LinkedIn is the most influential business social today, undoubtedly rising head and shoulder above the competition. Whether one is seeking a new job opportunity or is looking to connect with other industry professionals or business leaders, one needs to have a decent presence on LinkedIn. Given the fast-changing marketing landscape, LinkedIn could be a handy B2B marketing tool as well. So, how does one turn it into a useful marketing tool? Here are the considerations:
1. Choosing Contacts – You must evaluate and select the LinkedIn contacts very carefully (no room for family and friends here), especially zeroing in on the decision-makers. For example, if you are currently offering services to banks and other financial institutions, learn to constrain your research and the resulting search to the decision-making vertical, i.e., VP-SVP-EVP, etc., leaving out the non-decision making universe as they would not be much help in your endeavor.
2. Limited Success at the Beginning – Expect minimal effectiveness at the beginning, say 20-30%. Of course, it could be higher or lower, depending on mutual interest and compatibility. Regardless, try to align with the decision-makers, remembering quality is better than quantity here. In other words, 20% effectiveness from the universe of decision-makers would be far better than 50% effectiveness from random bankers.
3. Content is King – Content is king, so do not waste time on unrelated issues or themes; instead, stick to your area of expertise, business, or the competition. For instance, instead of sharing or re-publishing news or articles from various news agencies, place your pieces and commentaries, so your offering or business stands out. The originality is greatly rewarded. The frequency is also critical in maintaining proper visibility, so try to contribute frequently, preferably daily.
4. Avoid Direct Marketing – Unless specifically requested by your contacts, it's better to avoid direct marketing. It would be harikari to spam contacts with un-solicited literature. It's a severe turn-off to the busy business people. All such marketing must be indirect via meaningful posts and articles, allowing contacts to be self-enticed to reach out to you. When they reach out to you, it's already half-sold. The adage – goods well-bought are already half-sold – applies quite well here.
5. Target Population – Define the target population you would like to achieve within a specified timeframe. A high-water mark is critical. Again, quality is more important than quantity; for instance, 1,000 vertical-level decision-makers (quality) are more valuable than 2,000 random bankers (just quantity), mostly non-decision makers. Set a timeframe, say within six months, to achieve this goal. Spend an hour each night – religiously – reviewing candidate profiles and sending out invites.
6. Increased Marketing – As liquidity increases, you need to intensify your marketing efforts. It's a numbers game: 1 to 2% effectiveness becomes significant when the underlying population is large and impactful. In other words, if you have a contact population of 3,000 decision-makers, a 1% response rate (or 30 leads per day) is quite significant – at least initially. As the population increases, you will get increasingly more requests to join your network, boosting your population faster.
7. Automated Campaign – Considering it's a 100% targeted platform, the use of mechanical or impersonal campaigns must be minimized. For instance, instead of placing a marketing flyer in front of your contacts, write a meaningful introductory piece, followed by a set of links pointing to your flyers. It's good to understand that the business leaders can smell automated campaigns (a.k.a., bots) from far away, so all costs must avoid them. Of course, when the leads are self-enticed (after having read your piece), they are far more result-oriented.
8. Keep the Base Growing – Just the way you would grow your own business, keep your LinkedIn base growing. The growth pattern must be collinear, meaning they must grow in tandem (as they complement each other). As the base grows, your percentage of success will grow at a much faster rate as the mutual interest grows. Similarly, you will receive a much higher volume of requests. Remember, it's your business, so do not unnecessarily relax your acceptance rules. On the contrary, now that your base is liquid, try to tighten it a bit. For example, roll up your original VP-SVP-EVP vertical to SVP-EVP-FVP now.
9. Some Exceptions Worth Considering – Lastly, here is an optional consideration – an exception (to the stringent acceptance rule) that many follow. For example, now and then, when I receive requests from certain rule-breaking yet deserving candidates like the mothers trying to return to work, veterans entering the labor force, new STEM graduates looking for jobs, etc., I wholeheartedly welcome them into the network.
At any rate, LinkedIn has grown into a business social powerhouse, so it must be used as a marketing platform to complement other marketing efforts. B2B professionals should use it as one of the primary marketing tools, but building a good deck is the key to such success.
-Sid Som, MBA, MIM
homequant@gmail.com
homequant@gmail.com
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