We’ve mentioned in articles before about the sort of tools every SDR should have at their disposal to increase their chances of success. If you’ve read these lists, you may have thought that LinkedIn was conspicuous by its absence. That’s not because we don’t rate LinkedIn. In actual fact, we rate it so much that we thought it deserved a content piece of its own. And, with that in mind, we’re going to look at some of the things you can do to give yourself a business advantage with the world’s largest professional network. 

Decision makers

One of the first and most noticeable features of LinkedIn and what makes it so valuable for lead generation is that you can find decision makers quickly. All you have to do is type the name of a profession, such as ‘procurement officer’, into the search box and this will bring up a list of potential contacts. Further to this, if you’re looking for someone specific at a company but are not sure of their name, you can simply click on the ‘people’ tab on the company’s page and search that way.

Don’t be a ’spammer‘

Something to watch out for when adding lots of new contacts or doing lots of outreach is that you don’t want to be considered a spammer. That’s why it’s a good tactic to avoid going in for the immediate hard sell and playing the long game instead. Remember, a bad reputation can be hard to shift while most successful approaches and outcomes will gain you more prospects organically. Of course, you can decrease the risk of being seen as a spammer by personalising your outreach and LinkedIn is the perfect cheat-sheet for doing this. With LinkedIn, you can see someone’s work history, their professional qualifications and much more meaning that personalising any communication is quick and easy. Also, think about how you can use LinkedIn to find out all you can about your prospect before contacting them through other methods. If nothing else, this will at least show that you’ve done your homework and chosen a way of contacting them that is more appropriate for them rather than reaching out through LinkedIn. There is nothing wrong with reaching out through LinkedIn of course, but it’s always important to consider how your prospect likes to be contacted. 

Promote your content

Take every opportunity to promote your content on LinkedIn whether it is a blog, a webinar or a video. In fact, LinkedIn’s algorithm is geared up for video and as that’s one of the most widely shared mediums on social channels, it makes sense to use it. Also, don’t forget to get your content a little love from your colleagues in the form of likes and shares. This will get you more connections and help prove that you are more than just another face on LinkedIn.    

Join groups

Another way to improve your standing on LinkedIn is to join groups. In this way, you can meet new people and connect with others in your area of interest. There are also Private Groups which allow you to build your status inside a specialist community and share knowledge with other members.

Dive into your data

Lastly, now that your promoting content, you’ll need to find out how it’s performing. For that you’ll need to dive into your data. This way, you’ll be able to see which types of posts get the most traction as well as the landing pages that get the most clicks from your content.

This built-in analytics resource allows you to see what’s working and what isn’t and is an accurate assessment of your lead generation performance. It gives you an opportunity to take stock of where you are and change your tactics if that’s what’s needed.

With so many helpful features, if you don’t have LinkedIn in your armoury, you’re really missing out. What’s more, they’re actually on your side. They want you to win and even provide useful training videos along with a lot of tips and tricks for you to make the most out of your time there. It’s also quick and easy to setup and use. So, why not start today and see how quickly your lead generation results improve?