LinkedIn has been a social network for businesses, but LinkedIn can also generate leads through effective marketing practices. Essentially, LinkedIn acts as a another website for your business and it is another way for your current customers or complete strangers to view what you have to offer. So exactly how can LinkedIn generate leads for your business?
Company Information- This is where your business makes the first impression on your LinkedIn visitor. The "About [Company]" should be brief and to the point. The reader wants to find out within seconds if they are interested in your business by seeing what exactly your business does. If that visitor is interested in what they see, they will continue reading your "About [Company]" section and come across your website URL. It's kind of obvious to have your company website in your "About [Company]" section, right? If the visitor was interested in what your company does, there is a good chance they just go straight to your website. Boom! A LEAD!
Company Employees- On your business' LinkedIn Home Page, visitors can see how they are connected to your employees. First thing is first though, your current employees that are on LinkedIn need to have your Company Name tagged in their job experience section and they need to click on "I currently work here." This way visitors can see what kind of experience your employees have. It is also an opportunity for a visitor to message your employees via LinkedIn's InMail. The visitor can also see if one of your employees is connected with one of their own connections, making it easier to start a conversation or becoming a LEAD!
Company Updates- Sometimes it is hard for current customers or complete strangers to navigate through your website to find new products, services, or offers. You can simply put fresh content on your company's LinkedIn Home Page Feed. These updates that you publish can be seen right away on a current customer's LinkedIn Live Feed or a complete stranger can access all of your updates by going to your company's LinkedIn Home Page at any time. Company Updates should always include a link that will drive them to your website. Current customers can share your status to all of their connections making your company more visible. LinkedIn users who don't follow you can also "like" your Company Update and they could be a potential LEAD!
Products and Services- We are now off of the Home Page tab and onto the Products and Services tab at the top of your LinkedIn. It is important that you display all of your products and services here. If a LinkedIn visitor made it this far, they are most likely looking for something that you have to offer. All of a sudden, they see what they're interested in and they click on that product or service to read more. Here is another way to generate a LEAD by linking that product or service from your website to your LinkedIn page.
Promotions- Promotions are relatively new to LinkedIn and a lot of companies aren't using this feature to their advantage. It is an opportunity for your interested LinkedIn visitor to give you their contact information by clicking on the offer. Your offer link on LinkedIn needs to be linked to a landing page on your website where the offer is located. This is what InBound Marketing is all about- The visitor is intrested in a product or service or they're just looking for more information, they click on your offer via LinkedIn that takes them to a landing page, they fill out their information to receive the offer. What does that person become? A LEAD.
It is important to utilize LinkedIn as much as possible. Your goal is to generate traffic to your website and to generate leads.
If you would like to learn more about how LinkedIn and Social Media Management can be a powerful marketing tool to generate leads, contact me at tyler@bluefrogdm.com