If you’re like the vast majority of users, it’s likely you visit a few, well-trodden places on LinkedIn.
I’m going to hazard a guess it’s likely to be these 3, or maybe 4, places:
- Your home page
- Your messages
- Your notifications
- Who Viewed my Profile (LinkedIn’s most irresistible feature!).
Yes?
If so, this is entirely understandable, as it’s my view that LinkedIn isn’t the easiest, most intuitive platform to use.
However, given the b2b lead generation jewels contained within it, it’s well worth taking the time to open the treasure chest that is LinkedIn.
“The #1 B2B social media platform, since its acquisition by Microsoft, LinkedIn’s lead generation features have been ramped up. Big time.”
LinkedIn Today
The reality is that today’s LinkedIn is a completely different beast to when you might have last looked.
In my view, the 5 main benefits of LinkedIn include:
- Access Unparalleled Targeting
- Achieve Awesome Reach & Awareness
- Intelligently Engage with Personalised Direct Outreach
- Unbeatable Market Intelligence
- Measured & Monitored Results
So you can be in the know, I’ve included in this article 22 of the newest and little known services.
LinkedIn experts and the brightest B2B companies across the globe are using these techniques today.
Now, you can too.
Access Unparalleled Targeting
#1 Campaign Manager and Sales Navigator’s Lead Builder
LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager, its advertising platform and its Sales Navigator’s Lead Builder platform enable you to locate in seconds exactly who you’re seeking.
You can pinpoint prospects by employing 22 filters including: Job title, industry, company size, keywords, connectivity to you and your colleagues.
#2 LinkedIn Groups
Enable you to mine their members and invite them to connect or follow your Company Page.
Achieve Awesome Reach and Awareness
#3 Company Pages and Company Page Updates
Company Pages give you a free corporate presence on LinkedIn.
Your employees or members can automatically register to be affiliated with your Company Page.
Their entire networks then see your Company Page shares.
You can also attract and invite followers so that they see your Company Page shares.
Issue information to those following you and shared by your members within their home pages.
#4 Sponsored Company Updates
So those not yet connected with you or following you see your message.
#5 Connections and Connectivity
Invite your target audience to connect with you either manually or via Prospect Booster – “The LinkedIn Lead Generation Done For You Service.”
#6 LinkedIn Groups
Create your own group and attract those ready to buy (or mine other Groups’ members).
You can also launch joint ventures with owners of relevant LinkedIn Group Owners to market to their Group for you via Group updates and weekly.
#7 Pointdrive
The new content sharing platform for companies with 2+ Sales Navigator seats.
#8 Slideshare
Slideshare is the Powerpoint-based sharing platform enables you to share and keyword load content to reach your audience for free.
#9 Native Video
LinkedIn’s new live video sharing creates more interest and traction with your audience.
Following hot on the heels of Facebook’s native video, LinkedIn’s feature creates a sense of excitement and topicality.
#10 Advertising
There are a range of advertising options available, including text, display, dynamic, employing filters including job title, industry, location and company size which enable you to locate exactly who you’re seeking.
Intelligently Engage with Personalised Direct Outreach
#11 Prospect Booster – “The LinkedIn Lead Generation Done For You Service”
The outreach and connection service that does all the ‘heavy lifting’ for you.
Delivers your ideal prospects to your inbox, including those ready to buy.
Provides as many first name personalised automated touch points as you wish with your connections.
#12 Inmail
One to one message communication guarantees to reach your audience, even with those you’re not yet connected with!
You get a number of Inmail credits for free with your Sales Navigator plan.
#13 Sponsored Inmail
This is one message to many communication guaranteed to reach your audience with call to action button and graphics.
#14 Lead Gen Forms
Including one-click registrations for direct calls to action for your audience to download your material, request a meeting, attend a webinar, lead gen forms are going to be big news!
No bad data registration and easy calls to action.
#15 LinkedIn Messaging Active Status
LinkedIn Messaging Active Status enables you to monitor your connections’ presence on LinkedIn.
Subject to the other person’s privacy settings, you now know to the second when to engage with them, because you can tell when they’re active on LinkedIn.
Unbeatable Market Intelligence Direct to your Device
#16 Stakeholders or Competitors’ Connections
Subject to their privacy settings, view and invite your stakeholders or competitors connections to connect!
#17 Sales Navigator’s Lead and Account Tracker
This Tracker shares your prospects’ updates, job changes and news alerts with you and gives recommendations for other potential prospects.
It’s a mega handy market intelligence and timesaving tool. I use it daily.
#18 Sales Navigator’s Team Link
The Team Link tool can be a key feature of creating a referral marketing strategy.
Measured and Monitored Communication
#19 Company Page Status Updates
Company Page status updates provide easy dissemination of promotional material and information from one source to your employees’ home page feeds. Simples!
#20 Measured and Guaranteed Connections with Prospect Booster
The LinkedIn Lead Generation Done For You Service, which guarantees to deliver between 250-500 of your ideal B2B prospects to your LinkedIn inbox every month.
#21 Analytics
Analytics are available of shares, views, likes and comments.
Great for setting targets, monitoring results and revising activity!
#22 Sales Navigator’s Social Selling Index
Sales Navigator’s Social Selling Index provides a welcome opportunity for employees to measure the amount and success of their activity.
LinkedIn’s SSI also enables you to track activity across entire biz dev and sales teams when you purchase 2+ Sales Navigator seats.
Clear or Confused?!
If, like me, you’re a LinkedIn aficionado, you’ll probably see the above as a handy checklist to ensure you’re up to date with all of LinkedIn’s latest features.
If, like 99.9% of LinkedIn members, you haven’t understandably ploughed thousands of hours into knowing the platform inside out, you might understandably be thinking:
“Out of all these options, what will get me the best results soonest for the smallest time or money investment?”
“I’m interested in some of the features, but I wouldn’t know how or where to find them and I value my time too much to sacrifice painful hours on trying!”
“We really need to fill our sales pipeline and I know LinkedIn is the best social media to do it, I just don’t know how.”
If any of the above chime true for you, your next best step is to book a Power Hour.
Achieve Clarity Within The Next 60 Minutes
With a Power Hour, in just 60 minutes, you gain awesome practical insights into LinkedIn’s many features and formulate the start of your LinkedIn strategy.
For a small investment, you save the cost of burning valuable time you don’t have, you avoid going into overwhelm with LinkedIn and of leaving cash on the table by your competitors sneaking into your prospects first.
Read the reviews, find out more and instantly book your 1:1 Power Hour with Sarah Hughes, the author of this article here.
“I’ve enjoyed an additional £41,830 of business within just 5 months, with more flowing in! To give you one example, within one day of connecting with an unknown potential client, she sent a message interested in having personal coaching with me, which alone resulted in £15,000 worth of business over a six-month period.” Peter Thomson, Peter Thomson International
“Sarah was a great help to me when we set up The Move Master, giving me training on LinkedIn. It worked and we have had several five figure value projects via LinkedIn.” Philip Fowler, MD, The Move Master
“Sarah recently helped us develop our strategy for LinkedIn.
She understood immediately what we were trying to achieve and helped us to grasp how this valuable channel could help us to achieve our objectives.
Sarah’s recommendations were insightful, clearly based on evidence, and highly practical. We have been able to respond quickly make a difference.” Joanna Morrison, Head of Communications and Digital at Leicestershire County Council
About Sarah Hughes
Sarah is an award-winning marketer and business growth expert.
She founded Boost Business Growth to give business owners more focus, more sales, more profit.
Sarah does this via marketing strategy, training, implementation & mentoring that utilises sales psychology.
Also the founder of Linked4Success, Sarah equips you to generate leads via LinkedIn.
Regarded as “The LinkedIn Lead Generation Expert,” she speaks internationally on LinkedIn and provides workshops and strategies for organisations and individuals.
Sarah has developed, Prospect Booster, a ‘LinkedIn Done For You’ service which guarantees to fill your pipeline with 250-500 of your ideal prospects each month.
She was an invited featured expert at the recent LinkedIn Business Growth Bootcamp, where she shared tips on optimising your LinkedIn profile to attract prospects and convert them to leads.
Sarah also contributed to the recent 200+ Powerful Tips from Top LinkedIn Experts.
The creator of the first LinkedIn content for SO ME, the social media Academy, 3,000+ professionals have purchased one of her LinkedIn e-learning courses alone.
Share the Love!
Hopefully you’ve got lots of useful insight from this article, so it would be great if you’d share it, comment and like!
Other Freebies
Check out my other Free Reports and Guides too at Boost Business Growth.
b2b lead generation, b2b online networking, linkedin lead generation, automated lead generation, linkedin done for you, linkedin expert.