Grow business by adopting 15 LinkedIn Marketing Hacks
Posted on: 27/Nov/2018 5:18:40 PM
Everyone is aware that LinkedIn facilitates:
- Making connections
- Generating leads
- Establishing partnerships
- Create better brand awareness
And so, it is a prominent link in the digital marketing strategy! LinkedIn is unlike any other Social Media Network and it is all about career development, professional connections, industry discussions and other business-related activities. Unlike the existing set up in other social media network (Facebook), product promotion cannot be a direct activity in LinkedIn! It requires a different approach for market/business growth. So, here are 15 LinkedIn marketing hacks for growing business:
Highly targeted customers and connections – even small businesses can zero in on the exact industry, company size, and job role. For example, consider the promotion of customer support software – promotion can be done by choosing companies with less than 100 employees and that too, only to executives with the customer-support title.
Staying on customers’ radars – as for the small companies, clients inform about the kind of people who make high-quality customers for them. Locate using LinkedIn the people who answer these criteria and introduce them to the company. Keep in touch regarding developments, using LinkedIn. Regular email correspondence can be of use in sharing problems, seeking solutions, and applying them.
Build the email marketing list – Correspond with the contacts with a well-crafted thanking note and inviting to be a part of the network. LinkedIn helps send 50 messages in one operation. It is better to include a direct e-mail link for the email signup. Be explicit what they would receive by joining the mail group and also have a look at theirs as well as a goodwill generation gesture.
Use sponsored updates - With Sponsored Updates, businesses pay to push their post onto an individual`s LinkedIn feed. This impression feature, "pay-per-click" or "pay-per-1,000" offers demographics similar to other social platforms (location, gender and age). However, there is an important differentiation - the ability to customize based on company name, job title, job function, skills, schools and groups. LinkedIn users can target interested industries, without competing against the noise of other irrelevant companies and messages. It facilitates promote thought-leadership content useful primarily to the targeted audience with a strong call to action. It is a trend that people don`t want to see pure advertising anymore and want something useful for free. By promoting a firm`s content (white paper, guide, etc.) through a LinkedIn Sponsored Update, a firm can target a niche audience, increase website visitors and, if the content is compelling enough, generate sales leads.
Post high-quality content – A quality content accomplishes 2 goals – 1st, it should teach others how to solve a problem and 2nd, how to do a job better, So, this facilitates to become a thought leader.
Go viral – Note that posting directly on LinkedIn is the most powerful tool available on LinkedIn today. If a post begins to gain some momentum, LinkedIn will put a spotlight behind it in one of their categories, and it can get tens of thousands of readers (or more). This improves visibility while reaching readers in a way that would not have been possible on your own website/blog or even posting an article link on LinkedIn.
Give a face to your employees – Ensure that the maximum employees (all) have entered their profiles in LinkedIn. However, ensure that the details are complete and of the quality.- details as to how they help n business and professional connections.
Join groups and stay active - Join LinkedIn groups that are relevant to the target demographic. This is not only a great way to "listen in" on what your audience is talking about, but also, there may (also) be times for small business owners to interact or offer their advice. Message the members of groups you are in, even if you aren`t connected. LinkedIn InMail adds up quickly – so, this is a great way to save money when building relationships with potential clients.
Create your own LinkedIn group, too - Create your own LinkedIn group to start with. After you have your LinkedIn group set up, go out and join as many groups (LinkedIn allows you to be in 50 total) where your prospects are hanging out. Then, pick one of those new groups you`ve joined and started working the Members page to find prospects. Once inside the group and approved as a member, click on Members, then filter the list of members further by searching for certain job titles or something else to winnow down the list to your ideal prospects, and then invite them to join your group (tip: send personalized invitations. This can be an exclusive group that no competitors get in! You can share great/valuable content within the group that your prospects will love. You also get to demonstrate your value/expertise for them while avoiding overt sales pitches or spam. Plus, you also have a built-in email list, the focus group of your core prospects/clients and so on. This is a great tactic to build your brand and generate leads to boost your small business.
Make your Company page matter – It is important to have an updated and consistent presence for your brand with its own Company profile page. Imagery, colours and content on this page should be consistent with your website and any other social media profiles the business has. The page should be updated regularly, so the brand is active and appears to be a current business.
Don`t forget to claim your custom URL - Everyone should claim their custom URL to ensure it includes their name. This is especially important for people who have a lot of contact with potential clients — especially for those who [are in] professional services and the B2B sector — because when meeting with someone they have not yet met, many people will search Google for the name of the person with whom they`re meeting in order to learn more about them. Claiming your custom URL makes it more likely your LinkedIn profile will rank in the top of those search results.
Complete the Summary section on your own profile - The summary section is the most overlooked section. You have 2,000 characters to speak to your target audience, directly and persuasively. Use complete sentences, write in the first person, and address their pain points clearly and succinctly. Many people prefer to go to LinkedIn than a website. Most of the time, people want to connect with the person before the product or service, and this is your opportunity to introduce yourself to prospective clients and customers. Also, include your contact information at the end of the summary section. Even though it`s elsewhere on your profile, make it easy for people to reach you.
Think of it as a numbers game - LinkedIn marketing is more science, less art. In other words, it`s a numbers game. Each Wednesday, the user touches at least 2,000 C-level executives. These touches will lead to about six responses, and two of those six will become clients. Instead of attending trade conferences, exhibiting and speaking at a cost of approximately $10,000 per conference, it is possible to build one’s own practice for less than $1,000 a year for marketing, $250 of which goes to LinkedIn for a Premium account.
Avoid hard selling - Treat LinkedIn like any other form of marketing that you do, and get clued up on the latest trends. People don`t want to be interrupted, so try your best to be "discovered" on LinkedIn. Read up on Content Marketing and Inbound Marketing, and apply these strategies to this network. Avoid ‘hard-sell’!
Start with connections, then build relationships - LinkedIn is a social network for professionals to connect with other professionals. A business owner can, and should, connect with prospects, strategic partners, referral partners and other business owners. And once those connections are made, the business owner can decide how to nurture specific connections to grow the relationship.
