LINKEDIN MARKETING
How to use LinkedIn Marketing to generate leads
WRITTEN BY JACK BARRON | JANUARY 12, 2021 | 7 MIN
When used correctly, social media can be a valuable tool for businesses who are looking to generate new B2B leads. Most business owners know how key this is and how crucial a steady flow of leads is to their success.
With around 250 million active users, LinkedIn is the ideal place to find new prospects, generate leads and improve your brand awareness. This makes LinkedIn marketing very effective – but only when done right.
For many CEOs, directors and marketing managers, this may mean rethinking how you currently approach LinkedIn marketing. The good news is that lead generation on this platform can be pretty straightforward if you know how to get the most from it.
But how should you be going about it for maximum results?
Optimise your profile for lead generation
The best place to begin is your profile. This alone will help generate more leads as other businesses will understand who you are, what your business does and what value you can bring to them. Making sure your headline is catchy and relevant is key, as is writing out a summary which clearly defines you as a professional.
If you can craft a really compelling headline and summary to draw people in with, you are halfway there already. Taking a look at what other professionals in your sector do is a good tip and can help if you are struggling for inspiration. Just remember not to copy and always to focus on the value you provide to your customer…not using it as an opportunity to brag.
Joining groups with leads and prospects in
LinkedIn Groups is such a powerful feature and yet lots of users do not take advantage of it. In simple terms, Groups helps you interact with potential prospects and other professionals in your sector. The other bonus Groups have is that you can connect with people in the same group as you. As a result, it is a targeted way to find new leads, build out your LinkedIn network and build brand awareness.
But how do you use Groups effectively? If content sharing is allowed, try to publish relevant content to the group, which others will find useful. It is also key to be active in the group on a regular basis but without taking over or being too dominant.
Create your own LinkedIn groups
Groups are so powerful for LinkedIn marketing that you should also think about creating your own. This gives all the benefits of being a group member but some extra bonuses too. Creating your own group allows you to tailor its content to suit your own business. It also allows you to set it up in a way that gives easy reach to your preferred audience on LinkedIn.
Try not to make your group a sales pitch for your business though. The key is to share content which is useful and engage with members constructively. This will help build a positive relationship with group members and position you as an authority figure in your sector. By doing this, you should find that fresh leads start to come in from group members over time.
Reaching out to and connecting with prospects proactively
LinkedIn marketing relies on being proactive and reaching out to people in order to succeed. Although this can be time-consuming, it is worth focusing on when trying to generate new leads. You simply cannot sit back and rely on other businesses finding you. Instead, you need to be the one who is proactive and reaches out to other companies you wish to do business with in the future.
A good tip is spending a few minutes per day looking through the ‘People You May Know’ section on your LinkedIn profile. Finding new prospects to connect with from here is quick, easy and effective. It not only expands your network to generate more leads but also helps other users to see you are active within LinkedIn.
Posting useful content regularly
We have already noted how it is important to post regular, useful content in groups. This is also one of the best LinkedIn marketing tips in general. Put simply, an account which never posts any updates is unlikely to get much interest from others. This is because people think it is not used anymore or the business behind it is not vibrant or healthy.
Although you do not want to annoy people with multiple updates, crafting 1 per day is wise. Make sure that it is not too sales orientated though and that it is engaging, knowledgeable and will resonate with your network. By doing this, you will position your business as an authority in its field and a steady stream of new leads should follow.
Engage with other people’s content
The last tip for generating leads through LinkedIn marketing is to engage with other people’s content. This might sound obvious but it can be something many businesses on the platform fail to do. To help start conversations and generate more leads, try to spend a few minutes each time you use LinkedIn commenting on other people’s content and sharing your expert knowledge.
LinkedIn marketing is superb for lead generation
There is no doubt that, when done correctly, LinkedIn can help bring a steady stream of new B2B leads your way. Whether you are looking for new business partnerships or looking to drum up new commercial business, it is worth putting some time into. It will only work though if you approach it in the right way. If you take the above points on-board, you should soon start to see the desired results in no time at all.
Of course, if you need any advice or have any questions, please feel free to reach out. We’re always happy to help.
Jack Barron, Director
Jack is passionate about marketing and helping small to medium-sized businesses thrive. As Director of Invoke Media, he is responsible for overseeing the planning and implementation of every campaign, getting stuck into the execution of successful at every opportunity.
