Any business leader looking to foster connections with professionals in the B2B space has likely heard of many LinkedIn tracking and lead-nurturing benefits. Done well, LinkedIn lead nurturing can have a tangible effect on your company’s bottom line and help build brand awareness. With LinkedIn driving the greatest number of customers to B2B companies, ignoring it is like leaving money on the table.
The challenge is how to find and nurture these socially networked leads. Below are a few steps I recommend to help you transform your LinkedIn leads into clients.
Step 1: Optimize your profile for connecting and lead nurturing.
When you send invites to other LinkedIn users, they see your name, title, and message snippets in their notifications. Each of these is an opportunity for you to make a solid first impression.
- Your picture can set the tone and show you’re a real person. Professional headshots are standard, so be sure to appear professional — wear a suit and tie — and approachable in your profile photo.
- LinkedIn refers to your title as a “professional headline.” Think about who you want to connect with, and use that to optimize your title. If your primary targets are C-level professionals, indicate your executive position in your own company. Make your title a defined statement about who your target clients are and how you can help them.
- If your picture and headline are compelling, the users you invited might be compelled to check your full profile. Your profile doesn’t need to be fancy; just make sure it’s complete.
Step 2: Start your own LinkedIn group.
Creating your own LinkedIn group is one of the fastest ways to connect with the right group of people who, in turn, can provide you with more connections and leads. Establishing a LinkedIn Group adds credibility and positions you as an authority in your space and boosts the know, like, and trust factors among those in your network. The key is knowing what type of group to create, which you determine based on your target audience.
For example, if you’re reaching out to digital marketers, your group should be for search engine optimization professionals, social media marketers, and content marketers, among others. If you’re targeting people from specific locations, add the city, state, or province names to your group name.
Once finished, make your group appear active by seeding content relevant to your group niche. Look for relevant news, industry updates, and articles to generate interactions.
Step 3: Develop a lead-nurturing action plan.
At its core, lead nurturing is a relationship-building process. And while there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to LinkedIn relations, I recommend creating an action plan featuring a variety of touch points to use when reaching out to prospects. The key is to make each of these interactions organic and genuine. These can include
- reaching out to prospects through email,
- endorsing prospects for skills,
- liking prospects’ shares and posts, and
- sending prospects kind notes for recognition or awards.
Not everyone you meet has an immediate need or interest in your service. Lead nurturing allows you to continue to build relationships and demonstrate interest in doing business — plus helps ensure you get the call when prospects are ready to buy. What happens after the initial appointment makes all the difference.
Ultimately, effective LinkedIn lead nurturing is about adding value and building genuine relationships. Selling happens much later in the funnel, and — even then — it’s organic with little to no hard selling on your part. Your goal with nurturing leads is simply to position yourself as an advisor or confidant — not an intrusive salesperson.
[cta]For more insights and tips on LinkedIn lead nurturing, don’t hesitate to reach out. Contact me, Mark McIntosh, RevGrow CEO and founder, today by calling 972-998-5132, and I’ll be happy to explain how I can help you.[/cta]
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