Your goal is to get potential clients onto your website so they can learn about you and start their buyer’s journey. (Click to Tweet!) The first step is to find them where they are – and if your target clients are professionals, managers, CEOs, or employees in B2B industries, they’re likely on LinkedIn.
Do you know how to use LinkedIn strategy to reach them?
FIND YOUR PEOPLE
Build Your Base
First, you have to make sure your bases are covered. If you haven’t already, create a branded company profile and a personal profile (people like people more than companies), and be sure to include links to your website and company blog. Then, create as many connections as you can, because the more connections you have, the more people see your LinkedIn updates.
Be a Joiner
LinkedIn has more than 1.5 million groups, and 81% of users belong to one of them at least. You should belong to as many as possible that fit your desired customer profile. To find your groups, click on “Interests,” then “Groups” from the dropdown menu, and search for topics – such as industries your potential clients are in. The more engaged you are in your groups, the faster you can become a “top influencer,” which means many more people will see your content. Note: Most of these groups prohibit advertising, even if you think you’re being subtle about it.
DIY Groups
If you can’t find what you want, try making it. You can make your own group around your niche, or even one specifically for your customers. This can be a time-consuming endeavor since you’ll have to act as moderator, weeding out spammers and enforcing good manners. But, it’s also a great way to have productive discussions about your industry and your clients’ needs.
BRING’EM IN
Publish or Perish
What we like to do to maximize the reach of our content is to post a blog post on the company website and then post a teaser of it in LinkedIn with a link. That teaser can be a quote or a snippet, but the best ones are a little personal insight into the post – why you thought it was an important topic to bring up, etc. Don’t just post and re-post your own content though. Share articles you’ve found valuable. Express opinions. Ask questions. In other words, engage your audience. Oh, and be sure to include a picture. Everyone loves a good picture.
Make Conversation
Did you know that you can create a poll in LinkedIn? Who doesn’t love a poll? In fact, one great way to bring attention to a blog article is to end the post with a question, and then create a LinkedIn poll around it. Clever, eh?
Offer Something of Value
The number-one rule of LinkedIn marketing, offer something of value. (Click to Tweet!) If you’re running a contest or giveaway on your website, see if you can find a “Promotions” section in your LinkedIn Groups. Many groups have something like this where group members can share deals, coupon codes, contests and giveaways.
For more LinkedIn strategy, check out The LinkedIn Guide to Lead Generation, and our free download.
