LinkedIn lead generation can be a true game changer for business-to-business companies. The platform is built for business networking, which means it is uniquely suited to the needs of B2B business marketing.
However, there are some best practices and tips that you should follow. These will allow you to gain traction on the platform, rather than fading into the background. Find out what you need to do to improve below.
The local context of LinkedIn lead generation
According to a SA social media landscape report by Arthur Goldstuck from World Wide Worx, local growth in the use of this LinkedIn is wholly on par with international trends.
South Africa currently has more than 8 million LinkedIn users. However, if you want to take advantage of the numbers and get leads from LinkedIn, you have to be intentional. Quite fittingly, this business platform expects you to work for those leads.
How to go about LinkedIn lead generation
The best way to turn your company page into a lead generation machine is to turn it into a window that shows what’s happening at your business. Instead of hosting a static page with a bit of ‘about us’ content (who reads that stuff anyway?), you need to give prospective customers a sense of what it would be like doing business with you. This is also a great way to attract top talent.
If you treat the page as a dynamic marketing tool, you can establish thought-leadership collateral, build brand awareness, and move your audience to take action, i.e. click through to your website.
As a specialist B2B PR agency, Red Ribbon Communications has refined the process of using LinkedIn to attract potential customers to an art. Here are a few insider tips that will allow you to do the same:
1. Choose a striking image
Use a profile image that draws attention or creates interest. The header image you use is the first avenue you can use to attract the interest of prospective clients who use the platform. An ideal header image should make the user eager to find out more and keep reading.
2. Create a compelling company description
Your company description should serve as a clear and compelling pitch of your products or services. Steer clear of a long, dry explanation of how the business was founded and how many branches you’ve opened – that is not the stuff of lead generation. Go for something inspiring and inspirational and pay particular attention to the first two sentences – that’s all that LinkedIn displays before your profile is clicked on.
3. Leverage the Updates section
Be sure to make your Updates section clickable and conversion-focused. If prospective clients did not click through to your website from the company information section, you want them to do so from the Updates. You want to create an active and engaging feed by regularly posting updates that are aimed at your target audience.
Here a few tips to write compelling updates:
- Optimise headlines by adding your own point of view and always include a clear and concise call to action of about 150 characters or less.
- Ask thoughtful questions to involve your audience.
- Make your content ‘snackable’ and valuable by including short stats and quotes.
4. Optimise with a Showcase page
LinkedIn Showcase pages are some of the most valuable pieces of online real estate for a B2B company. A purpose-build Showcase page can be designed to promote specific business lines, products, brands or initiatives within your company. Ideally, any given Showcase page should target a single customer segment, and provide information that is relevant to them.
Make sure that these pages are conversion primed and keep the names of the pages short and simple to understand at a glance.
5. Harness the power of the group
LinkedIn groups offer a lot of great networking opportunities. One of the ways to get even more from the power of groups is to create your own. When you become the owner and moderator of your group, you establish a place where your target audience can gather and interact.
However, if you truly want to be successful in this type of endeavour, you have to keep up with your page analytics to gain deeper insight into the performance of your group page. In doing so you will be able to evaluate the reach and engagement of individual posts, as well as:
- Evaluating the reach and engagement of your individual posts.
- Identifying trends over custom date ranges.
- Getting to know your followers and visitors with demographic charts.
- Learning more about your page traffic and activity, such as page views, unique visitors, and career page clicks.
- Seeing what type of content and topics your followers and audiences are engaging with across LinkedIn to inform your content strategy.
The bottom line
This is a broad-level approach. But, without the right knowledge LinkedIn becomes just another time-sucking social network. Red Ribbon Communications is committed to assist you in getting the most value out of our LinkedIn lead generation efforts. Get in touch to learn more about our B2B PR services.
Also read our previous blog posts on lead generation for more tips: PR agencies and demand generation and The role of PR in lead generation.