How To Use LinkedIn Premium To Generate Leads
Okay, let’s face it: when you see the pricey LinkedIn Premium plan, you often wonder, “How to use LinkedIn Premium to generate leads?”
Because you are not going to spend your dollars every month on something that doesn’t serve your purpose. Right?
Let me make it very clear: LinkedIn Premium may seem pricey in the beginning but it is definitely worth it. And yes, you can actually use LinkedIn Premium to generate leads – a whole lot of them.
And contrary to popular belief, when it comes to generating leads, LinkedIn is way ahead of more popular social media channels like Facebook.
Hubspot found that LinkedIn is 277% more effective at generating leads than Facebook and Twitter.
But don’t get carried away just yet.
In this highly competitive arena. And getting noticed by the right people at the right time is no walk in the park.
You have to go extra lengths to weed out the superfluous methods and unproductive leads. And that’s why today, we have rounded up some of the easiest ways that will help you generate leads to get your money’s worth using LinkedIn Premium.
Use LinkedIn Premium To Generate Leads
1. Start With The Free Trial
You enter a store. Finds an astoundingly beautiful dress, but do you buy it immediately, just like that, without even trying it out?
The answer would be a resounding no.
The same applies to LinkedIn Premium. No matter how promising it sounds, you have to confirm that you will be getting the most bang for your buck.
That’s why I suggest you start with the free trial in the beginning.
So, here are the four membership options offered by LinkedIn under the ambit of LinkedIn Premium:
• Premium Career
• Premium Business
• Sales Navigator
• Recruiter Lite
Since you are specifically looking to generate leads using LinkedIn Premium, it would be great if you opt for either Premium Business or LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
These upgrades will give you more access to your target audience, and let you keep track of their activities. But that’s just scratching the surface…it affords you with numerous ways to generate leads with little to no hassle.
Also Read: LinkedIn Marketing: 20 Ways To Use LinkedIn To Grow Your Business
2. Keep Track Of The People Viewing Your Profile
If you are using LinkedIn premium then you can know who viewed your profile.
If you are proving yourself as a thought leader, communicating and sharing useful information with groups. You are likely to increase the number of page views you get. We can know who viewed our profile by using the LinkedIn premium or business premium.
However, if you are not paying enough attention to these profile views, then you are definitely not using your LinkedIn Premium subscription to its potential best. The folks who view your profile tend to be either leads or competitors so if you know who they are, all the better to act on, reach out and save your leads.
Not only this, but you can also use this feature to keep track of other important things, such as:
• Keywords that your profile viewers used to come to your profile
• The industry they came from
• The company they are affiliated with
You can now even segment your potential leads and categorize them according to their industry.
And if you especially think that the person who just viewed your profile is a qualified lead, then don’t let this g0.
Immediately craft a personalized message and send it across using the InMal option (a part of LinkedIn Premium services).
Here’s how you can craft a nice, personalized message:
Hey (profile viewer’s name),
Hope you’re having a great week!
My name is John Doe, and I’m a California-based (your designation). I’m always looking to expand my network of contacts. I see you work for Company Z. I was just reading one of your company’s blog a couple of days, and I must say I love their work, so I thought I’d connect with you here!
Looking forward to keeping in touch and finding ways to help each other out.
Best,
John Doe
Hopefully, the conversation will get build on from here – that’s the whole purpose of LinkedIn. To get in touch with your potential leads, people of similar interests, and more. You must also start perusing through the profile of the people who have been viewing your LinkedIn profile. You might get successful in finding something of common interest – something that will help you strike the conversation even more easily.
3. Build Contacts Using LinkedIn Premium
Make contacts with your current and past relationships and focus on relationships where trust already exists. We can search easily on LinkedIn to find a person with whom you have lost touch. Engage with them, start networking, and help them in some way by offering.
When you receive a new business card from anyone with whom you meet look them up on LinkedIn and invite them to connect with you on LinkedIn. If you are a new user for LinkedIn you can import your contacts from your outlook, Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, or AOL. While contacting with people make sure to add your distinct URL in your html email signature, on your traditional resume, on your blog on your website or your business card. If you make like that it is possible to connect with you quickly.
We can use LinkedIn as a CRM. If you did not get a list of generating leads by whom you want to nurture, saved profiles of LinkedIn allows you to save up to 5 profiles, set reminders, and write notes so that you can pull up that profile when speaking to lead on the phone.
4. Narrow Your Search Using ProFinder
LinkedIn recently rolled out another great feature called ProFinder.
And if you are a solopreneur or an independent professional, signing up for this feature is a must.
I am sure this is your aha moment!
Didn’t know LinkedIn offered something like that, did you?
Inspired by solo job boards and freelancing websites, this new feature allows businesses to leverage a vast pool of B2B leads present on LinkedIn. After all, above everything, LinkedIn is a massive B2B database.
However, you cannot become a part of ProFinder unless you have a profile that is on par with LinekdIn’s expectations.
According to LinkedIn, your profile should include:
• A professional profile photo
• A relevant title/heading to depict your services in the best light
• A summary filled with your accomplishments
• Various recommendations that demonstrate your credibility in your domain, your skills, and more
• Links to long-form content you’ve published on LinkedIn
To know about these specifications in detail, you can have a look at what LinkedIn has to say:
You can try out LinkedIn ProFinder, apply to be part of the program here.
5. Post Frequently
Engaging your target audience on LinkedIn is the key to find success in the lead generation process.
Spend a minute time to post an update on your LinkedIn network frequently. Don’t assume that you can create one viral-worthy post and then disappear from the face of LinkedIn.
Nope! Nada! It doesn’t work like that.
To have a better idea of the power of LinkedIn content, have a look at this awe-inspiring infographic:
This infographic also teaches us one important thing.
94 percent of B2B marketers are using LinkedIn to distribute their content.
You know what this means, right?
This clearly means that you are not the only one looking to attract leads using LinkedIn. There are plenty others like you – 94 percent to be exact. And that is a huge number!
So, this means that you have to post something that really matters to your audience, something great enough to pique their interest and make them gravitate towards your brand.
You can share a link to an article, blog post or video relevant to your customers and connections.
Or use the pulse features on your LinkedIn dashboard. When you updated a post what you post get displayed in the feed of all the connections of your network. Your updates are not the place to sell. However, don’t step back to share a significant post. Add value by adding significant post or updates.
If you share posts or update information on LinkedIn that will make conversations about opportunities for both you and your contacts.
Be Interactive. Respond well and promptly to the questions, comments, and suggestions of your followers. Ask questions to followers — use every single trick to reel in your audience.
Parting Words…
By implementing these techniques into your daily life in your LinkedIn account it will require a time commitment but it is easy to join the conversation for a few minutes every day and check-in with different groups. Also, LinkedIn is constantly evolving so keep using it. As LinkedIn is growing day to day people will find new and smarter ways to use it. You will want to be there ready to dive in and generate leads.
While you are at it, you might also want to read about how LinkedIn grew from nothing to one of the greatest lead generation platforms today: How LinkedIn Turned Into A Massive B2B Database Holder.
