Nobody wants to be a benchwarmer, but neglecting to invest in your LinkedIn can put you on the sidelines.
Research shows LinkedIn is the most used social platform for B2B marketing.
Quickly transform yourself from benchwarmer to MVP with these 15 tips and tricks from our CEO, Priscilla McKinney, and our VP of Digital Transformation, Tacie Avedikian. Priscilla and Tacie are often asked what is possible on LinkedIn. Here we compiled some great FAQs and guidance to help you digitally transform your B2B marketing actions and win the day with social influence.
1: Do you need LinkedIn premium services, or can you do it free?
A: The short version is no, but let me tell you why. I truly feel that in marketing, do everything you can that is free, especially on a platform like LinkedIn. Use what you've got. And if you find that you're doing particular things and you're hitting a wall because there's a limitation with the free, then consider getting the paid service. Be very purposeful about why you're spending the money to know that you will get a return on that investment.
Keep your money for other investments.
That being said, we use the paid LinkedIn service - because we use it! So, if you know what you are doing it is FAR from a waste, but it is not what you should start with when it comes to building your social prowess. You can learn a lot from being scrappy.
2: What kind of walls can you hit when you're using LinkedIn free?
A: With the free version, your intel is limited. You can only see the last five people who looked at your profile. For a long time that was the biggest reason for having their Premium service. If you're following organic threads of other people's behaviors online this can be pretty important. But for a more casual user, this may not be worth the money. More recently, the creation of over 13,000 LinkedIn courses for Premium members has created a new "wall" keeping non-paying users out. If you want to know more about this, go with a 30-day free trial and see if you find these courses of tremendous value and you do the math!
3: How much time do you think you need to devote to LinkedIn on a daily basis?
A: Be consistent. I think 15 minutes a day is great, three times a week until you build up. However, if you're in sales directly or the only person in sales, you may need to spend a little more time. But overall try 15 minutes a day and on Friday, cushion an extra half an hour in there for prospecting. Come back around three weeks later and reevaluate. Schedule it on your calendar for 15-minute increments with your goal in the notes section. Decide what you are going to do in those 15-minute blocks ahead of time. That is going to build your social muscle and develop solid habits.
4: What three things should I do?
1. Think of your most ideal client and spend some time listening to them. Look at their feed, pay attention to what they're interested in, and join in on a conversation. Don’t underestimate the power of commenting on other people's posts. It's rude to always insist that the conversation happens on your feed - go to where the conversation is happening and add something of value.
2. Don't become an oversharer or hijack a topic. Comment, but also consider asking poignant questions: Tell me more about it? Did this work for you?
3. Look at social media as a cocktail party. Remember your manners and apply those online. You wouldn't ask someone to go home with you within minutes of the first round of drinks. But sending an InMail message with a sales pitch to someone who just connected with you online is the digital equivalent. In all things social media, ask yourself, "Would I behave this way at a cocktail party?"
5: Do you get contacted by people that offer you free stuff and do you find that to be a valuable tactic?
A: Someone offering me something for free in itself has no value to me. I don't know how it can if they have not first taken the time to get to know my more persistent and even newly emerging needs. If what you have to offer is of undeniable value to me, then why should I get it for free? The issue is that a lot of times people approach me, trying to offer free services without knowing what I might be looking for. This circles back to the issue of social listening and starting real conversations. It is about having a conversation with others first and foremost instead of jumping right in and pushing a sale. Like any tactic, it is done for a specific end. But in a social relationship, you can create a more authentic and genuine relationship if there is an openness about where the conversation is going instead of force-feeding your products or services - even if you do offer them for free.
6: What is the best way to approach someone in hopes of landing a sale?
A: Building a network should take the pressure off of approaching someone merely with the goal of landing a sale. The reason we build a network is so that as we serve those closest to us with care and excellence, more hear about it. That is networking. I like to remind our digital transformation groups that we don't sell TO our network; we sell THROUGH our network.
That means the way you treat people, how you show up online, your intentions, and the integrity with which you interact informs the public opinion about you. If you treat each person you approach as a person you're supposed to sell to, you won't be able to focus on taking care of their most pressing needs and challenges. Lead with your skills and desire to help and eventually, your reputation will go before you and do the sales work without extreme efforts.
Be measured and focused on your plan to create a predictable revenue stream. You can’t just rely on word of mouth. You need to ask probing questions and spark conversations online that generate discussions. Then you can offer 15 minutes, thereby putting a time limit on things because everyone’s time is valuable. You talk for five minutes about what you do. I'll talk for five minutes about what I do, no selling. Let's just be people and see where that may go.
7: Do you use automation as a part of your social media strategy?
A: There's some caution there. You want to get as many things automated as you possibly can, but you have to be very clear about what you're automating. As far as our company is concerned, we use the marketing automation software that is HubSpot. We also believe in our systems, SOAR; strategy, organization, accountability, and repeatability. You need to do those marketing steps, but you need to do them in that order. Do not start organizing things before you have a strategy.
Find out who your most ideal client is. We have a free resource on the website’s resources page. You can download a workbook that will walk you through questions about who your most ideal client is.
There's no reason why you can't automate your evergreen content as long as you have a strategy in place. This process can take some pressure off of you. However, don't rely on a scheduler for very timely things.
You want to free up your time to hop on the platform and start interesting and great conversations. With LinkedIn, I only post one time a day, unless I'm at a very specific event and there is something very timely happening. I don't want to automate that. And the specific reason I don't want to automate that is two things. Number one, I want the opportunity to tag people and companies in it. And most automated schedulers only allow you to tag companies and you would lose the ability to tag people, which is how you virtually tap on someone's shoulder and get their attention.
Maybe a little less aggressively...
Also, I need to make sure that I have the time to nurture that post on LinkedIn. I post and then work on gaining some traction and taking care of my post. If it is worth composing and taking the time to create or use a graphic along with hashtags, then don’t set it and forget. A scheduler can be beautiful as long as you know why you're using it and how you're using it.
9: The social media platforms (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) are a little bit different. Do you use the same post for each platform or do you customize them accordingly?
A: You do need to customize it. There are different audiences on those different platforms with different states of mind. First, think about your tone of voice and how you want to customize it for each. You may be more nonchalant on Twitter versus LinkedIn, where you are more mindful, contemplative, and relational. Secondly, what is your end goal? Are you looking to get your brand out there for everyone? Twitter is a public network. LinkedIn is private. Google can search for what you're saying on Twitter, but Google cannot search LinkedIn. Lastly, hashtags are used very differently on all different platforms. You need to know what those best practices are. You can learn more about slaying your social media game with this guide.
10: Is LinkedIn more relational than some of the other social media platforms?
A: LinkedIn is a smaller pond. I feel like I am an influencer, or famous, on LinkedIn just within a smaller pool. I’ve created and cultivated this community. I do bring people into that community and continually grow it. It takes a lot longer, but it's far more meaningful to me.
LinkedIn is your own paparazzi.
Before you get on social, think about your goal. No one social platform will be the silver bullet. No one marketing action is going to work for you before you decide what your strategy is. Who are you trying to reach? What are they reading? Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook doesn’t matter unless you think about what your most ideal client prefers.
11: What are three things that you need to avoid?
- Don’t connect with someone and then the very next thing send them a sales pitch or ask an inappropriate question. You wouldn’t do it in person and you shouldn’t do it on social. It’s very disrespectful.
- Setting a timer can help you stay focused on your purpose. It holds you accountable for closing down the app/tab and moving onto something else productive.
Social media can be a black hole. - Don't spend time trying to look at people's profiles to see if you have anything in common to force a conversation. It is better, to be authentic, and upfront when you start a conversation. Even admitting you feel a tad bit awkward but you would like to connect with them and have a short conversation. People are refreshed by honesty. Don’t try to flower it up and disguise it because that comes off as disingenuous.
12: Can you give me an example of something outside of your life, in the media that has helped you become such a good marketer?
A: None of us like to be sold to from a slimy salesperson. We live our lives as consumers and as humans. Yet a lot of times as marketers, we act completely different and we go out and attack people or do things that we wouldn’t like done to ourselves.
Make sure you're treating others the way you would want to be treated.
Reflect on your own humanity perhaps from a past career you’ve had or where you have learned to talk more conversationally about your occupation. How do you like someone to talk to you? How do you like conversations to flow? Start being that helpful, non-sales, non-slimy, non-marketing person. Bring something of value to prove that you were listening to the conversation and people will look at you as a resource instead. What do you like? What do you not like? And don't do those things that you despise in the real world.
13: Can you expand more on this idea of listening first, instead of talking?
A: It’s a little bit of a giver’s mentality. Collaboration is the new competition. There is enough work out there for everybody. Get together with other people that are at the height of their game, who are your so-called competitors. Without giving away secrets or stealing away clients but begin having conversations. It will boost your credibility in the industry and expand the market. These conversations can improve your marketing and provide the gravitas for your industry that other people may not perceive.
14: What do you think about people who contact you and ask to meet up to have a quick five-minute conversation even if they don’t have anything to offer you but free coffee?
A: They do have something to offer you. I think this is a very fair approach. I believe in the win-win-win. It sets the tone for your colleagues and relationships looking to see what everyone can bring to the table. I don’t mind bringing my level of expertise and answering questions and in return they can then spend some time liking, commenting, and sharing a few of my posts, podcasts, or blogs. It doesn’t cost you anything and everyone grows their sphere of influence. There is so much we can learn but you also have to be willing to put yourself out there and be a giver, not just a taker.
15: So what are you reading these days? What has captured your attention?
A: I'm in a pretty intense growth hacking strategy session with consultants. I decided to give James Clear's book, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones another listen. I don't remember the seriously great learning about habit stacking the first time around. This method is especially helpful for building great digital habits for your online presence. If you want to get one thing done, don't try and go for the one thing. Pretty brilliant. Check it out.
I'm reading In Case You Get Hit by a Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around Later, by Abby Schneiderman. It talks about work and making sure that if something were to happen or you are out sick for a few days that someone could walk into your role with ease because of your kindness in leaving amazing notes. It also speaks, in general, about organizing your own life. For me, as an employer, I want to remind my team that I know they are working hard and giving a lot at their jobs but not let them forget to take the time to organize their own lives. Just like reaching out on LinkedIn, the same concept applies to show up in life as humans. Connect and bring your humanity along with you no matter what you are doing.
Have questions? Need advice? Let's chat.
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