In this video, Alyssa from the WebFX Social Media team has the lowdown on driving leads through LinkedIn.

https://youtu.be/fcy92dqIv5s

Your business can reach people who have double the buying power of the average web user, and it’s all because of LinkedIn.

It’s more than a platform for connecting with your colleagues and looking for jobs. With a LinkedIn lead generation strategy, you can drive more revenue for your business.

A lot of videos and articles out there focus on LinkedIn lead generation for personal profiles, and that’s great, but it doesn’t tell you what to do with your business profile. This video is specifically concerned with how you can leverage your business page to get LinkedIn leads.

I have three different overarching areas you can focus on to improve your presence on the platform. You’ll want to consider:

• Investing in ads
• Improving your reach
• Sharing a mix of content

So, first…investing in ads.

You can run different types of ads on LinkedIn, all of which have the potential to drum up new business. But instead of outlining each type, I’m going to focus on LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms.

The Lead Gen feature lets you include a form with your ad where people can provide their emails, phone numbers, and other personal information — some of which is pre-filled for them.

You can create your LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms in LinkedIn Campaign Manager. One way to create a form is to do it when you launch a new campaign. You can also create a standalone form template to use in future campaigns.

Just select the option to create a form and fill out all of the details.

To maximize your ad’s lead gen potential, follow ad creation best practices such as:

• Matching your ad copy to your form copy, a.k.a. make sure the form is related to the ad
• Clearly explaining the value people get from filling out the form
• Writing compelling, attention-grabbing copy
• Using eye-catching multimedia when it’s an option
• Targeting the right audience

You can learn more about using LinkedIn ads in our video on the topic.

Next up, improving your reach on LinkedIn.

You can’t drive new leads if your profile doesn’t attract and excite them.

Start by optimizing your business page.

Make sure your page’s logo and cover image accurately reflect your business.

Side note: If you haven’t done this on any of your social media accounts, now is the time.

Check up on your contact info so potential LinkedIn leads can reach you. This means you should make sure you’re linking to the right pages, your phone number is up-to-date, and your location is correct in your profile’s About section.

Let’s talk keywords. If you want people to find your business when they search for terms related to you, you have to optimize your profile for search.

So whether you run a plumbing company or a hotel, you’ll want to include keywords relevant to your business in places like your tagline, your description, and in the Specialties section.

The Specialties section is a cool feature in your About section that lets you showcase what services or areas of expertise your business offers.

In the example from Fiverr, you can see they list their specialties as logo designs, resume editors, and more related to their freelance services.

Updating your profile for LinkedIn lead generation doesn’t stop there. When people arrive on your page, you have to woo them.

So when you’re writing your description, tagline, and filling out everything else, think of the value your business offers. What can you say that will convince people to contact you? How is your business making a difference?

When someone looks at your profile, one of the first things they see is your tagline. This is your first opportunity to make a good impression. It’s your online elevator pitch.

So if we look at Patagonia as an example, their tagline is “We’re in business to save our home planet.”

That pretty much sums up their business and communicates their mission in a quick, yet powerful way.

And now I’m moving on to the last portion of this video: Sharing a mix of content.

Your LinkedIn lead generation strategy should tie in with your content marketing strategy. All of the videos, blog posts, graphics, and other content you create can be repurposed to drive leads.

Not everything you share has to be solely focused on closing sales. That’s boring.

According to Demand Metric, 70% of people prefer articles to advertisements when they want to learn about a business. That same percentage of people also say content marketing makes them feel closer to a business.

Posting more brand awareness-focused, informational content establishes your business as a thought leader. You build trust with your audience so they’re comfortable investing in your business when they’re ready. It’s a great strategy for B2B lead generation and works for B2C companies, too.

And if the educational content is interesting enough, people will share it, getting your business in front of more people and opening you up to new opportunities. Don’t be afraid to encourage shares from your employees, too.

You don’t have to completely avoid sales-focused content, though. Mix in posts that show the impact your business has on current customers.

Show off your awards. Post testimonials from current customers or employees if you want to recruit new talent. Share case studies that establish your business as a results driver.

There’s no one right or wrong mix of content. If you notice your engagement dips when you share a lot of sales content, switch out a post or two with something educational. Post a photo of your team or a recap video of a company event.

Evaluate your social media analytics on a regular basis to come up with a formula that works.

And finally, engage with the people who comment on your posts, share your content, or tag your business in their posts. This can help form direct relationships with your audience and add to the trust you’re building with your content marketing.

You don’t need an elaborate response for every interaction. Ask a question. Thank someone for sharing your post. Commend someone for great insight. Little things make a difference.

Getting LinkedIn leads requires time and planning.

If you want to partner with a team of social media pros, give us a call or contact us online.

To keep learning about LinkedIn lead generation, B2B lead generation, and everything digital marketing, hit the subscribe button on this video and sign up for Revenue Weekly, our email newsletter.

Goodbye for now!