Elizabeth DyrsmidDecember 28, 2014
Have you started using LinkedIn yet? Overwhelmed at all there is to explore? Not sure where to start?
LinkedIn is a professional social network with a wealth of opportunity – when used correctly. In this article, we’ll show you 10 of the most advanced ways to attract highly qualified leads and use LinkedIn to bring your business more money.
1. Start an attractive company page.
Your company page gives the first impression of your business. This is the opportunity to brand your company and show some personality.
Your picture is the first thing people notice when arriving on your company page. To be effective, your picture has to send a clear signal about what you do and why people should care.
Some of the top B2B companies get creative with their pictures. Here are a few examples.
Microsoft
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Microsoft is a powerful company. What they sell is sometimes viewed as boring (especially by non-geeky folks like you and me). In this picture, they share a different symbol of what they sell – a carefree, happy life. This isn’t about wires, microchips, and processors. It’s about making life a little bit easier.
SAP
SAP uses a similar concept. They don’t sell the actual software in their pictures; they sell the experience of using the software. In this case, on-the-go, use-anywhere programs that make life a little easier
2. Spend some time on the copy for your company page.
Even though LinkedIn is a professional network, people like to see fun, engaging copy that tells a story about the business they’re viewing.
You have quite a bit of room for an introduction. It’s the first few lines of your company description that matter the most.
For tips on how to write your description, let’s take a closer look at Groove Digital Marketing’s intro.
- Established street cred: Don’t know who Groove Digital Marketing is? You’ll find out and get the established street cred of Groove being a certified HubSpot partner in the first few words.
- Benefits over features: Want more leads? We can help with that. Better yet, do you want more qualified leads? We can help with that too.
- What’s in it for them? The person reading your company description has one thought in mind, “what’s in it for me?” Answer that question at the end of your first paragraph (like we did here) and you’ll hook them!
3. Optimize your company page for searches.
Optimization isn’t just for Google, Bing, and Yahoo. It’s also useful on LinkedIn.
As you continue to write the content for your company page, optimize it in the same way you would optimize your website for search engines. Sprinkle keywords throughout your content to help your page pop up in LinkedIn searches and get found by the right people.
Your LinkedIn Company Page will also create a valuable search result for your company. – Stephanie Sammons, WiredAdvisor.com
4. Expand beyond your company page with a Showcase page.
Is your company too complex to feature on one page alone? LinkedIn understands that, which is why they’ve created Showcase pages.
Showcase pages let you breakout of your overarching message and hone in on a specific marketing message. For example, if your business sells to business owners, marketers, and the IT department, breakout your company page into three different pages. On each one, you get to speak the language of your buyer instead of casting a wide net, hoping that someone will understand enough to feel compelled to buy.
Showcase pages are the ideal way to segment your LinkedIn traffic. One company that does this well is Adobe.
Adobe has software for graphic designers, marketers, and publishers. Each of these groups has unique needs, unique demands, and unique wants. By using their showcase pages, Adobe can target those specific needs, demands, and wants of each target market. This makes their marketing more exciting to be a part of.
To learn how to setup your Showcase page, check out LinkedIn’s instructions here.
A few benefits to setting up Showcase pages, beyond the marketing message include:
- Getting better analytics
- Appearing more in search results
- Associating employees with a company profile
- Posting jobs to your company pages
- Getting a Vanity URL (easier to remember and more search engine friendly)
5. Get people talking with a LinkedIn group.
Social networks are a place for people to meet, mingle, and chat. What’s more exciting than getting to know others who share the same passions and interests?
By launching a LinkedIn group, you spread the word about your company organically.
To setup your group, follow these instructions from LinkedIn. We suggest starting an open group. This way, your conversations, discussions, and insights are visible to anyone who stumbles upon your group.
You’ll also want to have a strategy about how you moderate and manage your groups. Here are a few basic rules to keep your LinkedIn group active and engaged.
- Establish a moderator/admin to oversee your page. This will be someone within your organization. It probably won’t be an executive. It should be someone with enough time to monitor and respond promptly to questions and discussions.
- Post at least once a week. When you post, your messages go directly to your group member’s inbox (unless they opt out of email notifications) so you’re more likely to stay top of mind.
- Follow the 80/20 rule – 80% about industry related topics and only 20% about your business offerings. Your group is not a place to promote your business. It’s a place to discuss, converse, and engage your audience. Ask questions, share other people’s content and encourage others to start topics of discussion.
One company that has had a lot of success with LinkedIn groups is Citi. Check out their story in their own words in this video.
6. Invite the right people to your LinkedIn groups.
Once you have your group up and running, you’ll need to invite the right people. With a strong core base involved and active in your groups, word about your new group will spread like wildfire.
Here are some of the people to invite.
- Clients
- Customers
- Vendors
- Partners
- Influencers in your industry, such as bloggers
If you want to expand faster or reach beyond your own network, you might want to consider advertising.
Self-service ads are one of the best options to help spread awareness about your group. You can target specific people, demographics, and job functions to get valuable new members (and potential leads) into your group.
7. Actively search for new leads
With optimized pages and LinkedIn groups, you’re off to a good start. That doesn’t mean that you can sit back and relax quite yet.
Keep fueling your growth by actively searching for new prospects and qualified leads using LinkedIn’s advanced search feature.
On the top of your LinkedIn page, you’ll see a search bar. Click the word “Advanced” next to the search box to start your in-depth search.
Once there, you’ll be able to target your search to job title, company, location, industry, etc. You can also search in any of the groups you’ve joined, such as alumni group, local networking groups, and more.
When your search results appear, you’ll have the chance to connect with each of the people that match your search.
Keep in mind that when you reach out to your new connections, you should send a personal note. Explain why you’re contacting them. Don’t try to sell your service in the first message or you’ll probably get ignored. Instead, offer your new connection something helpful. Here are a few examples of how to make the introduction.
- Ask a question about the industry.
- Offer something helpful/valuable.
- Invite the person to join your group.
- Send the person a blog post you wrote recently that could help in their position.
No matter what you send, make it valuable. No one is on LinkedIn to get sold to. Keep your introductions focused on benefits and long-term connections.
8. Update your company page regularly to drive followers to your website.
Once you’ve made a connection – whether through someone landing on your company page, being added to your LinkedIn group, or through you reaching out – you want to make it easy for your prospects to jump off of LinkedIn and onto your website.
Regular updates get people off your LinkedIn profile and onto your website. If you want to make money from your LinkedIn efforts, this is a vital next step.
Your recent updates consist of a headline, image, and short post. Using these to capture the attention of your audience is a good way to drive more people to your website.
UPS does a good job of this by using a variety of posts, including multi-media (videos), celebrity endorsements, and informational posts.
Update your pages and groups regularly with blog posts and company news. Aim the headlines and updates directly at your target audience so that they feel compelled to click through to your website.
9. Monitor and adjust your strategy as you go.
You can read as many helpful articles about using LinkedIn for business marketing as you want. The only way to truly know if your efforts are working is through your analytics.
View the analytics on your company page (click the Analytics tab at the top of your page) and Showcase page (click “Other pages” section and then scroll down to view analytics to review your Showcase pages analytics). Monitor these and make small adjustments. Find out what works and what falls flat.
Like any inbound marketing strategy, yours should stay fluid and ever changing. By constantly testing, adjusting, and analyzing, you’ll continue to improve your LinkedIn presence, helping you drive greater results.
10. Get your entire team involved in your LinkedIn strategy.
Too many companies opt for the “set it and forget it” strategy with LinkedIn. Other companies leave LinkedIn to an intern.
When you adopt the “all hands on deck” strategy and get everyone in your company active on your company pages, groups, and profiles, you have a far greater chance to harness more connections. You also position yourself as a strong thought-leader and go-to resource for your industry.
Conclusion
Let’s recap the top 10 advanced LinkedIn strategies you should follow to boost your B2B marketing:
- Start a visually appealing company page.
- Spend some time working on the copy for your company page.
- Optimize your company page content for searches.
- Add Showcase pages.
- Get people talking with a LinkedIn group.
- Invite the right audience to your LinkedIn group to spark conversation.
- Actively search for new leads.
- Update your company page regularly to drive clicks to your website.
- Monitor and adjust your strategy as you go.
- Get your entire team involved in your LinkedIn strategy.
With these strategies in mind, you can maximize your presence on LinkedIn and use this powerful tool as a way to drive higher qualified leads to your business.
Want more tips on how to harness the power of LinkedIn? Download your copy the free ebook, The Complete Guide to Leveraging LinkedIn for B2B Lead Generation.
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