How many followers and connections do you have on your LinkedIn? The concept that you require PLENTY and an insane amount of followers within your LinkedIn circle to generate leads and convert them to clients IS A MYTH.
As highly skilled technical professionals, engineers, developers, IT experts, etc., standing out on LinkedIn and generating leads are easier said than done when you don’t have a strategy.
Unlike e-commerce or service pages, engineers can’t take pictures of the same products daily and break cookies through different angles to produce a high-quality VSL (video sales letter) or commercial ads.
Nope, we engineers focus on specs and quality, and that’s precisely what your prospects are looking for, from you.
According to LinkedIn, 4 out of 5 people on LinkedIn “drive business decisions”.
Although this isn’t a well-known fact for everyone, this is a solid, common fact for marketers. Why? LinkedIn has actually been designed to target audiences by their job, not just their demographics. Look back at that statistics and feel assured, that most of the people you’re talking to are much more likely able to help you reach your goals, whether or not they are decision-makers in their company.
This makes it much easier for engineers and tech pros to find opportunities. Whether you’re looking for a manufacturing company or a pharmaceutical company, execs, owners, and companies with more than 3 Mil revenue… All can be done with a couple of clicks, you’ll be able to sort out every single people that do not fit your criteria. Automatically QUALIFYING your prospects, and determining whether or not they’re worth talking to.
There are many ways to generate leads on LinkedIn. Here are some ways you can generate leads depending on the type of lead you are looking for:
- B2B – If you’re an engineer looking to share your product/service portfolio with prospects, first remember that there are millions of people on the platform, and even with your narrow niche/industry, you still have plenty of options and people to connect with.
If you’re a solopreneur with a limited budget and having a hard time finding the right people to connect with, consider getting a LinkedIn Pro or a sales navigator to help you with your targeting.
If you’re busy working IN your business and company and have no time to waste working ON the development of the business itself, consider outsourcing or working with marketing agencies like Averill Russell & Associates where marketing scales in the least amount of time with the least amount of work from you and your company.
If you’re a business influencer that is acting as an ambassador for certain companies, consider hosting webinars, and private/public groups, as well as joining communities to increase your presence and influence. Creating a small workshop where you invite companies to showcase their work, as well as a monthly branded digital magazine, can also be a good way to increase your lead flow, for both yourself and the company you work with.
- B2C – If you’re looking for consumers, things will be slightly easier for you.
Let’s take an example of a solar panel installation company looking for consumers to install new sets of solar panels and perhaps storage in residential or commercial areas. Understand the target audience and create a brief financial feasibility study to calculate the estimated amount of annual income a person requires to be able to invest in solar panels. What would be the average job position for it, and start considering where you can find them, it could be in groups or through a pro/sales navigator to filter out the job, location, groups, income, position, industry, and even scrape through company websites.
There are so many ways you can find and get personnel’s or companies’ information, all that matters is strategy. With over a decade of experience, AR & Associates have been implementing and proofing ways to receive the most amount of leads with the least amount of money through LinkedIn.
On average, within the industry, the CPL (Cost per Lead) based on organic outreach averages at around $20-$25 while paid advertisement at around $10-$20 depending on the offer.
If you’re looking to create a paid advertisement, consider the following to qualify your prospects directly:
- Offer
- Benefits
- Pain Points
- CTA
Meanwhile, if you’re looking to implement organic brand awareness:
- Reason to network
- Benefit of connecting
- What you wish to achieve from the engagement
If the offer appeals to them, you will automatically get a response.
Here’s a good LinkedIn connection ratio:
1st phase of testing: 50:50
To start of, create a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) – set out connection goals that you have weekly/monthly.
Out of that connection goal, set out 50% to be sent out with a connection request note.
The remaining, 50% without connection notes.
By the end of the week, calculate the number of people that accepted your connection request.
Calculate the acceptance rate within the 50:50 ratio.
2nd phase of testing: 70:30
After the first phase of testing, start sending out 70% of connections with notes and 30% without.
Calculate acceptance rate and record.
3rd phase of testing: 30:70
After the second phase of testing, start sending out 30% of connections with notes and 70% without.
Calculate acceptance rate and record.
Conclusion: Once all three phases are done – compare and analyse which ratio works best for you and your goals. Which has the highest acceptance rate?
*P.S. – also monitor what time your audience is most active. Are they morning persons, or do they spend their nights on LinkedIn, during office hours, or during lunch breaks? Work this out for a month and you’ll see how you start to observe and pick up the best-performing method.
We’ve been monitoring the market for years and years, and we know what works and what doesn’t… But hey hey, that’s a secret sauce we’ll have to keep for ourselves. After all, that’s how we’ve been formulating success for our past and recurring clients.
If this sounds like too much work for you, you know who to contact!
Last but not least!
Always remember to fill your profile full! Talk from the deepest parts of your passionate heart and build your network aggressively! Post actively and talk about EVERYTHING!
From business pages and accounts – persistently talk about your products, the specs, partners, and collaborations you have.
From personal accounts – always share the personal wins and losses you have and be transparent. Be kind, supportive, and positive. You can even talk about your family, personal development, and hobbies, but don’t boo other people or you will risk yourself getting banned!
Follow, like, share, comment, and always connect with people. LinkedIn’s algorithm will expose and show you to more people that have similar interests as you. As you connect with others, you will start seeing other people requesting connections with YOU instead!
Next week, we’ll be talking about Lead Magnets’ tips and tricks and how they can help you with your business. Meanwhile, check out our LinkedIn and Instagram!
AR & Associates have helped IT, Engineering, Automation, Manufacturing, and Energy companies all across Australia to generate leads, increase brand awareness, maintain reputable PR, as well as increase sales.
We focus on helping you spend less time in marketing, and more time serving your customers. Leave the matter to the respective experts. As engineers ourselves, we understand the core values and importance of marketing through trust and reliability.
We provide a full tailor-made solution that helps you build your company to the next level through digital and on-site marketing. With expertise in organic omnichannel marketing and on-site event or workshop planning, we offer a full turn-key marketing solution that gives you time, space, and freedom to focus on what you do best, which is to run your business.
Email us here or call us today at (+61) 02 8416 4442 to get more information or book a complimentary marketing consultation or strategy session below.
Articles reference: Hootsuite, LinkedIn, & AR.
