LinkedIn is a social media site aimed at providing professionals an opportunity to network and generate leads for themselves and their businesses. It’s estimated that around 58 percent of small and medium sized companies in the United States use LinkedIn in order to leverage their efforts. In this article, let’s study how to generate leads from linkedin.
Hence, you’re missing a huge opportunity if you’re not on LinkedIn. It’s also important that you should know how to use LinkedIn effectively.
Tip 1: Upload a good, professional-looking picture
Uploading a good, professional-looking picture should not be taken for granted. Using avatars from your favorite movie or cartoon character is a big mistake that will prove costly over time.
Tip 2: Put keywords and key phrases on your LinkedIn profile
Search Engine Optimization or simply SEO rules the Internet dominion. Even social media sites like LinkedIn should employ SEO tactics. As much as possible, try to put in keywords and key phrases in your profile; you should also make your headline as catchy and as descriptive as possible.
Tip 3: Set up your company’s page – you and your company are different entities
Your company is different from you – thus, you should create a separate page for your company in order for your company to be perceived as more professional and credible.
Tip 4: Add extra-curricular activities like volunteering and sports to your profile
Adding your extra-curricular activities like your volunteering or the sports you participate in will make you a more exciting individual – at least based on your LinkedIn profile. During these tough times of business, being different and exciting might just work wonders.
Tip 5: Make sure to include links that redirect to your company’s website/blog
Putting links that redirect back to your company’s website or blog is a must. Backlinks play an important role in SEO and you should take advantage of it.
Tip 6: Expand your network aggressively
Aggressive networking isn’t shameful. After all, LinkedIn is about networking, it calls for being linked with fellow professionals. Just don’t be spammy and link only to people you know and people you have worked with.
Tip 7: Be an active member of the LinkedIn community
By being an active member of the LinkedIn community, you’re giving yourself an opportunity to generate leads for your business. You can start by being active on question and answer forums or by joining LinkedIn groups.
Tip 8: Follow companies within your niche or related to you industry
Following companies within your niche or companies related to your industry is an effective way to not just generate leads but as well as gather information relevant to your company.
Tip 9: Offer something of value, write an eBook or record a podcast
Writing an eBook or recording a podcast is a great way to establish your expertise and authority over your niche. You can offer it for a small price or for free just to entice business for your company.
Tip 10: Start meaningful discussions, try to engage with people within your niche
Try to engage other LinkedIn users by starting meaningful discussions that are relevant to people within your niche. Apart from the engagement, you can also get valuable feedback and constructive criticisms that can go a long way in improving your company.
This is a guest post by Kim Willis who is an SEO Consultant that works with online businesses. When he’s not writing for Brisbane Roofing and Brisbane Fences, he could be found blogging about the advantages of using online strategies for home based businesses.
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Kim, aloha. Thanks so much for your great tips. While I am on LI, I must admit that I do not use it well or often. In fact, I definitely have to go in to change my profile.
While many of my friends receive solid business from LI, for whatever reason I do not find it a comfortable place to socialize.
Kudos to you, Kim, for making effective use of it. Again, thanks for your tips and, Praveen, thanks so much for having him guest post.
Wishing you both a fantastic weekend. Aloha. Janet
Janet – Thanks for your comment and I loved to have Kim published in my website.
Hope you find LI more useful and means to promote your wonderful website in the very near future.
Have a nice weekend.
Thanks Praveen for allowing me to post here at your wonderful site. Yes, Linkedln has helped me a lot. I too was confused at first.
All great points you made Kim and I agree with them all. I started spending more time on LinkedIn and learned some of these tips from people who were having more success connecting with people. I found this site really confusing when I first signed up but it just takes some getting use to. Appreciate these pointers.
Adrienne – Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment. Yes, Kim did make some good points in his article and I completely agree that LinkedIn is a very professional and useful tool for all us bloggers.
Have a nice weekend.
Hi Kim, This is a really helpful article. I’m somewhere between Janet and Adrienne. I have a profile and have joined some groups, but I’m not as active as I could be. I should pay more attention to LinkedIn because every time I visit I discover that quite a few people have been looking at my profile.
I never thought of including SEO in my profile nor of setting up a company profile. Thanks for the useful suggestions, Kim, and to you too, Praveen for having Kim on Daily Morning Coffee!
Carolyn – It was my pleasure to have Kim write for me and i should say we have some good points mentioned above for all us bloggers.
It is high time we make use of a wonderful tool like LinkedIN to optimize our blogs. Thanks for leaving your comment.