For business-to-business marketers, there’s no better social platform than LinkedIn. If you have great content to share, LinkedIn is the place to do it.
While there are now more than 500 million LinkedIn users, only 3 million share content every week. This is a tremendous opportunity for business owners. If you simply share content, you’ll show up again and again in your prospect’s timeline, while your competitors remain MIA.
However, showing up in a timeline isn’t enough. Your profile should be air-tight and the content you post should be targeted, engaging and useful to your audience.
Here are five things you can do right now to boost your game on LinkedIn:
1. Establish goals for your content
Most of us have no strategy when it comes to posting and interacting on LinkedIn.
We post random articles, some having to do with our industry and others having to do with a missile crisis.
Or we “Like” a story about why some guy quit Google, comment on a poignant quote from Tony Robbins, then share a press release about our business.
The problem is that by doing everything, we appear to be focused on nothing.
By establishing goals for your LinkedIn content (could be promoting your product’s benefits, developing leads, or starting a conversation), you start to look like something. Your work looks purposeful, and with repetition, you start to establish yourself as an authority in your prospects’ minds.
Generally, the goal gives you a filter for what you like, comment on and share. This is actually valuable for your prospects, because over time they’ll start to see a pattern of you posting relevant content, and will gain interest in what you have to say. You become the only guy on your prospects’ timelines talking about an alternative to corn syrup, the complexities of corporate accounting, or the health benefits of mud wrestling. (Just make sure it’s not all of those.)
Then one day, the warm call comes in the form of a free lead, all as a result of the work you put in for months of relevant posting on the platform.
2. Identify your audience
Once you know what you want to achieve, you should start thinking about whom you’ll achieve it through.
On LinkedIn, you’re likely connected to hundreds of people, all with different backgrounds and professions. It’s possible many of your connections are simply people you know and aren’t prospects.
However, you’re probably connected to a decent handful of people you’d like to market your business to. You must identify who these people are, and then block out everyone else. Your content won’t matter to everyone else, so give up on making a broad appeal.
Instead, identify 1-5 prospect types that will comprise your audience on LinkedIn. Doing so will sharpen your focus for the content you need to share.
3. Optimize your profile
Think of your profile as a personal brand to your audience. Remember that if you’re a business owner, you’re not marketing to all of your connections—just the ones you’ve identified as your audience.
When an audience member visits your profile, it’s generally because they want to know what you can do for them. Few of us have the time to peruse profiles just to know more about people.
Instead, your audience has a need they’re looking to fill. One of the most important things you can do to engage them is to fill your profile with the topics they care about.
Make a list of the 10-20 most important keywords, and revise your profile to include the keywords as you explain your summary, experience and education. All of these elements should point to how they can help your audience.
Then, add other sections that further support the idea you can help. Honors and awards, projects, and certifications will add value if they’re relevant to your target audience.
For anything that’s not relevant, scrap it. Adding hobbies and birthdays to your profile are generally wastes of space. Instead, take some time to add skills and endorse the skills of connections. Typically, those connections will return the favor.
4. Create a company page
Your company page can serve as a destination for audience members who are highly interested in your content.
In the timeline, your posts compete with everyone else’s. But on a company page, your audience has the opportunity to consume tons of relevant content.
Anyone reading a good company page will quickly conclude that you’re an authority in the space they’re interested in.
Additionally, if you have a particular product, service or brand that deserves its own space, you can create a showcase page. This would be a great place to drive customers who have a specific need you’re able to fill.
5. Start posting, every day.
Today, it seems that the best way to get noticed on LinkedIn is by frequency of posting.
Certainly, getting likes and shares helps your cause, but consistent posting means consistently attracting the eyeballs of your audience.
Here are a few ways you can post:
- Share an article or video – When you run across something interesting that would appeal to your audience, go ahead and post it. Add your own take or intro to the piece of content, and encourage some audience participation, perhaps by asking a pointed question and requesting comments.
- Like an article or video – If you see something pop up in your feed that’s relevant to your audience, simply “Like” it. This is a nice way to show up in others’ feeds with minimal effort.
- Publish a post – Use LinkedIn’s publishing platform to create your own post. Writing your own post enhances your reputation as an authority in your space.
Make a goal to post at least once a day. People like to check LinkedIn when they get into work or are about to leave for the day, so try to post in the early morning or early evening.
Wrapping it up
The opportunity to effectively market your business on LinkedIn is great. While buying ad space can certainly help your cause, there are plenty of actions you can take to get noticed organically.
Once you’ve determined your business goals and who to market to, optimize your profile based on your audience’s needs. Then create a company page and keep it up to date.
From there, simply stay consistent with engaging, relevant posts at the right times of day.
By implementing these five mini-strategies, you’ll have stepped up your LinkedIn game and will be on your way to generating more leads.
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