Social media marketing uses social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Snapchat to connect with your audience to build your brand, increase sales, and drive traffic to your website. One of the best social media marketing platforms is LinkedIn but many misunderstand how to use this platform to attract leads. How well do you utilize LinkedIn to market to your target audience?
LinkedIn started in 2003 as a database for job postings. In 2011 it went public and was later acquired in 2016 by Microsoft for $26.2 billion. Over the years, like many great companies, it has evolved into the top platform for business owners to use to grow their brand and generate high-quality leads. Here are a few facts about LinkedIn that you may not know:
LinkedIn has more than 660 million users in virtually every country around the globe;- LinkedIn gets 42 million unique mobile visitors each day;
- Over 25 million LinkedIn profiles get viewed every day;
- One in three professionals are active on LinkedIn;
- 61 million LinkedIn users are senior-level influencers and 40 million are decision-makers;
- 59% of LinkedIn users don’t use Twitter and 13% don’t use Facebook;
- 80% of Business-to-Business (B2B) leads come from LinkedIn.
Mike Sweigart is a real estate professional turned LinkedIn guru. He wrote a national best-selling book entitled, Great at LinkedIn. In it, he shares some valuable nuggets to help you navigate LinkedIn.
“LinkedIn is by far the most potent business social media platform on the planet. This about it: you’ve got a gigantic captive audience who are all in ‘business mode,’ eager to learn about your products and services—and willing to pay for them. Your LinkedIn profile, when optimized, can be your primary networking and sales machine. Best of all, it works 24/7, 365 days a year.”
“Just understanding the potential of the platform opens the door up for nearly infinite branding and sales opportunities for you. By tweaking your profile, writing more engaging posts and articles, and networking with intent, you’ll be able to propel yourself to the ROCKSTAR 1 percent.”
“Everything you do on LinkedIn has to be about YOUR AUDIENCE and your potential clients, not about YOU…The ultimate goal, the secret to ‘winning’ at the LinkedIn game, centers around how much value you can deliver to others. With that goal in mind, you can use your LinkedIn profile to endear yourself to your prospects, whether in a B2B, B2C, or B2Me setting.”
I liked the analogy Sweigart used. “Think of it like fishing. You don’t put your favorite food on the hook. You don’t attach a sticky note explaining to the fish how hungry you are and how great it would be to have a fried fish sandwich for dinner. You attach the bait the fish will want. You have to think like a fish to catch a fish.” As Dale Carnegie said in his global bestseller, How to Win Friends and Influence People, “…people are not interested in you…They are interested in themselves—morning, noon, and after dinner.”
If you haven’t been focusing on generating leads through LinkedIn, you might give this social media marketing platform another look. It could be just the ticket to take your career to the next level.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ken has been in the real estate business for over 40 years and has personally overseen the development and management of over $350 million worth of assets. Ken holds a B.S. degree in Accounting from Brigham Young University, a MBA from the University of Utah. Licensed real estate broker since 1976. He holds the following designations: CCIM, CPM, CRS,CCA. Served as the president of the Utah Apartment Association.