LinkedIn is perhaps the most powerful tool for lead generation in the B2B market. It is a wonder that more people have not caught on yet. However, this seems to be changing as it is paramount to increase brand exposure. While it has not quite caught up to the speed of Facebook as a lead generation platform, it’s evident that people have caught on. There are currently 30 million businesses that are actively using LinkedIn. But, even three years ago, LinkedIn was noted as the most effective channel for B2B lead generation. This is largely due to the myriad of possibilities that are available through the platform, the user-friendly interface, and the cost-effectiveness in retrospect with using paid ads. As the world catches up to using LinkedIn to generate leads, allow yourself to be ahead of the learning curve.
Design Your Customer Avatar
Your buyer’s persona, or customer avatar, paints a picture of what your overall customer base looks like. You’re creating a character that fits the overall mold of who you’re selling to. For example, let’s say you know that your product or service works best for women in their early 20s. Your buyer’s persona is Monica, a 21-year-old entrepreneur who just started her business.
She lives in California, so she wants to appeal to people that are around her age that live in Los Angeles. To do this, she has to understand the trends within the area very clearly. That’s why she came to you, a branding specialist. She hopes that you can help her in this area and expand her own client base.
Making your customer avatar as detailed as possible helps you position yourself in front of the right people. Sometimes, it really is quality over quantity. Imagine that you generate 100 new leads in a month, but only 25 of them follow through because they were already the correct demographic. That is only ¼ of those new leads that are completing a sale. But, if you position yourself in front of 100 people who already fit your customer avatar, you’re more likely to get 75-100% of them to follow through. These numbers are obviously an estimate, but, generally putting yourself in front of people who are already searching for you is an effective strategy.
Standing Out With Branding
When you market yourself online, branding is something that should be considered heavily. It makes all the difference in the world between being seen and getting lost in a sea of similar businesses. You know that your product or service is different from your competitors, but you have to show it loudly and proudly when you’re putting yourself out there online. Also, branding is much more than having a stellar logo.
You should consider:
- Your online voice
- Your target demographic and strategy
- How consistently you post content
- The content that you post
Each of these things build up who you are as a brand. Once you have a clear vision of your branding, leads have an easier time trusting you. Trust allows them to follow through.
Using Content Instead of Paid Ads
Paid ads can get expensive to run! If you are trying to generate leads in a more cost-effective manner, think about content marketing. LinkedIn is an interesting platform in the sense that it offers a few different formats for content: posts (short), including videos, and articles. These posts and articles also work as fuel for engagement. Comment sections and other interactive features such as likes, and shares help to share your content to other prospective customers.
Articles are long-form content that help you establish yourself as a credible source in your field while generating leads by promoting your product or service. Articles and blog posts are some of the most effective forms of LinkedIn lead generation because of all of the bases that they cover at once. These articles are usually discussing topics that your leads are searching for anyways.
Posts are more similar to a tweet or Facebook Status. They’re short-form content that can drive engagement through asking questions, providing information, or linking to other content.
Another great thing about LinkedIn is that a lot of the things that you’ll need can be outsourced. Getting professional writers for posts, articles, bios, etc., is often much cheaper than running a paid Facebook ad. Freelancers that are experts in LinkedIn engagement can create the perfect profile for your brand.
So, now that you understand how LinkedIn is much more than the second-place choice to Facebook for lead generation, it is time to do the homework! This week try creating your buyer’s persona. Then, customize your branding for that buyer’s persona. And, finally, create some killer content!
About the author:
David Kanika is the founder of an outbound lead generation consulting agency Yantle. David works with a range of B2B clients, with a strong focus on SaaS companies, on creating and optimizing their lead generation efforts.
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