How to Use LinkedIn for Marketing
LinkedIn has been growing substantially these past few months. In the past, organizations like Linked to Authority have reported that 51% of companies acquired a B2C customer through Linkedin. LinkedIn has generated more leads for B2B companies than Facebook, Twitter or Blogging. Furthermore, 50% of LinkedIn Members report that they are more likely to buy from a company they engage with on LinkedIn. Simply put, you are losing money if you aren’t investing into a LinkedIn Marketing Strategy.
To build a marketing strategy, you must first:
1.Decide Why You Want To Use LinkedIn
Everyone has their own unique reason. For instance, I want to use LinkedIn to find clients for my branding agency. I want to help companies brand their product, so that is what I keep in mind when building my LinkedIn profile. Before you begin marketing yourself, ask yourself what goal you have in mind. You may be looking for a job on Linkedin, which would require an entirely different strategy than someone who is looking to gain sales for their business
2.Do your research!
You can begin your research accordingly now that you know why you want to use LinkedIn. If you’d like to get a job as a Brand Strategist, begin searching for people who already have that title on LinkedIn. When you are logged on to LinkedIn, simply enter “Brand Strategist” into the search bar. Sure enough, you’ll come across Brand Strategists who work at Google, Facebook and other companies. Check out their profiles. What do they have in common? Do they have similar skills? Similar experience? Take everything in and think about how you can incorporate that into your own profile.
If you are starting a business then you should be checking out your competitors. Do they operate on their individual profiles, or do they just share content from their company profile? How do they engage with their network? What sort of content do they post? Are their any shared connections among your competitors? These are all great questions that can guide you when you start your research.
Your research will provide you with the groundwork on your strategy from different angles. Your research can guide your content strategy. If your competitors are publishing blog articles in your niche industry, your research may rightfully influence you to do the same. Did you notice that your competitors are commenting quite frequently on specific kinds of posts? These are all questions I ask myself when compiling research.
3.Search for people that are actively searching for you
If you’d like to get a job at Facebook, it's probably best that you start adding recruiters at Facebook. Search for them using LinkedIn’s toolbar. Don’t limit yourself to just one company if you are using LinkedIn to find a job. Connect with people who already have the position. Write to them and ask for advice. It would also help to connect with people who work at recruiting agencies.
If you are using LinkedIn to sell a service or product then you should be searching for the people who are actively searching for use. Use LinkedIn’s toolbar to search terms like “looking for web designer” and you will find exactly what you are searching for. Connect with those people who are searching for you. Be sure to add a note explaining how you saw their post, e.g. I saw you were looking for a web designer so I thought I’d connect with you.
Whether you are looking for a job, or a client, don’t be afraid to reach out to the gatekeepers. I have reached out to recruiters from giants like Facebook and Google. I’ve actually gotten responses before. You never know when your cold efforts will pay off.
4.Develop A Content Strategy
People are constantly bombarding with sales messages on LinkedIn. You shouldn’t just use LinkedIn to ask people to buy into your product or hire you. Instead, provide original content and information to your network. Share industry updates or your experiences. This will add legitimacy to your brand. For instance, if you are a web designer and you publish web design tips, this will make you seem knowledgeable and trustworthy. I am more likely to pay a web designer who is teaching others how to design.
Try to keep your content interesting and current. You don’t have to just write about boring industry updates. Try writing about your everyday life and how it applies to your profession, E.g 5 Things Stranger Things Taught Me About Marketing.” This example takes a current facet of popular culture and relates it to an industry- Marketing. People don’t just want to be lectured every day on LinkedIn. They also want to be entertained and engaged.
Don’t forget to share your content with your network and potential groups. Just because you publish something doesn’t mean it’s going to get traction. Share your content with relevant groups. For instance, if you’ve written an article about web design then you should be sharing the article in LinkedIn groups about web design.
5.Engagement
You’ve added all of your potential collaborators. Now you can start engaging with them. Congratulate that recruiter on his new promotion. Like that potential clients post about the progress on his company. Go ahead and comment on your old colleagues new job. Provide recommendations when you can so that people do the same. A little engagement can go a long way.
6.LinkedIn Ads
As far as ads go, I will be providing some basic strategy when running ads. Always test your audiences. For instance, if you are running a web design business, you may want to test different audiences. Are Realtors more likely to convert than Lawyers? You may want to test audiences to find what niche industry suits your marketing needs the best.
There are many parameters for running LinkedIn Ads. When I get started on Linkedin Ads, I refer to this article that covers all of those parameters:
https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/success/best-practices
You can find best practices for all of the different ads LinkedIn has to offer.
If you need help managing LinkedIn or your overall branding efforts, feel free to reach out to me at info@jarrell-chalmers.com or fill out the form below.