Selling Today
Using LinkedIn to Feed Your Sales Pipeline BY TODD M. ZIELINSKI AND LISA BENSON
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f you are not using LinkedIn for social selling, you might be missing out on some big opportunities. LinkedIn provides B2B companies with an opportunity to not only share content and network, but also, if used strategically, to achieve top-of-funnel sales goals. According to the Content Marketing Institute’s report B2B Content Marketing 2020: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends— North America, 95% of B2B marketers reported using LinkedIn to share their company’s content organically, and 76% have paid posts on LinkedIn. However, sharing content, while part of a good social selling strategy, is not enough to bring in high-quality leads. Successful social selling combines both inbound and outbound marketing strategies. According to LinkedIn, there are 90 million senior-level influencers and 63 million decision-makers on LinkedIn. When wrapped around a holistic process, it becomes a valuable tool to identify potential buyers as well as educate and convert them. Below are five tips to help you better utilize LinkedIn to secure qualified leads successfully. Create Your Company Page for Maximum Exposure Your company page should showcase your offerings specific to the markets you are targeting. Let prospects know that you understand their pains, and tell them how you can solve their problems better, cheaper, faster, or however your company differentiates itself from your competition. Craft your message for search engines. Optimizing your company profile will ensure it turns up not only in LinkedIn
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searches but also on Google and other engine searches. Use keywords and phrases that prospects might use when searching for your solutions. Post regularly from your company page to stay top of mind with your followers. Use a calendar or social media management tool to schedule regular posts. Content should be mostly educational or informative. Case studies are great because they demonstrate your relevance to the market. Use your content as a way to create dialogue that naturally promotes your value proposition without it coming off as a sales pitch. You want your company to be seen as a leader in
the industry. People just want to know what is in it for them. Keep in mind the visual impact of your posts. Use engaging images or videos to help your posts stand out in followers’ feeds. You can expand your reach by using hashtags and mentions. Ask employees to share your posts. Ask executives and subject-matter experts in your company who share your content to create their own content that your company can share in return. Optimize Your Personal Profile One of the first things LinkedIn users do when viewing content is click
