As a leading content marketing consultant and sales leader, I speak to dozens of people every month that are spending big bucks on their ‘new website’, fancy funnel, new ‘online course’ or writing a book.
And while these are all worthy projects, they become somewhat useless in short order if you don’t have people connected to you who will engage with them.
I mean what would you rather have 1000 perfect future customers who will consume your offers, or 1000 great offers, articles and business assets that nobody will see?
It is very important to get connected, because in 2021 it will be your community will create your opportunities.
If you truly want to grow your business – small, medium, local, national or global, you just can’t ignore the juggernaut that is LinkedIn due to these stats:
- Over 79% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn
- 77% of B2B Marketers state that LinkedIn is key in generating leads
- 43% of LinkedIn users earn over $75,000 in a year
- LinkedIn is used by more than 40% of millionaires
LinkedIn operates the world’s largest professional network on the Internet. Today’s business professionals are all on LinkedIn.
In fact, the “jobs, business news, and social networking” site has over 200 million monthly users between the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. There are also 30 million companies using the professional social networking site globally.
It is the world's largest business database with every client you could ever need to grow a profitable business… we’ve proven it year after year with the consistent results we help our clients achieve!
Imagine turning on a lead generation machine… that is, your LinkedIn profile in 2021?
How Small Businesses Can Generate Leads and Optimize Content Marketing Using LinkedIn
I'll go over a number of different ways you can optimize LinkedIn. This social media platform has plenty of tools you can use as a small business owner to expand your customer base, as well as hire qualified employees that are highly talented.
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: We reference companies in this article because of their relevance and often due to partnerships. As you click on links to those partner sites, our company may be remunerated. This support helps our site so we can keep bringing you the best answers for small business.
How Small Businesses Can Use LinkedIn
Our instructional guide will go over the key tools that you can use on LinkedIn. You will also find out how you can optimize not just your profile, but your InMail messages, too.
Optimize Your Company Page on LinkedIn
All business entities should have a page for their company on LinkedIn. It is a great SEO citation. You’ll be able to feature company information, events, news, and updated articles in a single place.
Helpful Hint
Use keywords that are relevant on the company description in order to be matched up with certain search queries.
If anybody searches for your particular brand, they will likely stumble on your company profile on LinkedIn, which will be displayed on Google’s first page (after a relevant query has been made).
Firstly, you need to create a company page on LinkedIn. All fields must be filled out.
You’ll need to enter information about the size of your company, your contact details (phone number, address, location), a description of your company, and your logo. If anything else is relevant, you should add that, too.
After your page has been completed, publish it. Promote your LinkedIn profile page and encourage people to like and follow it.
If your personal account on LinkedIn has connections, ask them to consider liking your company page.
Be sure that the company page features updated content and new articles. They may be about company news or the products/services you offer.
You can even make posts about upcoming events or industry news. Just be sure to post content that is interesting and innovative to influencers in your sector.
Helpful Hint
Your personal page should be enhanced and updated by streamlining your information. Add a description on your profile. Join groups that are relevant to your specific niche.
Review Your Connections for the Sake of Finding B2B Leads
Owners of small businesses are encouraged to have at least two profiles that are dedicated to scouting new leads. You might have a professional profile of your own to use, as well as one owned by a member of your staff.
Connections can be used to find all-new leads, as well as identify the interests you have in common. After finding a connection, you’re encouraged to message that prospect.
Mention a contact that you have in common, in addition to some interests you share. Social selling is what LinkedIn refers to this as.
It is quite effective for owners of small businesses. Studies show that sales opportunities jump by over 45% when social selling is involved.
Helpful Hint
Import your company contacts or email list into LinkedIn via the tab marked “My Network.” This is a perfect starting point to share the company page with others, as well as engage with people you know already. You can tell them about how great your company is!
Develop a Strategy for Content Marketing on LinkedIn
You won’t get anything done until you establish what your goals are and develop a strategy to achieve them.
Once you have new connections and an optimized LinkedIn company page, you can begin trying to accomplish your goals through the social network.
Consider the following ways LinkedIn can be useful for a small business owner:
- You can hire highly qualified and talented employees.
- You can engage in social selling (it is particularly useful for certain B2B products).
- You’ll be able to engage with influencers, executives, and leaders in the industry.
- You can start promoting your services to the professional base on LinkedIn (this will include company, employee, and title targeting).
You can market your company professionally on the social network. To do so, study the demographics of your audience on LinkedIn. Once you create your own content calendar, you can start posting.
The articles you post should contain rich media (perhaps a video or picture, which captures greater attention and results in a lot more views).
Helpful Hint
Don’t use bland imagery and stock images. They will not increase engagement, and these pictures have likely been spotted elsewhere. Use Photoshop or a similar program to improve your images and customize any stock images that you do use.
Understanding the Algorithm on LinkedIn
The posts on LinkedIn are not categorized by age. Rather, posts are ranked by the algorithm based on these criteria:
- Engagement probability.
- Interest relevance.
- Personal connections.
LinkedIn endeavors to display content to its users based on what they have expressed interest in. With that said, you should notify employees and connections whenever something is posted for the sake of increasing engagement.
Sending InMail Messages Properly
If you are interested in “cold selling” on LinkedIn, you will need plenty of connections. You also have to customize the messages you send out per contact.
While it is perfectly fine to create your own generic “message template,” strive to start off each message with someone’s name. A customized anecdote should kick off your message to capture a contact’s attention.
Consider these suggestions when you want to send a message to a potential prospect on LinkedIn:
- Understand how frequently you should be posting on social networks. Messages should be sent at a suitable time. The best times are on weekday mornings, though Fridays and Mondays should be avoided.
- Find contacts that follow your business already and/or are connected to somebody that works in your organization.
- The messages you write should not be long-winded. Use brevity and honesty while being as personable as you can.
- Optimize the InMail subject line. Mention something pertaining to the individual’s profile (perhaps their niche, name, or title).
- CPAs should be used to make your message more lively and real. For example, you can write something like, “talk, call, chat, or Zoom.”
- Keep in mind that people tend to buy things of significance to them. If something can help their overall bottom line, they will show an interest in it. With that said, people don’t enjoy being sold to.
By pointing out commonalities and showing a recipient that you have done your due diligence, they will be more inclined to conduct business with your company.
Small Businesses Would Do Well to Master LinkedIn
Updating your company’s page (as well as your personal profile) doesn’t take very long. Most of your time will be spent trying to win over prospects via your messages. You will be posting content that intrigues your followers, too.
You may want seek out a firm or agency to help you with B2B marketing. This firm should have plenty of expertise. Check to see if they have experience with content writing and lead generation for the sake of optimizing your leads strategy on LinkedIn.
Ultimately, the firm you select should be able to deliver a strong ROI for whatever your marketing endeavors entail. I highly recommend this service to help you get leads, prospects and clients without spending money on advertising. Click here to learn more.
