How to Leverage LinkedIn for B2B Lead Generation
Go Beyond the Basics to Turn the Social Media Platform Into a True Business Tool
Instagram is for the aesthetically gifted among us. Tiktok – for the dancers and comics and video-ready cute pets. X/Twitter? That’s anyone’s guess at this point.
But LinkedIn? That’s for the business builders. It’s where you go when you want to broaden your reach, enhance your network, and make the kinds of connections that you could potentially turn into clients and customers. And for B2B marketing in particular, it’s considered to be the best place for lead generation given that it’s designed to connect you with key decision makers and precisely target your audience.
But to make the most of the LinkedIn platform for B2B lead generation, you’ll have to roll up your sleeves, familiarize yourself with all the tips and tools out there, and get to work.
First Thing’s First: Know Your ICP
One of the best advantages of LinkedIn is how it allows you to niche down, but you can’t utilize that unless you know your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) – an in-depth outline of exactly the kind of person you want to reach with your content and business offerings. Get detailed with it. Create personas that exemplify this person, what their business or professional role is, what kinds of messaging they might respond to. Consider what sorts of obstacles or challenges they might deal with and how your company is positioned to help them.
LinkedIn leads are not about casting a huge net and hoping you reel in some good prospects. It’s more about quality than quantity, so dig in, get granular, and go from there.
Optimize Your Profiles and Pages
Here it is: your easiest first step. The low-hanging fruit, so to speak. Before you take any further steps, you need to ensure that your business’s page and high-level profiles are all updated and optimized.
Start first with the page for your company. If you don’t already have one, it’s easy enough to create one by logging in to your own profile, selecting the For Business dropdown in the upper right of the navigation, and clicking “Create a Company Page +.” The site will take you through the whole process, step by step, and the most important thing you can do is hit every single one, no skipping. Make sure you input your logo, company size and type, industry, website, and a brief, catchy tagline that highlights what your business does. As the page admin, you can also add further information, like a description of your business, an interesting cover photo, and up to three hashtags.
On the personal side of things, your own profile and the profiles of high-level employees or executives also need to be polished. Pay attention to things like:
- Profile photos: They should be high-resolution and professional.
- Headlines: Treat this more like a tagline that highlights what you do versus a straight listing of your job.
- Summaries: Keep them concise but catchy.
- Skills and services: Make sure to be thorough on these sections and ask your network for endorsements.
- Don’t forget: Including keywords, hashtags, and tags can help boost your visibility.
Provide Value-Add Content
Like any social media platform, it’s not enough to just be there. Anyone can make a profile or a page for their business, but that won’t automatically result in a flow of B2B leads. You have to add value by creating and sharing content that’s geared toward your ICP.
As Jim Habig, VP of Marketing for LinkedIn, told HubSpot in February:
Your network and potential leads want to know that you know your niche, you’re tuned in to the conversations happening in your industry. Be professional, but also be human. Don’t just list facts or statistics or push a basic pitch. People want to authentically connect with the personality behind the brand.
And always be sure include a call to action and/or a question that can potentially drive a conversation or engagement. The more you’re creating engagement, the more likely your content will get a boost.
Hang Out Where Your People Are At
If you want to avoid shouting into a LinkedIn-shaped void, you need to find where your audience is at and join them there. That often means joining LinkedIn Groups that match your expertise and interests and jumping into the discussions and conversations that are happening. Don’t go in looking to make a sales pitch, though. Your goal in a LinkedIn Group is just to engage with others, offer help, share insights, and establish yourself as someone with authority and credibility.
Utilize LinkedIn’s Tools
LinkedIn has a suite of different ads and tools that can help you boost your efforts and amplify your outreach. At the bare minimum, you should look into getting a Sales Navigator account, which will allow you to:
- Perform detailed searches to find your ideal customers
- Save leads and receive updates on their activity
- Run hyper-targeted ads to drum up new leads
- Utilize the TeamLink feature to highlight warm introductions through your network
Additionally, LinkedIn lets you run Sponsored Content campaigns that you can use to promote particular pieces of content that you’d like to feature. The Sponsored InMail tool gives you the opportunity to send personalized messages straight into the LinkedIn inboxes of your potential leads.
Stay Consistent
Social media platforms thrive on consistency. They love to highlight users who are on there regularly, producing and engaging with content, making use of the site’s tools, and being an active member of the community. The more you can stay consistent with posting and producing, the better you position yourself as a voice for not only your business, but your industry as a whole.
This advice seems so straightforward, but it can be difficult because it’s a long-term tactic. You can’t just jump on and post consistently for a few weeks and then scrap it when there isn’t a firehose of new leads in your backend dashboard. You have to stay steady and keep it up for the long haul because it’s about building a reputation and a presence that pays off dividends in the future.
Track, Measure, and Adjust
Time to take a look at your data. LinkedIn has an analytics tool that’s about to become your best friend because it can help you understand what’s working and what isn’t. How are your connection requests and profile views changing? What content is getting engagement? Which sponsored content pieces or ad campaigns are resonating? Which areas can you test new ideas, new calls to action, new messages?
Break it down by the numbers, adjust your plans as needed, and then get back to it.
Time to Make LinkedIn Work For You
For B2B companies of all sizes, leveraging LinkedIn can be one of the most valuable tools at your disposal. With targeted search options; an optimized page and profile; a consistent, engaged presence; and a suite of tools to help boost your presence, you can access new contacts and open up new opportunities for B2B lead generation. It all boils down to knowing your audience, meeting them where they’re at, and sharing your insights and value with them.
And for anyone who wants to utilize their LinkedIn profile to grow their business but has some questions or wants a little more guidance, we’re here to help with that. Just reach out anytime.
