LinkedIn Lead Generation: 6 Tips for More B2B Leads

Tips From Digital Marketing Experts

More than 255 million adults are living in the United States. Of those, 163 million have a Profile on LinkedIn. Worldwide, professionals join the platform at a rate of two per second for a total of 645 million members in 200 countries and regions. In addition to personal member profiles, there are 30 million companies represented on the platform.

The big question is: “Do LinkedIn members use the platform for buying decisions?” The answer is a resounding “yes!” A LinkedIn survey showed that up to 63% of B2B Buyers used LinkedIn to support their Purchase process in the past year, and 80% B2B Leads are Generated through LinkedIn. If you have a business, it is imperative to have a LinkedIn lead generation strategy. This article will explain the best practices for using your personal and company LinkedIn profiles to capture more leads. 

Start with all the Facts

Before you can begin finding LinkedIn leads, it’s important to build a strong foundation – that’s your personal profile. Take the time to completely fill out your profile with employment history, skills, accolades, and education.

This step is so vital, yet it is the most often overlooked. LinkedIn members with complete profiles are 40 Times more likely to Receive an Opportunity through LinkedIn than members with an incomplete profile. 

Just like Google, LinkedIn utilizes keywords to show your profile to relevant individuals. Optimize your profile by researching appropriate and specific phrases – for example, a search for “accountant” yields over 6 million results.

Conversely, using the phrase “Certified Public Accountant in the non-profit industry in Dallas, TX” yields only 89 results. Be as specific as possible  to get found by the right leads. 

Ask for Endorsements and Recommendations

Once you have a complete profile, ask current and past colleagues and clients for their endorsements and recommendations. Before you connect with potential leads, you’ll want to show that you are trusted and competent in your field of expertise.

Build a Company Page

While some LinkedIn lead generation strategies must be completed through personal pages, others require a free company profile through LinkedIn Pages.

Once you have a page for your organization, you can share your employees’ posts and client posts about your company as well as using customize-able call-to-action buttons to encourage participation in specific campaigns. 

Be sure to share your company page with employees and current clients through newsletters and other social media platforms to spark the initial growth of your page.

Join LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn groups are a gold mine for building connections and finding leads. At this time, though, only individuals can participate in groups. (That’s why your completed personal profile with links to your company page is so essential.) 

Get creative when joining groups. Join local industry groups, but also research where potential clients are spending their time online and join those groups too. While it’s imperative to join the conversation and position yourself as a thought-leader within the community, it’s also important to refrain from overly self-promotional posts. You may even consider founding a group to position your company as an authority in your industry and capture even more B2B leads. 

Set up Laser-Focused Ads 

Are you ready to make some connections with prospective leads who aren’t in shared groups or your current network? Utilize LinkedIn’s powerful advertising platform to reach targeted leads through your company page. 

Text Ads

Text Ads offer a budget-friendly solution with Pay Per Click (PPC) and cost per impression (CPM) pricing options with no contracts or commitments. With this kind of advertising, you’re only paying for the ads that work. Text ads appear on the right-hand sidebar of the desktop version of LinkedIn to prospects in your niche. Fine-tune your audience by utilizing LinkedIn’s targeting options. 

Sponsored Content

Sponsored content and direct sponsored content are native ads which employ single image ads, video ads, and carousel ads which appear directly in a prospect’s news-feed. The difference between sponsored content and direct sponsored content is that sponsored content promotes an update that’s been previously posted on your company page – giving it reach beyond your current audience. Any new campaigns must start in your company news feed. Direct sponsored content is an ad created for a specific target group. The creative can be produced and modified without cluttering your company news-feed. 

Whether you’re using text ads or sponsored content, track your conversions in LinkedIn’s analytics, or Integrate their Tracking with your own Website. 

Use InMail for LinkedIn Lead Generation

InMail is LinkedIn’s messaging service. With their free account, you can only message people with whom you are currently connected. However, for as little as $47.99 per Month, you can utilize InMail to message prospective leads through a robust targeting system. There’s a cap on the number of Sponsored InMail a member can receive, so leads are more likely to be receptive to this type of targeted InMail – especially if you’re offering a product or service that’s relevant to them. When crafting your InMail, be sure to avoid sales-heavy verbiage and offer something of value to the lead. 

InMail allows you to personalize pitches, offer a clickable call-to-action, and only delivers when members are active – so you’re more likely to reach LinkedIn leads that will actually see your advertisement. 

Do you want to tap into the incredible power and potential of LinkedIn? Agency Partner Interactive can help! Let us assist you in building a loyal following of targeted, potential clients. Learn more about our LinkedIn Lead Generation Service and set up a time to talk through your business needs today.

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