LinkedIn first came to the market in 2003 as a small platform for keeping in touch with business partners. Fast-forward 19 years and it has become the best B2B sales and marketing platform.
94% of marketers currently use LinkedIn as their primary content distribution source. And if you aren’t one of them, you aren’t using LinkedIn to the fullest. But worries aside, let us show you how to generate B2B leads on LinkedIn like a pro.
Here’s what we'll cover:
- What is B2B lead generation?
- What are the main benefits of LinkedIn in B2B lead generation?
- 11 practical tips to generate leads with LinkedIn
B2B Lead Generation
B2B lead generation is the process of gaining new prospective customers organically. In other words, lead generation is the primary step of the sales cycle that will lead your prospects through the funnel to a closed deal.
Why LinkedIn Is Perfect for Lead Generation
LinkedIn is not only about reaching people in specific areas with specific interests, as you would do on any other platform. You can target your audience on a deeper level, including location, current or previous company, industry, profile language, interests, school, as well as other criteria.
This is why LinkedIn is the ideal platform for highly targeted communication. But there are other advantages LinkedIn offers as the perfect place for B2B lead generation:
Active user base
LinkedIn has over 830 million users, and over half of them actively use the platform. In addition, there are 58 million registered companies on LinkedIn. This offers you a pool of prospective decision-makers to connect and interact with on a regular basis.
The most effective lead generation platform
LinkedIn is a goldmine for sales professionals, with over 100 million decision-makers active on the platform. According to a LinkedIn study, the platform accounts for 80% of the B2B prospects that businesses obtain through social media, generating twice higher conversion rates than on other social platforms.
Cost-effective solution
Even if you go with a paid LinkedIn leads generation strategy, you can save a lot compared to an ad campaign on another media platform. LinkedIn Sponsored Content was found not only to have a higher cost-per-click but also to bring double the conversion rate compared to Google Ads.
Tailor-made B2B lead generation
With the help of LinkedIn Ads, marketers can be as specific as they want while targeting an audience. Unlike Facebook Ads, LinkedIn primarily focuses on workplace networking, increasing your chances of reaching the right audience.
Warm outreach
LinkedIn gives one of the biggest privileges – reaching "warm" audiences, instead of only doing cold calls. Because of this, the outreach comes with trust when you come with a recommendation or share common connections.
And even if you can’t find common ground to connect with someone, sending a LinkedIn message is much better than a cold email or call.
LinkedIn Lead Generation Guide
If qualified lead generation is still a struggle for you and you cannot trick LinkedIn into effective prospecting, we’ve got your back. We’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks that will bring your business development to the next level. Keep reading, and don’t forget to take notes!
1. Polish and brand your LinkedIn profile
Your LinkedIn profile is what your leads will notice when you want to connect with them. So if you haven’t had time to perfect your LinkedIn profile, it’s time to do it now.
Make sure you have a compelling page featuring your strengths, accomplishments, and achievements that will not only attract people to connect with you but also motivate them to follow your company page.
2. Optimize your company LinkedIn page
Right after your profile is ready, you need to make your company’s LinkedIn page ready to generate leads. And simply creating a company page with a logo won’t attract anyone. You need to boost its search visibility. Here’s what you can do:
- Use an appealing cover image that shows your company’s vision.
- Optimize company description with the latest achievements and recognition.
- Customize your company page URL.
- Use the right CTA button.
- Add company location.
- Add community hashtags.
- Invite your connections to follow the page.
3. Share relevant content
To establish a strong presence of your company on LinkedIn, creating an impeccable LinkedIn page won’t be enough. You need to share meaningful content and be consistent with posting it.
LinkedIn allows you to publish different types of content with images, videos, and documents, which promotes the creativity and content diversity. In addition, you can also share research reports, case studies, and insights related to your company. This will not only generate new leads but will also rank well on search engines.
4. Use interactive content
Memes, videos, infographics, quizzes, gifs – there are dozens of proven methods to grab users’ attention in a fun and engaging way. And people love this kind of content 46% of marketers
use interactive content in their lead generation strategies, increasing constant visits and customer engagement.
5. Connect and reconnect
Getting a lot of connections is one of the most crucial LinkedIn lead generation tools. And since LinkedIn's main advantage is networking, you should use it to the fullest.
Start connecting with your current contacts, customers, and clients. Then, you can engage with your current clients by asking them for a referral, endorsing them for skills, or leaving a recommendation for them on their page. At a later stage, you can use lead nurturing campaigns, nudging the leads towards the final goal - purchasing a product or subscribing to a service.
6. Join LinkedIn groups
In the same way you can join Facebook groups, create and join industry-relevant groups and chat with other professionals. Groups now are like virtual clubs by interest.
However, creating your own group and building it from scratch can be challenging. The best option is to find the ready-made ones. Target both small and big groups so that you don't limit your potential. And remember to post questions, statements, and comments and make sure you’re heard – you need to build up strong relationships before making an offer or a sales pitch.
7. Answer targeted questions
Most group members use LinkedIn as a discussion board and post lots of questions from time to time. You can respond to questions about your expertise, writing a detailed and high-value response. You never know who’s reading the replies. You might start a discussion and connect to the industry experts or even company seniors.
8. Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Sales Navigator is a social selling platform that assists sales in finding prospects. Basically, it is an advanced version of the LinkedIn search engine.
So how to generate leads through LinkedIn Sales Navigator? The platform has 30 filters to search for leads, offering you great icebreakers for your future messages. You can create qualified lead lists, use lead alerts, and get insights to find decision-makers as fast as possible.
9. Promote popular posts
Turn your most popular posts into sponsored ones to boost your reach among your target audience. The goal is to use the content the viewers already loved and make it reach even more people, grabbing more attention toward your LinkedIn page.
10. Use Lookalike Audiences
Another interesting way to generate new leads without spending a lot of money on a random audience is to find matched audiences based on existing contacts.
Lookalike audiences are basically new people who might be interested in your product but have never interacted with or heard about it. LinkedIn generates such audiences by identifying people who share characteristics with your target audiences.
With the help of this tool, LinkedIn helps you to create lookalike audiences of your website visitors, current clients, and other contacts in your contact database.
11. Create events
Webinars and live events are a great way to engage with your customers. To be precise, 73% of B2B marketers say webinars are the best way to generate leads.
Unlike regular posts, LinkedIn tends to boost events to relevant audiences. This helps generate high-quality leads and grab more attention toward your company page.
LinkedIn: Your B2B Lead Generation Partner
With millions of active members, LinkedIn has become the best professional networking platform for generating high-quality B2B leads. While it may seem like a long and challenging process, you’ll get returns for every cent invested in no time.
So are you ready to generate leads on LinkedIn? Then implement the tips mentioned above and observe your business skyrocket!