We all know that LinkedIn is the King of B2B social media, but isn’t it frustrating when, no matter what we do, we still can’t generate the sort of leads from LinkedIn that it seems are possible? You’re not alone: Many also struggle with LinkedIn on a daily basis. On the other hand, I have learned that there are certain trends in LinkedIn lead generation, combined with the understanding of LinkedIn marketing best practices, that can provide impactful results to your business.
If your business is ready to build brand awareness, to establish business relationships, and generate leads on LinkedIn, keep reading!
Here are the 7 Current Trends on LinkedIn Lead Generation
Just like most social media platforms, LinkedIn is often evolving. Here things are changing for the better. Watching out for LinkedIn trends and harnessing them will help take your social media marketing efforts to the next level. As well, help you to drive leads on LinkedIn.
1. Video Marketing
80% of internet traffic is video traffic. Videos create better engagement and are useful lead generation tools. LinkedIn has rolled out video templates for B2B marketers. New developments in videos include the ability to see trending news and industry insights, which can be used by companies to enable them to make informed decisions.
Webinar event promo is a video feature often used to promote brand events. If done right, webinars can be used to establish trust and authority in an industry niche. Event recaps also help to create better engagement by keeping your audience in the loop. They are a great way to share information with your audience.
You can post company value videos on your LinkedIn company page. By sharing your company’s culture, it will help your audience to identify with you better. Audiences love to see behind the scenes footage, and to know who is part of the company, video allows you to make that personal connection.
2. Videos for Mobile
The world is going mobile. More than half of LinkedIn users are viewing feeds from mobile devices. Creating mobile-friendly videos is a direction that LinkedIn is focusing on to tap into the growing mobile audience. One of the things you should do is make your LinkedIn videos mobile-friendly by including the sound-off feature, as most videos viewed on mobile are played without sound.
Square videos for mobile will also help optimize speed for mobile viewers as they take up less space compared to landscape videos.
3. Hashtags
Marketers are using LinkedIn hashtags to leverage their marketing efforts. As the LinkedIn audience continues to grow, there is a need to filter and categorize content, and hashtags are perfect for this job.
You can use hashtags in your content, company profile, and videos to maximize exposure. You can also use hashtags to search for relevant conversations to participate in and also use them in comments to further market your brand and drive leads. Using relevant hashtags makes it easy for audiences to look for you and find you.
4. Join and Share Content to LinkedIn Groups to Boost Engagement
Marketers are leveraging LinkedIn trends to increase engagement. The best place to start is by joining LinkedIn groups. A user can join up to 100 groups: boost engagement by joining groups that are relevant to your niche. By engaging with others, you can create business relationships and learn new marketing strategies to drive leads.
5. Maximize your Employees’ Reach on LinkedIn
You can utilize your employees’ reach on social media platforms to market your brand. You should be asking your employees to share your brand’s marketing content on their personal pages. The majority of companies are doing it, and it is paying off. Making your employees, your brand ambassadors not only boost their engagement but also brings you quality leads.
6. Big Data
Big data is used by marketers on LinkedIn to create informed decisions. Using big data gives you LinkedIn insights, such as what your audience wants, and the kind of audience you are dealing with. Continue checking big data regularly as what your audience wants may change due to other events or the time of year.
Leveraging big data will help you to continue to create tailor-made marketing strategies that are effective.
7. Targeting
Businesses on LinkedIn are taking a new approach to what content marketing strategy they use on different clients. Targeting has become more complex as marketers are using big data to tailor-make and customize the messages sent to them. This helps to create that personalized experience.
LinkedIn has enhanced its features over time. The changing trends have allowed marketers to boost engagement with their audience. Continue watching out for LinkedIn trends so you can have a competitive edge.
12 Best Practices on How to Make LinkedIn Lead Generation Work for Your Business
LinkedIn boasts of around 600 million active users. This offers you an excellent platform to create connections with potential customers. However, it is easier said than done. To generate quality leads, you have to employ the following strategies.
Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile
To effectively generate leads, you should make it easy for your audience to understand what your business is about. Provide clear information on your LinkedIn profile concerning your skills, experience, and reasons why you are the best choice. By doing this and uploading a clear profile photo and headline, you make it easy for clients to find you.
Including a recommendation from businesses or clients you have had a professional relationship with is a plus for you: it enhances your credibility.
Remain in the Minds of Your Audience
For effective lead generation, remain in the mind of your audience. Access to a big audience will only benefit your brand if you regularly connect with your audience. To stay relevant, post at least once a day. That way, if your prospective clients come across a product that you offer, you’ll be the first business in their minds.
Use Search Queries to Find Prospects
Take a hands-on approach to find prospects by using filters and categories to find the ideal prospects on LinkedIn. You can, for instance, narrow down your search by industry or location. This way, you’ll be able to find leads that are interested in your business and are easy to convert.
Engage Your Leads
Once you have filtered your leads, engage them by either making calls or messaging them. Do not focus on selling. Concentrate on building meaningful relationships and helping your prospective clients. Provide them with resources that will help them understand your product better. Pitch only after you have established that they could be strong leads.
Referrals
Referrals are useful lead generation tools on LinkedIn. Your clients could introduce you to other people and businesses that might also be interested in your business. Happy clients become your ambassadors. Getting the right referrals is pretty easy. Reach out to clients that show satisfaction in your services and ask for LinkedIn recommendations.
Contact Profile Visitors
The best place to start in lead generation is profile visits. Anytime you get a LinkedIn notification about someone visiting your profile, count that as a quality link. Anyone visiting your profile is interested in your business. This makes it easy for you while pitching. You should connect with them via email.
Produce Engaging Content
Content is king. You can leverage quality content in lead generation. Posting relevant content with quality keywords will keep visitors coming to your page. Engaging content will motivate your visitors to share it, hence increase your exposure. This is a great way to use LinkedIn to drive leads to your products or services. As well as, increase your brand awareness and authority.
Getting visitors to come to your page is one thing: retaining them is another. Create compelling content to grab the attention of more visitors.
This way, you’ll establish authority in your industry, which will help you to generate leads as a thought leader. Using quality images, videos, and catchy headlines in your content will make you stand out in the crowd.
Join LinkedIn Groups
You have the upper hand in lead generation if you can reach bigger audiences. Take advantage of LinkedIn groups to reach more people. You can start with groups that are relevant to your niche. However, do not restrict yourself. Other groups with slight relation to your industry are also a lucrative source of leads.
Contribute to group conversations to increase the exposure of your brand. You can then increase your web traffic by sharing links to your pages. You’ll continue to position yourself as an industry leader and create connections.
Use LinkedIn Sponsored Ads
Use LinkedIn advertising options, such as sponsored ads, to extend your reach. Such features take a targeted approach when reaching LinkedIn users. Using advertising options alongside existing connections and followers will help to increase your traffic, leads, and possible conversions.
Cross-promote Your Content on Other Platforms
Posting your content on other platforms will boost your LinkedIn lead generation strategy. By using other platforms, you reach an even broader audience. For instance, if you are cross-promoting on Facebook, you can post content that links back to your LinkedIn profile. This will help the visitors get insights into your business and get more information on your products and services.
Use SEO to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile
SEO does not only apply to search engines like Google. Use relevant keywords to increase the visibility of your LinkedIn profile. Do keyword research to determine the keywords that clients use in the search queries. By using keyword research tools, you can also get the keywords your competitors are ranking for.
Using keywords in your headlines and profile content will help potential clients find you. The more visitors you get, the more effective your lead generation efforts.
Make Your Posts Conversion Friendly
Conversion friendly posts require more than just high-quality content. Things like infographics, emojis, and bullet points will spice up your content. A clear call to action can help eliminate confusion as it communicates what you want from the visitors. Call to action also makes your content meaningful. A CTA is a potent marketing tool that can help you increase your leads and sales.
LinkedIn has many benefits for your business. If you use the platform the right way, you can drive leads on LinkedIn and become a master of LinkedIn lead generation. Social media platforms often change their features and algorithms to create a pleasant experience for both visitors and marketers. Being up to date with the changing trends puts you in a good position. Through video marketing, hashtags, referrals, and joining LinkedIn groups, you can drive leads on LinkedIn. The insights above will help grow your brand awareness and your bottom line.
Leads are the lifeblood of business and social media is a powerhouse opportunity that’s here to stay and one that businesses must learn. In my book, Game Plan for Social Media Lead Generation I’ll help you develop a plan for your business!
To learn more about using LinkedIn for lead generation, check out this great infographic from Content Rewired.
