We’re all familiar with LinkedIn. You probably have a profile there, outlining your qualifications, job experience and work history. It’s a great way to promote yourself in the career marketplace. But did you know that LinkedIn also has the potential to generate leads for your business? According to HubSpot, LinkedIn generated the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate (2.74%) of any social media site. To put that number in perspective, it’s almost three times higher than either Facebook (.77%) or Twitter (.69%). Our own anecdotal evidence shows that clients generally get much more traction (more likes, more visibility) on LinkedIn than on Facebook or Twitter.
So how can you tap into this rich resource and generate leads for your business? Here’s a few tips to get you started:
Add high quality connections to your network
Most senior care companies depend on referrals – from healthcare professionals, social workers, referral companies and other senior care companies – to generate business. Connect with these people. If you don’t know someone and would like to connect with them, ask for an introduction from one of your connections that knows the person. If your referral sources have a company page, follow and monitor it.
Share relevant content by publishing a post or sharing an update
This is a great way to get more exposure for your blog posts, which, in turn, will lead people to your website. If you run across an interesting article that you think your audience would find meaningful, share that. If you do this well, people will begin to recognize you as a great source of valuable information and will be more likely to recommend your company to others.
Join groups
LinkedIn is full of professional groups, making it easy to get connected to both others in your industry and your target audience. Sharing information inside a specific group increases your chances of getting your message to the people who matter most.
Recognize the accomplishments of others
If you see a referral source, client or other contact is celebrating a job anniversary, new job or some other accomplishment, write them a note of congratulations. People enjoy recognition and this is a great way to nurture a relationship. If you know the person well, consider writing a recommendation.
Create a company page
If your company doesn’t have its own page, consider creating one. Make your profile text succinct and compelling. You want to ensure your audience can tell quickly what it is you do and how your services can benefit them – or one of their clients or customers.
Invest the time
Like all things in life, what you get out of something is generally directly proportional with what you put in. To get results, you need to be consistent with your LinkedIn participation. LinkedIn is a networking site and strong connections don’t get built overnight. But if you’re willing to make the investment, LinkedIn can be a highly effective lead generation tool.