect and interact with you.
- Ensure you are connected to your company page on LinkedIn, if you have one, as well.
2. Ensure Your Executives Maintain a Strong Presence on LinkedIn
While you may already have a company page, it’s essential to make sure your executives maintain a strong LinkedIn presence as well.
Your executives can attract large audiences in a short time, so make sure they participate and make the most of the various opportunities available on LinkedIn.
As a strategy, consider how your executives present themselves in their individual profiles and how they engage and network online.
To access where they are currently, answer the following.
- Are the executives joining LinkedIn groups relevant to your industry?
- If so, are they contributing enough, or do they need to do more?
- How often do they post to their own individual profile feeds?
- What type of content are they posting?
While it’s true that executives are busy, you’ll need to impart to them the importance of being on the platform and regularly interacting.
Help them find a way to leverage the LinkedIn platform to promote more content relative to your own company or brand.
They also need to like and share relevant content in your particular industry and demographic. Commenting on their current connections content can also boost their LinkedIn presence.
3. Post Relevant Content and Provide Updates
To maintain a strong LinkedIn profile and company page, make it a habit to post relevant content and updates consistently.
To make the most of your posts, you’ll need to consider developing a content marketing strategy that incorporates the needs of the LinkedIn social media platform specifically.
Make sure the content is relevant to your industry directly or indirectly, and use a variety of content types, such as video.
Also, provide updates whenever they become available, keeping everyone in the loop when changes happen.
Reasons why it is important to post relevant content and provide updates include:
To position yourself as an authority
By posting often, you can position yourself as a thought leader, authority, and trustworthy source. Your credibility will attract more followers and potential leads.
To show up on feeds
Posting consistently increases the chances of you showing up regularly on your connections’ feeds.
This can make it more convenient to interact and also help them remember you when they need what you or your company or agency has to offer.
To increase exposure to new audiences
Connections in your industry can also help expose you and your content to their own networks, providing you with a new audience.
For example, when a current connection interacts with your content, such as by clicking “like,” that content may show up on the feed of someone in their audience.
Seeing that a shared connection likes your content can boost your credibility and authority, and that new potential lead may request to connect with you directly.
If you need help on knowing what to post, check your analytics often to see what is resonating with your audience, then create more of that to share.
4. Make the Most of LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn is a professional gathering place online.
It is a social atmosphere, so make the most of LinkedIn groups in addition to posting on your own feed.
LinkedIn groups are a goldmine of opportunities.
You can participate in group discussions and also let them serve as a tremendous resource to learn more about your target audience.
Choose which groups to join wisely, however. You only have so much time available to devote to these, so make your choices count.
Also, choosing wisely can provide exposure. Potential customers will come to recognize you as a valuable resource for information.
To help choose which LinkedIn Groups to join, consider the following:
- Are they related to your industry, company interest, or target audiences?
- Do your ideal prospects spend time in the particular group?
- What is the group size? (You want it to contain a good number of members so you have a large enough audience of potential leads)
- What is the level of engagement within the group? (Members should be active recently)
The platform makes it easy for you to conduct a group search to find those that fit your needs.
Here’s what to do once you find and join groups:
- Post content and provide updates when available about relevant topics.
- Encourage discussions by asking questions.
- Contribute to conversations.
- Avoid constant pitching (group rules may not allow pitching at all)
- Be helpful; add genuine value with your content and comments.
- Pay attention to what group members say to determine common pain points in the industry and what solutions potential leads are looking to find.
- Address concerns or pain point solutions in newly devised content based on what you learn in the groups.
Once you develop a rapport with a potential lead in a group, send an InMail introducing your product or service and begin your pitch to bring them closer to becoming a customer.
5. Incorporate Automation
Make automation your friend, even on LinkedIn.
While the platform requires you to stay present, interacting as much as possible, you can still find ways to automate in certain areas.
Such automation can:
- Save you time
- Allow you to focus on your strategy
- Improve your reach
- Provide the metrics you need to better your LinkedIn efforts
LinkedIn automation tools are available to help you with automatic messaging, sending follow-up notifications, and even personalizing emails.
Platform analytics allow you to see exactly what your audience is interested in, and automation can provide you with reports showing interaction levels with your content.
You can also use LinkedIn tools to find and capture leads and boost your lead generation efforts even further. These include LinkedIn Sales Navigator, LinkedIn Small Business, LeadFuze, Dux-Soup, and Expandi.
You may also be interested in these articles:
- LinkedIn is Improving Search Results. How to Make Your Content Shine For Your Audience?
-
What Your Sales Team Wants Marketing To Know About The 2022 LinkedIn State Of Sales Report
-
The Best Content Types For LinkedIn, According To A New Study
Wrap Up: Boost Your Lead Generation Efforts on LinkedIn
Lead generation is an essential part of your business, and LinkedIn offers unique opportunities to boost your efforts and grow your audience. If you’re not currently maximizing all it has to offer, it’s time to get started.
While it can be time-consuming, once you set up your profile, post a few times, and study analytics to see what delivers the most attention and interaction, you’ll be well on your way to generating valuable, high-quality leads.
Another way to generate leads is with LinkedIn ads. Find out how to craft yours for successful outreach.
