Most businesses realize by now that it's essential to develop a strong presence on social media. Many, however, are far less clear about how to get the most out of their social selling efforts. How do you set up campaigns that generate leads that translate into sales? The following are some techniques for measuring and improving your lead generation results with LinkedIn.
Why LinkedIn Is Perfect For Lead Generation
To begin with, it's necessary to understand exactly what is and isn't a lead. The term is often applied too broadly. Leads are not simply potential customers or your target audience. A lead is someone who has actually demonstrated interest in your products or services.
If you're engaged in B2B marketing, LinkedIn is one of the most fruitful sources for leads. As the leading B2B social media platform, you can connect with business owners, CEOs, managers and other decision-makers more easily on LinkedIn than on other sites such as Facebook or Instagram.
How To Get Leads On LinkedIn
There are several ways to use LinkedIn for lead generation.
• Profile Optimization: Lead generation starts with your profile. A professional, comprehensive and clear profile will help you attract the most qualified prospects. When choosing the keywords and tone for your bio, keep your customers' needs in mind.
• Content Creation: Posting to your timeline and writing articles on LinkedIn doesn't necessarily bring you immediate leads. However, it helps you build your brand and display your expertise to potential leads and customers.
• Connection Requests: You can build your list of contacts on LinkedIn by sending out connection requests consistently. While not everyone will accept, there's nothing to lose by sending out requests to all of your contacts. LinkedIn also recommends "people you may know."
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Sales Navigator is one of LinkedIn's premium plans, one that's specifically designed to help you get qualified leads. While it's an investment (currently about $65 per month after a one-month free trial), it can be a valuable resource for finding targeted leads. The Professional Plan (there are also Team and Enterprise plans) gives you advanced search functions, lets you send 20 InMail messages per month, allows you to store 1500 saved leads and more.
• Paid Ads: LinkedIn offers paid advertising options, including PPC ads that work similarly to Google AdWords. With both Google and LinkedIn, however, the cost per lead can be quite high. There's also a learning curve as you learn to optimize your ads.
Calculating The Cost Of Leads
It's essential to know the cost of your leads. One of the benefits of LinkedIn is that it can help you get leads at an economical price. After all, you can always find leads if you advertise aggressively enough. For example, you can outbid your competitors on Google or Facebook for any term. Your goal, however, is to find leads at a cost that allows you to run your business profitably.
The most important metric to understand is your cost per lead (CPL). Your CPL depends a great deal on your industry to the particular products or services you're marketing. Obviously, you can afford to pay more for leads if your average sale is $1,000 than if it's $25.
CPL also varies by channel. That's why you need to identify the platforms and channels that provide you with the best ROI. While this is another metric that varies quite a bit, certain types of marketing tend to deliver a better ROI than others. For example, inbound marketing (which includes email, PPC and SEO) generally outperforms traditional outbound tactics such as TV advertising and display ads in print publications.
You also have to consider the time needed to follow up with leads, many of which don't yield results. HubSpot reveals that the close rates for leads range from 15% to 27% in various industries. This means a great deal of effort invested in unqualified leads. Not all businesses have the time or budget to chase leads or hire additional sales staff. You can also work with an agency that offers managed services to handle LinkedIn marketing tasks on your behalf.
LinkedIn Lead Generation: Moving Forward And Tracking Your Results
Lead generation is a marathon and not a sprint. This is especially true on LinkedIn, where your results tend to improve as you make more connections and build credibility. It's important to develop a strategy and stick with it. If you don't have sufficient time to devote to lead generation, look for a reliable agency to outsource some of the more time-consuming tasks.
Track your results with each tactic you employ so you're aware of your ROI. At the same time, remember that certain actions (such as making new connections and posting content) are long-term measures to build your personal brand and may not yield instant results. When you're focused and consistent with your efforts, LinkedIn can be one of the most cost-effective sources for B2B leads.
