Did you know that a single status update on LinkedIn can reach 20 percent of your followers? Compare that to Facebook, where you’re lucky to reach 2 or 3 percent of your fans unless you pay for an ad.
Here are a few reasons why you can get more leads and sales for your business with LinkedIn:
#1 – The average household income of a LinkedIn user is $109,000.
#2 – LinkedIn sends nearly 4 times more people to your homepage than Twitter and Facebook combined!
#3 – And 68% of LinkedIn users are business decision makers.
Like any social networking site, you need a strategy to attract, engage and convert followers into customers. Here are my top 3 LinkedIn tips to market your business:
1. Optimize your profile – Your headline, summary and experience sections should contain keywords that your prospects use when searching for your product or service. There’s one more area that needs keywords too: the contact info section. Many users still use the default “Personal Website” or “Company Website” in this section.
But you could attract more prospects if you customize this area with keywords as I’ve done below:
2. Manage prospect searches – Use LinkedIn’s advanced search feature to proactively look for prospects or joint venture partners for your business. You can search by job title, location, company and groups for free. If you upgrade to LinkedIn’s premium service, you can use these criteria to narrow your search even more:
- Years of Experience
- Function
- Seniority Level
- Interested in
- Company size
- Fortune
- When Joined
Once you complete your search, save it and come back to it another day when you have more time to vet your prospects. Then, follow the 3×3 rule – review a profile for 3 minutes and look for 3 things you have in common. That could be you’re both members of the same LinkedIn group, you both attended the same college, etc. Now you have something in common to mention when you make the connection request.
#3. Publish unique, thought-provoking content – Set yourself apart from the millions of other LinkedIn users by publishing original content on the site that is controversial or challenging. If you have an opinion, don’t be afraid to voice it. The best way to be known as a thought leader in your industry is to truly have an original thought. Don’t just repost what someone else wrote. You can refer to another article, but offer your own opinion.
Any information that the a LinkedIn user can just agree with, won’t get them to take action. It’s not challenging them, and worse, it allows them to simply ignore you. Don’t be afraid to topple some sacred cows and shake up the status quo by challenging something and demanding change. You’ll attract the attention of bigger prospects. You’ll be seen as “cool.” People like to do business with cool people because they’ll be seen as cool by association.
Want more tips on how to turn cold calls into warm leads on LinkedIn? Click the graphic below to download your FREE infographic:
