Using LinkedIn for Business Growth
"If your ideal prospect can't find you and your business when looking for what you DO or PROVIDE, especially when they don't know who you are yet - you're not getting your share of the local business!"
Guided by the following three directives in businss - Connect, Follow up, and Follow Thru
Q: Any tips for content that does well on LinkedIn?
A: I’m really glad you asked this question. The best thing we can all do is speak to the problems for which your highly targeted audience is seeking a solution.
This article in response to a question is an example of one way it works – Answer the questions your ideal customer avatar is asking. Cultivate and inspire the questions to be asked – so that you can answer and provide value ahead of time. Offering solutions, answering questions ahead of time – this builds your tribe. But don’t expect sales from everyone in your tribe. 80% of them will just follow to read, listen, or watch the great content you provide. The magic happens in the 20% that will take action and become clients or customers.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
There are five fundamental metrics (things that can be counted, quantified and are scaleable) that are key to your business growth (and social selling on LinkedIn):
- Market – Whose problem are you solving? Who are you “talking” to in your online marketing efforts? Don’t talk to “everyone” or “no one” will pay attention. If you have multiple market segments that you work with, don’t bundle your marketing message. Create specific marketing messages for each market segment.
- Location – Where are you engaging and connecting with your market? Once you have identified your ideal market segment(s) focus your magnetic marketing message where they already hang out. LinkedIn may be one social platform where your ideal prospects and customers are spending time. This platform facilitates the opportunity to establish yourself as the influencer or the expert problem solver for your audience. How does one do this? That’s the next fundamental metic.
- Value Ahead of Time – We have so many tools in this digital age that we can use to promote our business. Never before in history has it been so “easy” to reach so many of our ideal prospects and build a relationship of value and trust. Tools such as websites, social media, video and podcasts are just a few of the well known and easy to implement options to create & build a connection with your ideal client – Yet the average business drastically under-uses these amazing tools!
- Make an Offer – Most people call this “sales”. Most salespeople make offers to everyone without much qualification – wasting way too much time trying to convince their prospect that they need whatever their selling. The best offer making strategy is to build a tribe of prospects who already self-identify that they have the problem for which you provide a solution. The people or businesses that follow your valuable message are the prospects that need to receive your offer. And even from this group that has already self-identified as needing the solution(s) that you provide – only 20% are going to engage in a transaction or accept your offer – but those that do will be self-appointed brand ambassadors!
- Delivery – This is key. How you deliver on your offer – the one that your prospect said yes to become your customer – will allow you to exponentially grow your tribe and your business!
So, it’s not really “magic content” that works well on LinkedIn. Content that does well on LinkedIn is “value” offered ahead of time. It is even better if the content has been developed specifically for a particular ideal customer.
A good example of this – notice how, even in a crowded room, when someone shouts your name your head turns in that direction? But what if there’s someone else in the room that has the same name? You both turn your head?
This “head-turning action” is what happens when you begin to share value with the right prospect and they “turn their head” towards your message. Those who are ready to enjoy the solution are the people that will say “yes” to your offer and become your customer.
Our ideal prospects are “digitally connected, social engaged, mobile attached, and video hungry.” (from LinkedIn with Sales Navigator Training by Vengresso – use coupon code TSBG100). Your business growth is dependant upon how well you use social selling to engage your buyers. Those that effectively use social selling to build a quality reputation will lead the market.
Other articles on Social Selling with LinkedIn.