Six Strategies to Get More Leads from LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an incredibly powerful marketing tool, though it tends to get less love than some of the other social media networks. If your business is looking to generate leads and traffic, LinkedIn is worth being active on.
If you’re already active on the professional network but aren’t seeing many results, it’s probably time to revisit your lead generation strategy. LinkedIn is effective and does work. The key is to find ways to make it work for you.

LinkedIn Most Important Platform for B2B Marketers

According to this report from Social Media Examiner, 40% of respondents said that the most important social network for B2B marketers is LinkedIn. It beat out Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Instagram.
Another interesting finding is that LinkedIn is used 23% more by seasoned social media managers. If this isn’t telling you something, I’m not sure what is! Fortunately, it’s never too late to position your business on LinkedIn and start generating quality leads. Your audience is here – you just have to find them

6 Ways to Get More Leads with LinkedIn

Posting on LinkedIn and forming connections is fine, but how do you generate qualified leads from the professional network? Here are six effective ways to help you master LinkedIn.
1. Use Plugins and Extensions 
LinkedIn offers a number of useful plugins that make lead generation easier. Here are a few of my personal favorites, but feel free to explore the many plugins from LinkedIn. You may find a few more that you have to have!

• LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Sales Navigator is a plugin designed for Gmail users that use the Firefox or Chrome browser. It runs a list of any LinkedIn profiles, Twitter handles and Skype accounts that have been added to your contacts through email. Send invites to LinkedIn directly from your email from the lists provided.
• Headlinr. Do you have trouble coming up with creative headlines? Headlinr has your back. The plugin automatically generates headline combinations that include the keywords that you want. It’s a helpful tool for creating headlines that are both compelling and effective.
• LinMailPro. This Chrome extension lets you find and invite the people who have viewed your profile (more on this later). Use it to create customized messages to people who have looked at your profile but didn’t reach out.

2. Ask Employees to Share Content
It’s important to have brand advocates on LinkedIn. Luckily, the best brand advocates are right under your nose – your employees!
Ask employees to share updates to LinkedIn that are relevant to your business. The best way to do this is by creating engaging content that is easy to share. Employees can easily comment or share the articles to their own profiles, driving in more traffic and leads. Plus, people on social media tend to trust user feedback more than paid campaigns.
3. Optimize Your Profile  
Surprisingly, many people are hard to find on LinkedIn. Don’t let this happen to you. Your profile must be optimized if you want to be found by the right people. Luckily, a few simple tweaks can make all the difference in being seen and heard

• Completely fill out your profile (LinkedIn calls this All-Star status)
• Show off all relevant work experience
• Include keywords you want to rank for
• Include anchor text in your profile links
• Join more groups (they are shown on your profile)
• Request recommendations to boost your ranking

4. Turn Profile Views into New Business
When someone views your profile, you get a notification letting you know this took place. Turn these profile views into new business!
LinkedIn lets you know who viewed your profile, so click on the name and learn about the person. What interests do they have? What company do they work for? Then, create a personalized message and invite them to connect. By giving the person a chance to ask more specific questions, you can clear things up and gain a new customer!
5. Sign Up for LinkedIn’s ProFinder Service
ProFinder is a great tool for freelancers and independent professionals. It’s similar to Upwork and Fiverr, but you can expect even better connections because of the amount of user data the professional network has. To become a part of ProFinder, you need a great profile that shows you’re the real deal. LinkedIn recommends having the following:

• Professional profile photo
• Relevant title for the service you want to be found for
• Summary that includes your accomplishments
• Several recommendations that cite your skills
• Links to long-form content that you’ve published

That’s a tall order, and meeting this criteria doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be accepted into the program. Still, it’s worth checking out. Apply for the program here.
6. Publish Articles with LinkedIn Pulse
LinkedIn Pulse is a publishing platform that can be used to build your professional brand. Cover all types of topics such as career accomplishments, industry trends, behind-the-scenes looks and more. The key is to write on topics that you know a lot about so that you establish yourself as an expert.
As you show off your articles, you’ll connect with more people who will eventually go looking for your products and services. These articles will help drive traffic to your website and position you as an influencer in your field. Make sure that all content created for LinkedIn Pulse is original, relevant and engaging.
Conclusion
These are just a handful of the ways that you can use LinkedIn to generate traffic and leads. Whatever strategies you use to reach prospective clients, be willing to put in the time to build relationships. Personalized messages, helpful content and an active presence are the ingredients needed to position yourself as a thought leader and industry expert.
WSI Net Advantage is an internet consulting company that understands the inner workings of LinkedIn. If you’re ready to secure more leads on the professional network, give us a call and let’s see what types of strategies will work best. We can be reached at 510-687-9737, or you can drop us a message here. It’s time to unlock the benefits of social media marketing!