By Cheryl Strege, The Partner Marketing Group
Do you want to generate new business from LinkedIn this year? If not, stop reading right now. This post isn’t for you. But if you do want to start getting more leads on LinkedIn, follow these 5 simple hacks below.
Of course, there are more than just 5 things you can and should be doing to your profile. After all, LinkedIn is the #1 business platform with 500 million subscribers in 200 countries. Not too shabby! But let’s start with something simple you can do while finishing that second cup of coffee in the morning.
1. Ditch Your Title. Your “headline” should describe who you help and how you help your target audience as opposed to your title, which is the default. After you read “The 1 Sentence That Will Make (or Break) Your LinkedIn Profile” on Inc.com, spend 10 minutes coming up with 3-4 alternate headlines that are client/prospect facing. If you need help, ask your co-workers which one is the best. Remember, you can continue to refine and change it next week or next month.
2. Specify Your Target Audience. Speaking of which, have you clearly identified who they are? The key word here is clearly. Far too many people assume “everyone” is a good answer. It’s not. In my headline, I identify our sweet spot as “ERP & CRM Resellers and ISVs.” Pretty specific, huh?
3. Add a Custom Background. Enough with the blue starry background. You can do better. Use a graphic from your website or invest in a nicely designed image that conveys your professional brand. After all, this is a FREE advertising opportunity for you and your company – if you were placing an ad in your local business journal, you wouldn’t say “Just use whatever background you can find. We don’t care about our brand.”
4. Use Pain Points. In your Summary, you have room for about 300 words. Use some of that space to highlight your prospects’ pain points as opposed to your life story. For example, our prospects often struggle with:
- The need to grow faster
- Sales pipeline is weak
- Difficulty staying current (and executing) with new marketing tactics
- Finding enough time to manage marketing in addition to other responsibilities
- Don’t have the internal resources to develop content for lead generation
5. Have a Call-to-Action. Do you have a call-to-action in your Summary? Surely you have some desirable original content (eBook, whitepaper, infographic, blog post) that your prospects can’t wait to get their hand on, right? Absolutely add a hyperlink to that offer in your LinkedIn profile to draw prospects to your landing page and website.
Ok, you probably didn’t accomplish all 5 of the hacks over your morning coffee (unless that is one seriously big cup) but you now have a list to work from so get crackin’!
P.S. Now that you’re thinking about optimizing LinkedIn, the need for compelling content, or perhaps a refresh of your branding, get in touch with us if you need help.
