LinkedIn is one of the largest social media platforms for professionals, and is becoming a more powerful marketing, sales and branding outlet as the platform expands its product and service lines. According to VentureBeat, an online publication, LinkedIn had 450 million members as of August 2016. Some 25% of those members used the site at least once a month. While that figure does not come close to Facebook and other social networking websites, LinkedIn can still be a useful tool for lead generation.
Let's take a look at some of the practices and tools involved.
An introduction
Forbes, a business publication, published a blog post by contributor John Hall that explains that LinkedIn fuels the lion's share of business-to-business (B2B) leads generated by social media platforms. According to the author, 80% of all B2B social leads are generated through LinkedIn, showing that it is indeed a giant in this regard. If you are focusing more on marketing to consumers, other social media platforms such as Facebook will be more suitable. However, B2B companies must consider leveraging LinkedIn to generate the maximum volume of valuable leads.
How to use LinkedIn for lead generation
Small Business Trends, an online magazine, suggests first introducing your business briefly and then regularly engaging in relevant conversations on the site. They also recommend always looking to identify the right connections. According to the news provider, LinkedIn offers advanced filters to assist in search (for those with a premium LinkedIn account).
LinkedIn ProFinder, a recently added feature, allows users to connect with freelance workers in a variety of fields. For instance, try using ProFinder as an easy-to-use tool to make direct contact with someone who can offer help with writing and design to help boost your online brand. Once you do that, you can tailor your content to fit your customer markets -- and then leverage your online presence to generate leads for your businesses.
LinkedIn Ads, the core branding service the social network offers, has a feature to help generate and acquire leads through marketing collateral published on the website, as noted by Small Business Trends. The website also strongly suggests regularly publishing articles on the site, as this can help turn leads into valuable customers.
Advanced tips
Hall, who also contributed to LinkedIn's Marketing Solutions Blog, recommends all companies incorporate their LinkedIn accounts into editorial schedules to maintain a strong link between content creation and sharing. Then, companies can leverage tracking URLs ─ which are shortened links that allow you to measure traffic to that website page ─ to gain a stronger understanding of user behaviors and audience reception. No matter what, Hall asserts, there must be a clear call to action in every piece of published content to truly generate valuable leads and turn them into customers.
Let's take a look at some of the practices and tools involved.
An introduction
Forbes, a business publication, published a blog post by contributor John Hall that explains that LinkedIn fuels the lion's share of business-to-business (B2B) leads generated by social media platforms. According to the author, 80% of all B2B social leads are generated through LinkedIn, showing that it is indeed a giant in this regard. If you are focusing more on marketing to consumers, other social media platforms such as Facebook will be more suitable. However, B2B companies must consider leveraging LinkedIn to generate the maximum volume of valuable leads.
How to use LinkedIn for lead generation
Small Business Trends, an online magazine, suggests first introducing your business briefly and then regularly engaging in relevant conversations on the site. They also recommend always looking to identify the right connections. According to the news provider, LinkedIn offers advanced filters to assist in search (for those with a premium LinkedIn account).
LinkedIn ProFinder, a recently added feature, allows users to connect with freelance workers in a variety of fields. For instance, try using ProFinder as an easy-to-use tool to make direct contact with someone who can offer help with writing and design to help boost your online brand. Once you do that, you can tailor your content to fit your customer markets -- and then leverage your online presence to generate leads for your businesses.
LinkedIn Ads, the core branding service the social network offers, has a feature to help generate and acquire leads through marketing collateral published on the website, as noted by Small Business Trends. The website also strongly suggests regularly publishing articles on the site, as this can help turn leads into valuable customers.
Advanced tips
Hall, who also contributed to LinkedIn's Marketing Solutions Blog, recommends all companies incorporate their LinkedIn accounts into editorial schedules to maintain a strong link between content creation and sharing. Then, companies can leverage tracking URLs ─ which are shortened links that allow you to measure traffic to that website page ─ to gain a stronger understanding of user behaviors and audience reception. No matter what, Hall asserts, there must be a clear call to action in every piece of published content to truly generate valuable leads and turn them into customers.
