Top 7 Ways to Generate Sales Leads With LinkedIn

Posted on July 26, 2018 by Hitchner

LinkedIn is one of the best online platforms for generating sales leads—B2B sales leads especially. It makes sense because LinkedIn is a social media platform for business-related purposes and it’s a very successful one. Forty-four percent of its members have an income of more than $75,000 and 50 percent of users turn to LinkedIn when making their purchasing decisions.

If you aren’t using LinkedIn to build your sales pipeline, then you are missing out on a lot of potential customers, but don’t jump in without a plan. When using LinkedIn to generate sales leads, you should do so strategically—from developing a targeted profile to building successful advertising campaigns. Follow these seven steps to make the most of your LinkedIn account and increase your sales numbers dramatically.

Perfect Your Profile

“Your LinkedIn summary (all 2,000 or fewer characters) will likely be read by more people than any other version of your bio.” – William Aruda, Forbes

Your LinkedIn profile is your first impression to most leads, so you should spend time making sure that it’s a good one.

Choose the Right Picture. Choose a professional image for your profile picture. Wear clothing that is appropriate to your job—for most that will be a suit, but if you belong to a more casual industry, be sure to wear an elevated version of your usual attire. You don’t need to go to a studio to get a picture taken, but don’t use a selfie. Instead, ask a colleague or friend to take a few pictures of you against a nice backdrop, even outside in natural light.

Customize Your Headline. Most people use the default headline of their current job title, but that’s a wasted opportunity. You should be using it to hook potential clients. How will you help potential leads? Include your title, company, and how your product helps clients. For instance, “Sales Representative at [company] helping companies increase sales by [percent] with [product name].” Stay away from jargon as much as possible. Instead, use easily understood terms that potential clients will be using in their searches.

Create a Stellar Summary. Since you’re using LinkedIn as a lead-generation tool, direct your summary to your potential clients. Tell your audience how passionate you are about setting companies up with the amazing products you sell because of the ways those products change their lives. Make your summary easy to digest by adding bulleted lists to summarize key points and including media to enhance your message like links to videos explaining your products.

Use a Custom URL. When you join LinkedIn, they assign you a generic URL, so make sure you’ve changed it to something more personal and easy to remember. Most people use their name, but if you have a common name, you may need to add another identifying detail like the company you work for or use a well-known nickname. You can change your URL up to five times in six months, so don’t worry if use job-related terms and then change jobs. As long as you haven’t used up all five edits, you can easily update your URL.

Add Current Contacts

“There is no overstating the value of happy customers who become advocates for your brand.” – Alex Rynne, LinkedIn

Yes, you already know your clients, but LinkedIn is an elaborate web of “who knows who,” so be sure to connect with all of your current and past clients once your profile is set up. Send them a nice note with your invitation, letting them know how much they mean to you. Cultivation doesn’t end with the sale or even after a client leaves. One day, they might come back to your product or transfer to a different company that can benefit from your product.

Don’t forget that many of the companies you’ve worked with (or want to work with) also have a presence on LinkedIn. Spend some time finding and following their pages to stay up-to-date on their latest news.

Add New Contacts

Everyone you talk to about business or meet during the course of the business day is a potential LinkedIn connection. – Jeff Haden, Inc.

From now on, every person you meet is a potential LinkedIn connection. If you meet someone at a party or standing in line at the store, and the conversation turns to work, consider connecting with them on LinkedIn. If they aren’t a potential client, they might know someone who is.

When sending them a connection invite, take the time to write a personal note that references your conversation and sends them something useful—like a link to a relevant article or an offer to refer them to one of your other connections. Unless your in-person conversation quickly turned to their interest in the product or service you’re selling, stay away from overly sales-like messages. Instead, connect with them with the purpose of being helpful to their job. They’ll take note and look for ways to return the favor.

Customer review rating business concept, Woman hand using mobile phone

Ask for and Write Recommendations

“A glowing recommendation from an existing customer provides social proof that can put new prospects’ minds at ease.” – Emma Brudner, Hubspot

Recommendations can act as powerful customer reviews for you and the products you sell, but recommendations that you write for others are an overlooked way to get your name and profile in front people who aren’t a part of your network.

Asking others to write recommendations for you is a great way to build your profile. Good reviews are a guaranteed way to improve sales records for products. In fact, having at least five reviews can increase the likelihood of purchase by 270 percent compared to having no reviews. When it comes to gaining leads on LinkedIn, both you and what you’re selling are under review, so when asking for recommendations, request that customers include a reference to the product as well.

You should also write recommendations for others. This way anyone looking at their profile (to hire them, connect with them, etc.) will see your recommendation as well as your headline and a link to your profile. If your review and headline are memorable enough, they may click through to learn more about you.

Find Leads

“80 percent of social media B2B leads come from LinkedIn.” – The Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to LinkedIn

When looking for leads, you should use the advanced search feature. The advanced search feature allows you to filter LinkedIn members with information like their location, company, industry and how closely you are connected to them. If you upgrade to the LinkedIn Premium, you have access to additional filters like function and years of experience to target more specific leads.

After the initial search, narrow your results down to the best leads by finding 2nd-degree connections. Depending on how well you know the 1st-degree connection that links you to your lead, you can ask for an introduction. To make the introduction easier, include a draft email that your contact can use when connecting you to your lead.

For some leads, you won’t have a 1st-degree connection. You can still use LinkedIn to make the cold call warmer. Look through their profile information and find things you have in common. Did you go to the same school? Are you members of the same organization? You can, of course, immediately contact leads using the commonalities you find, but you’ll get a better reaction if you first cultivate a relationship with them. Join the same LinkedIn groups and enter into non-sales related conversations about shared hobbies or career topics. Be genuine and try to help them by referring them to others or vice versa. They’ll find ways to pay it forward to you as well.

Engage in Groups

“Offer massive value to every member. Connect anytime that they reach out to you. Try and genuinely solve their problems.” – Neil Patel, Forbes

Groups on LinkedIn are a place where like-minded individuals share information with each other—usually with articles and blog posts or by answering questions posed by other group members. Starting your own group isn’t usually the best method of gaining leads unless there is a specific topic you want to discuss, but no group in which to do so.

Starting a group is easy in theory, but it takes a lot of work. If you choose to start your own group, have a backlog of articles, blog posts and conversation topics to share on a daily basis and populate the group with several posts before you invite connections to join. Starting your own group is one of the best ways to cultivate connections on LinkedIn, but don’t go in blindly. Be prepared to spend a good amount of time managing the group.

Whether or not you create your own group, you should join any groups in which your potential clients participate. If your product or service targets marketers, join all marketing-related groups. If you want to target managers, join groups that are management-related and so on. Once a member of the group, you should share blog posts and articles that are relevant to that group. If an article about your product or service is relevant, share it, but balance it by mostly sharing and participating in non-sales posts and conversations. To make a lasting impression, share blog posts that you’ve written showcasing your knowledge on the topic at hand.

In addition to adding your blog posts and articles to relevant groups, you can also post them as status updates in LinkedIn to let your connections know what you’ve been up to as well. It may lead to fruitful conversations with leads among your own connections.

Advertise through LinkedIn

“In the history of my marketing experience at this school, I’ve never seen us convert that quickly.” – Elizabeth Hogan, Duke University, on Sponsored InMail

LinkedIn advertising is more costly than other forms of social media advertising, but for B2B companies, the access to a highly targeted professional audience is without compare. LinkedIn understands the value of marketing to their members and has invested a lot of time in developing their advertising features. They are constantly rolling out new features like carousel advertising and matched audiences which allows you to upload your internal database data to target leads better, so stay updated on what new offerings they have available.

Currently, LinkedIn has five ad types to choose from.

Dynamic Ads

Dynamic ads are another high-performing LinkedIn advertising option. Dynamic ads work well when you want people to follow your page, join your group, visit your website or download your content. The system will pull in the targeted audience’s username and profile picture to create ad copy that specifically addresses them. The copy is very short and should explain how the user can benefit from clicking the CTA button.

Programmatic Display Ads

Display ads are image- or video-based ads that appear in users’ sidebar when they are using the platform on their desktop. Use eye-catching media and messaging to grab the users’ attention. To get the most out of your video-based ad, keep the video under 30 seconds, but get to the main message within the first 10 seconds.

Text Ads

Text ads on LinkedIn are much like Google AdWords, where you choose between PPC and CPI ads, set a bid for the audience you want to reach and set a budget to ensure you don’t overspend to reach that audience. You can choose our targets based on demographics like age and gender, career details like industry and position, and LinkedIn activities like to which groups they belong. Because you don’t have as much real estate as other advertising options, focus on your strongest CTAs.

LinkedIn is one of the best ways to generate new leads, especially for those in the B2B marketing industry, but it must be used strategically. Develop a presence as a thought-leader through your profile and in groups, and maintain continuous touchpoints with your contacts, whether it’s congratulating them on a promotion or referring them to another connection.

Add a few minutes to your calendar every day to check and update content on the platform. The key is to keep it slow and steady, and after a few weeks, you’ll begin seeing all of your hard work beginning pay off!

Kenneth Hitchner is a communications strategist who protects and promotes brands. He is currently the director of public relations and social media at Creative Marketing Alliance and CMA Association Management. In prior assignments, he served as the spokesman for NJ Transit, the deputy press secretary for a Governor of New Jersey and the chief content officer for a nonprofit that put downsized, college-educated professionals back into the workplace during the Great Recession of 2008.

Businessman and businesswoman discuss their PR campaign and marketing strategy.

7 Ways to Bolster Your PR Results

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Hitchner

A successful PR campaign does not evolve on its own.

You need to develop a proactive mindset and a strategic plan that will help you earn the media coverage that will propel your organization to the next level of success. By focusing on developing relationships with customers, influencers, and suppliers, you can establish a solid foundation for a productive PR campaign. Below are seven ways to bolster your PR results.

1) Become a regular exhibitor at industry trade shows

Trade shows provide excellent forums for networking and showcasing your new products. If you are new to the trade show arena, make sure that you use discretion and maximize your resources. Here are a few tips to help you generate PR from your trade show participation:

Select your trade shows carefully. Avoid shows in their infancy in favor of established shows with a large number of attendees. Also, consider the location where the show will be held. Larger cities with easy airport access are typically better venues for trade shows.
Choose your booth location wisely. Booth location is often the key to a successful trade show. Corner booths and locations near the front expo entrance are good choices while locations at the back of the expo hall are less ideal. Exhibitors who register early typically have better access to the most desirable booth locations.
Invest in an eye-catching booth display. Creating a captivating, inviting ambiance will help drive traffic to your booth. And an inviting booth begins with an eye-catching display. Make sure that your display is clearly visible from afar and make sure that your booth is neat and free of clutter.
Explore speaking or sponsorship opportunities. Most trade shows offer exhibitors the opportunity to advertise in the exhibitor manual, sponsor a trade show event, or serve as a speaker on an exhibition topic. While exhibitors can usually expect to pay for these opportunities, they are a great means of fostering PR results.

2) Enlist the support of influencers

“…Collaborations with social media stars and celebrities can help to build your credibility among consumers, but that’s not the only benefit. Influencer marketing also gives you the ability to enhance your public relations efforts by filling engagement and trust building “holes” that traditional media can’t always deliver.”

– Rebekah Iliff, Chief strategy officer, AirPR

Influencers are outstanding brand ambassadors. Consumers are more apt to trust people than businesses, highlighting the key role that influencers now play in advertising and PR. As contrived marketing messages increasingly fail to engage audiences, social media influencers will continue to grow in popularity.

3) Focus on building key relationships

Relationships often serve as the building blocks of fruitful PR campaigns. Maintaining relationships with the individuals who helped your company succeed as well as those who can take your company to the next level of success is essential. In general, you should focus on establishing and maintaining relationships with four categories of people:

Customers: Happy customers are outstanding brand ambassadors, especially those who are active on social media. You can build strong relationships with customers by delivering products and services on time and by offering an unparalleled level of responsiveness.
Suppliers and vendors: Paying your vendors on time and treating them in a pleasant, respectful manner are two ways to earn rave reviews from suppliers and vendors. Also, make sure that your purchase orders are clear and organized, and try to provide an accurate forecast of upcoming needs.
Employees: Satisfied employees are more likely to provide favorable online reviews of your company as an employer. You can keep your employees engaged and satisfied by establishing a positive work culture and recognizing them for their accomplishments.
Business partners: Strive to work well with your business partners to ensure that you do not become one of the 70 percent of business partnerships that fail. You can improve your relationship with your business partners by communicating openly and honestly.

4) Zero in on millennials

“Millennials have incredible passion and a strong desire to make the world a better place…They want to create meaningful experiences with brand managers. Companies such as Toms, Starbucks and Chipotle have managed to attract and retain their attention. Those brand managers aren’t just speaking to people; they’re speaking with them.”

– Deirdre Breakenridge, CEO of Pure Performance Communications

With millennials possessing $44 billion in annual spending power, connecting with millennials is essential to bolstering your PR results. In contrast to baby boomers and Generation X, millennials are more experience-driven consumers. Reaching millennials, therefore, requires a different approach that involves the following elements:

Increase your focus on creativity when branding your products and campaigns
Offer free events, activities, and trials to enable millennials to experience your products
Make sure that your website and social media sites are responsive and easy to navigate
Encourage millennials in your workforce to weigh in on your marketing campaigns

5) Engage with your audience

Engaging with your audience gives people a reason to return to your website, blog and social media pages. You build customer retention while elevating your PR results. Here are a few specific ways to engage with your audience:

Respond to blog post comments from your audience: Responding to audience comments regarding your blog posts enhances the quality of your blog and also helps you build your brand’s presence. Most importantly, it shows your audience that you value their feedback and are interested in engaging with them.
Use social media to showcase your customers and their accomplishments: Recognizing your customers’ recent awards and achievements will delight your clients and help you create a positive company culture. Additionally, you solidify your relationship with key clients while also showing prospective customers that you are a trusted resource for the products and services you provide.
Share content that will be useful to your audience: There is little doubt that sharing content is an effective PR strategy to employ. However, with millions of videos and blog posts published every month, you need to employ content intelligence to ensure that you systematically sort through the clutter and choose the most compelling content.
Introduce digital storytelling: If you are not already using digital storytelling to augment your PR strategy, then it is time to start. Storytelling’s use of narrative and local flavor to engage with customers makes it a powerful PR tool. The keys to success when introducing storytelling are to start small and make sure you link your storytelling to your company’s goals and missions.

6) Become a master of responsiveness

“Among respondents to The Social Habit who have ever attempted to contact a brand, product, or company through social media for customer support, 32% expect a response within 30 minutes.”

– Reinaldo S. Prado, LinkedIn

Studies show that more than 75 percent of people who submit an online inquiry expect an email response or a social media reply in less than six hours. With a growing number of consumers opting to engage with companies through social media or live chat, it is essential for you to take measures to increase your level of responsiveness. Here are a few specific ways to become more responsive:

Always respond to social media inquiries, even if you must use a pre-generated response.
If you advertise your live chat, make sure you have staff available at all hours to respond to inquiries.
Strive to respond to social media inquiries and online quote requests within an hour.
Make sure you have an official response prepared in case a customer posts a major concern.
Consider hiring an intern to monitor your social media and chat inquiries to ensure timely responses.

7) Make it easy for your audience to contribute feedback

“…You might want to create one hashtag for a dedicated campaign where consumers can share images of themselves with your product, and then create another hashtag that’s evergreen, where buyers can share their reviews and experiences with your product or service.”

– Jose Angelo Gallegos, Social Media Today

Providing convenient ways for audience members to provide feedback reiterates your dedication to listening to their needs. Additionally, customer feedback can be instrumental in helping you improve your business. The key to obtaining customer feedback is to make it easy and convenient for people to convey their comments. Some fast and convenient ways to encourage customers to provide feedback include the following:

Feature brief popup surveys on your website.
Distribute short comment cards and text surveys at promotional. events.
Enable customers to comment on your blog posts.
Simply ask customers for their feedback during trade shows and professional meetings.

What is the single best step you can take to bolster your PR results?

As outlined above, there are many measures you can take to enhance your PR status. However, the single best step you can take to maximize your PR results is to enlist the support of an accomplished marketing expert. A professional marketing specialist can help you develop a strategic campaign that will drive audience engagement, strengthen key relationships, and win over millennials. Most importantly, you will expand your market presence and build brand loyalty.