LinkedIn has seen a 55% year-over-year increase in conversations worldwide since March 2019. The professional networking platform allows people to connect with coworkers and other professionals and has seen a rise in comments, posts and content creation in the last year. Your business now has the opportunity to reach a growing audience on LinkedIn, with two people joining the platform every second.
Here’s what to consider as you plan a lead generation strategy on LinkedIn.
Channel Demographics
The first thing to know before you start posting on LinkedIn or any other social media platform is the general demographics of the channel, and, more specifically, is your target audience using it.
The majority of LinkedIn users are between the ages of 46 and 55. The next largest group is made up of 36-45 year-olds. Although there are fewer millennials using LinkedIn currently, all age groups are expanding.
These users primarily live in urban or suburban areas, make at least $75,000 each year, and most of them have a college degree. If this describes your target audience, networking on LinkedIn can pay off.
Networking Activity
Networking is a great way to further your business’s reach, and there are several approaches to gain visibility. The best way to network on LinkedIn is through the personal profiles of a company’s leaders. These leaders should connect with people on LinkedIn who could be potential prospects or referral partners, and engage with their content by commenting on, liking and sharing their posts. Company pages cannot add other businesses or people to a LinkedIn network, but it is still a good idea to post on the company page regularly. As you network from a personal profile, your new connections may check out the company page to learn more, and you want that profile to be active and engaging.
Before you start connecting or interacting with content, you will want to ensure that both your personal profile and company page are complete with informative summaries, recent work, and other basic information. People are more inclined to connect with you or your business if your profiles look thorough and professional.
Content Creation
Custom photo and video posts tend to have higher engagement rates than other posts on LinkedIn, with videos gaining five times more engagement. Posts with shorter captions and a simple call to action make your content easier to understand, encouraging users to connect or engage with you. Ads on LinkedIn can also help to increase your visibility online and drive website traffic.
Another element of content creation that increases engagement is choosing the right time to post. Businesses and professionals who post regularly – several times a week – will see more growth on their account than someone who posts only once a month or once a week.
Once your posts have been crafted, make sure they include a link that will take your audience to a clear landing page with a form or offer on your website. An engaging and informative post or campaign will drive website traffic, and if you capture email addresses from those new visitors, they become leads that you can reach out to in other ways.
LinkedIn generates 80% of social leads for business-to-business companies.
Do you need to start marketing your company on LinkedIn, but aren’t sure how to get started?
CLICK HERE to join us for Social Media Bootcamp.
