LinkedIn is one of the most effective social media platforms for helping to increase business revenues.
The platform is a hub for professionals to connect and grow their businesses, and it has become even more popular since the Microsoft acquisition. There are 830 million members in over 200 countries, and statistics show that upwards of 40 percent of those members are active on the site daily.
From my personal experience, LinkedIn was an integral part of launching my agency. I gathered a substantial audience by connecting with entrepreneurs and marketing professionals on LinkedIn. When I announced the launch of my agency, many of those same people became the agency’s first clients.
5 strategies entrepreneurs can use to accelerate their business numbers through LinkedIn.
- Leveraging LinkedIn to Grow Business
1. Profile Design
Whether you’re on a casual social media platform like TikTok or professional social media like LinkedIn, the most important thing is to ensure your profile looks as natural and “human” as possible.
It’s important to remember that there are plenty of bot accounts and spammers on LinkedIn. This means that it’s critically important for you to differentiate yourself from those accounts.
First, make sure your profile is complete. Take a recognizable, memorable profile photo and a polished, eye-catching cover photo. It’s also possible to include subtle branding in the cover photo, but less is more here.
Remember to take full advantage of the “featured” section as well. The featured section lets you decide which content is most visible and easily accessible to your users so they can get to know you quickly. It also allows you to highlight helpful information to help your audience learn more about what you do in an immersive, interesting way.
Second, I recommend using the cover story feature to record a brief video introduction. Adding movement to your profile picture produces an instant “wow effect” on people. Anytime we add a cover story to our clients’ profiles, we see an immediate uptick in views and engagement.
You can also use the audio clip feature to make your profile livelier. Initially, the audio clip function was intended to help users know how to pronounce a person’s name, but it can now be used as a brief, humanizing introduction.
Finally, personalize your URL. This is a quick and easy way to make it easier for visitors to remember how to find your page. Keep the URL as simple and relevant as possible.
2. Personal Messaging
Building your brand is not only about regular content and creating an expert image. It is also about communicating with your target audience.
Our agency’s experience proves that the best way to find new clients on LinkedIn is through personal messaging, so it’s recommended to make a goal of sending a certain number of personalized direct messages each week.
Conventional wisdom in most cases is that you shouldn’t immediately message someone with a sales pitch. In my experience, however, a direct approach works best in most markets.
When using LinkedIn messaging, it’s better to get directly to the point. LinkedIn’s audience is typically not inclined to spend time on small talk. Out of consideration for their time, it’s usually best to remember that LinkedIn is first and foremost a business network.
This means that people understand why you’re there (it’s the same reason they are – to conduct business), so you can both go into the relationship understanding that this is a potential business opportunity.
People appreciate that we don’t waste time with meaningless “fluff” messages. They know that something will be sold to them by the end of the conversation, so they prefer to jump straight into the sales portion and skip the time-wasting messages. We’ve learned from practice that the longer the conversation, the faster a new connection stops responding to messages.
3. Follow-ups
Research has proven that the average response to a LinkedIn message is three times higher than traditional email! However, that doesn’t guarantee a response. The most common reaction to a message (especially one with no real substance) is to ignore it.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that the person on the other end isn’t interested in your proposal. Instead, they are so inundated with notifications, tasks, messages and posts on LinkedIn that it’s easy for your message to get lost in the shuffle or put off “until later.”
Sending a follow-up is a positive thing, and many connections appreciate it. Follow-ups are essential because they act as gentle reminders and show the person that you are still interested in speaking to them. This takes the pressure off the person by giving them the ability to respond to a new message with additional information.
A follow-up can include audio, video or skill enforcement, or it can simply be an invitation to chat with an emoji or gif. Don’t be afraid to get creative! Sometimes, you can follow up with new ideas for the business. How you follow up will depend on your goals, but this is critical to getting more leads.
To maximize your chances of successfully connecting, make a schedule or spreadsheet to track who you’ve messaged and when you need to follow up.
4. Content
The content you create and share greatly affects how effectively you can capture your audience’s attention.
Some aspects of social selling no longer work, so staying on top of trends is essential. For instance, overloading your audience with “walls of text” is a big turn-off. In fact, it’s more difficult to hold someone’s interest with text-only content now.
Shorter posts that share expertise in a personable manner are typically best. If you share a long article, it’s vital to structure it in clear, concise sections that are easily scannable.
Video content offers 1.5-2 times higher engagement levels, so this is where we recommend clients focus their efforts. People enjoy seeing a live person in their feeds, especially if they contain a relatable element of storytelling and memorable, real-life examples. For some clients, we compose short videos with subtitles. Research shows that 92 percent of people watch social media videos with sound off on mobile, so captions and subtitles help you reach more people. Showing you’re a real person (not a bot or spammer) is valuable and emphasizes your expertise.
I’ve spent time analyzing my agency’s project reports across varied industries (e.g., finance, retail, telecom, IT), and I’ve noticed patterns in which types of content generate consistently high response rates:
- Tasteful humor.
- Educational, expert content.
- “How-to” checklists or guides.
- Personal, lifestyle posts.
- Situational agendas (these attract journalists).
In contrast, certain content always has little-to-no engagement:
- Posts with long, abstract intros.
- Posts that reference previous posts. (It’s difficult to follow the thread; each post should be independent.)
- Jargon-filled content.
- Shares without meaningful comments. (The aesthetic is a turn-off.
5. LinkedIn Events
On LinkedIn, you can schedule events and quickly invite your connections. Currently, the platform allows you to send out up to 1,000 invitations every week, giving you many opportunities to build your network and generate leads.
The event could be anything from a small webinar or livestream to a larger conference. Your event’s type and size will depend on your specific goal for that interaction.
Organizing live online events is a big trust booster because it shows that you are legitimate and serious about sharing your knowledge with others.
For example, ModumUp recently organized a conference. We sent connection requests to people who we believed were most likely to find the conference relevant to their current business objectives. The conference was our means of quickly building trust with these new connections, and it gave us a solid launch point from which we could send personalized messages with ideas most relevant to their needs.
So, the step-by-step flow would look like this:
- Organize the event on your end.
- Invite your target audience.
- Use the event to build trust and rapport rapidly.
- Send follow-ups with additional materials.
- Ensure your product or service is relevant for invitees.
LinkedIn is a Valuable Business Resource When Used Correctly
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram all play important roles in creating a strong online presence for your personal brand. However, the business-first focus of LinkedIn makes it uniquely valuable for anyone who is growing their business.
Remember to put a human face on your profile, and ensure you’re fully showcasing your expertise. Leverage the platform’s private messaging and event capabilities to build strong connections and generate a consistent stream of new leads.
LinkedIn offers even more functions, but, in my agency’s experience, the features listed here are the best for connecting with people and growing your business.
Inner Image Credit and Featured Image Credit: Photo by Mikhail Nilov; Pexels; Thank you!
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