Best practices for generating leads on LinkedIn

When people think of lead generation and social networks, they immediately think of Facebook. While this may be true, it’s far from being the only social lever to generate leads. Twitter and Pinterest also have great potential, as does LinkedIn.

This well-known professional social network is the leader in its market, especially since its takeover by Microsoft and the end of its French competitor Viadeo. LinkedIn now has 610 million members worldwide (including 106 million active users per month) & 100% of the active Fortune 500 companies.

What characterises LinkedIn is, of course, the fact that there are a lot of decision-makers on this rather B2B-oriented network. This means that if you have a solution for sale or a strategic, marketing or commercial need, the answer is undoubtedly LinkedIn. That’s why it is important to optimise your work for professional and effective lead generation based on your objective (sales, brand awareness, employer brand, etc.).

Create targeted ads

There are three big levers for generating prospects on LinkedIn:

• Sponsored Content consists of displaying ads that will appear on the LinkedIn threads of people who are following you, especially those you’ve targeted. Thanks to the extensive data that LinkedIn has, you can target your audience very precisely by sector of business activity, profession, career, company, etc.
• Sponsored InMails involve using LinkedIn’s built-in messaging system to create personalised messages that will generate far more conversions than just email alone. Here too, you can choose to address a specific category of people.
• Text Ads, billed per click, are banners that usually appear on the right side of LinkedIn. These are practical tools for launching marketing campaigns with a simple title, description and visual.

Make it easy to fill in forms

When members of LinkedIn want to know more about your offer and click on your ad, advertisers can use Lead Gen forms to make conversion easier. The principle is simple: by pre-filling certain fields, prospects only need to validate the form without any input. So, in one click, they can get in touch with you. On your side, these forms guarantee that you will cut down on natural losses and that you will always just end up with accurate, full information. On their side, it saves time and is a better online experience.

Note that this doesn’t just work for LinkedIn; it also works for any other operation. So, you should be able to retrieve personal information from a marketing campaign that was sent by email, saving you from typing another email or having to log into a site, for example. This option also enables you to personalise your landing pages and optimise your content customisation. Especially if you opt for an ABM (account-based marketing) approach.

Optimise your page and your profile

On LinkedIn, a simple profile can make or break a business relationship. It is therefore important to take care with your personal page and your company’s profile. They both constitute your commercial showcase for optimising your social-selling approach. Here are some examples:

• URL customisation.
• Professional photos and banners.
• Relevant keywords in the description and in the summary.
• Smart business page with key figures, photos and a well-worded description.

Publish engaging and interesting content

LinkedIn has a built-in blogging system to create a connection with your audience,  This is a good practice so you’re not just reposting third-party content that is already on a blog or YouTube page. Additionally, in terms of video, LinkedIn’s native video is much better referenced and valued than a third-party link. Think about it when sharing your promotional and editorial videos!

What holds true for most social networks also applies to LinkedIn. The more frequent and engaging your content is, the more chance there is that your wider network will see it. So, don’t hesitate to create new content, edit and repost cold content that can be recycled regularly.

LinkedIn is a central player for sharing and discussing professional issues. Its targeting capabilities and growing popularity make it a key lever for lead generation, especially in the B2B world. Do not neglect it when you’re finalising your next marketing strategy!