How to Get More LinkedIn Leads and Conversions

LinkedIn is not the first platform you think of when you think of social media. Out of the other big competitors like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, many marketers would find themselves chasing leads on the abovementioned channels. But don’t be mistaken; LinkedIn is gaining more popularity in terms of generating quality leads for a business. So much so that 66% of people rank LinkedIn as one of the most effective social media platforms. Not only does the platform act like a digital resume for some individuals, but it is a networking portal for businesses. 

Apart from growing your audience and increasing traffic to your website, LinkedIn can also be used by businesses to generate leads for them. This can’t be a one-off occurrence, as around 80% of B2B leads from social media come from LinkedIn. So it would be a mistake not to focus on growing this aspect of your marketing campaign and increasing your leads on LinkedIn. Since this portal houses a majority of professional audiences, you would need to reach them to get quality leads effectively. This requires a more in-depth understanding of the platform and its users. 

The following ways to generate more leads & conversions are:

1. A Customized CTA Option

As we mentioned, LinkedIn is a platform where professionals can share their thoughts and interact with each other, but there is so much more to you have access to. You can generate leads through your LinkedIn profile. If you wanted to, you could directly message possible prospects to reach out to them and possibly have a conversion occur. Apart from the usual, social media is for sharing content. You can gain leads by sharing thought-provoking posts, blogs, articles, and letters. While sharing content, you can also enable paid tools on LinkedIn, like the Sales Navigator. This is just one of the many tools you can use to help shed more light on your profile.

If you are running a brand or company page on LinkedIn, there are more ways to generate leads. One such way is adding a call to action option on your LinkedIn page. Before that, you must ensure your profile is noticed on the platform. It doesn’t require you to pour much money into your strategy. All you need is the lead generation options LinkedIn gives you access to and an organic content strategy to achieve the success of quality leads. The idea behind this kind of optimization is to prepare your page for visitors. So you would need to look into high-volume keywords in your profile description and taglines. This can all be done in the Edit Page section of your account.

Another good tip is to add specialties to your account that are focus areas for your business. Rest assured, these topics will not appear on your profile to be displayed. These tags are more for the LinkedIn algorithm to put your profile in the spotlight if users search for specific keywords. When these keywords are related to your chosen specialties, you can bet that your profile pops up on a consumer’s SERP. This brings you closer to solving a query or problem for a consumer through your products or services. 

All of this amounts to what consumers see when they do finally visit your LinkedIn profile. When a user starts to go through your description and details, a CTA will help them inquire more about your brand. What would be suggested is not to use generic CTAs like Learn More or Visit options. Instead, you must be persuasive to encourage consumers to click your CTA button. So give the Contact Us or Sign Up options a try. These options are observed to drive more leads than the previously mentioned options. 

For example, this button would prompt a consumer to contact the brand directly and help establish a buyer and seller bond with potential customers. Next, go to the Buttons tab on your profile to enable the CTA options. Finally, you can pick a custom button and choose your option through the drop-down menu. Finally, your page is more open to consumer engagements and leads with a few easy clicks. 

2. Live Virtual Events

Content can very well be a defining reason for whether you generate a lead or not. Everyone is familiar with pre-decided and edited content, the posts and videos you upload regularly. But very few brands or companies look towards unedited live content opportunities. This is a sure way to home in on quality leads. The idea behind a live event is to interact with your followers in real time. 

This means you would share your thoughts, answer questions, and demonstrate your products or skills, which creates value for the end user. For example, some consumers watching your live event might consider your brand to be transparent and honest, which adds to gaining leads for your brand. We all have witnessed live events and streams on more popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram, but LinkedIn virtual event features are not talked about enough. There are a few ways LinkedIn’s live events are utilized. The first one is by spreading the word. 

You can still use the platform if you decide to host your virtual event on a third-party site or anything but LinkedIn. Once everything is set for your virtual event, you can share a post or update on LinkedIn with your followers. 

An excellent practice to implement is to make users sign up first. This would give you access to their contact information and thus give you a starting base to target for any upcoming digital marketing campaign. The data you gather is valuable and can be used in the future for retargeting campaigns as well.

Another route to take is creating an event on LinkedIn itself. You can even use the event page as a launch pad to redirect users to a third-party site where your virtual event could take place. Similarly, the idea behind this is to collect user data through a registration form for the event. Lastly, you can use LinkedIn’s live streaming tool if you aren’t looking to share your live video streams on another site.

This would deter users who feel uncomfortable being redirected to an unfamiliar site. When users see that it’s on a trusted portal like LinkedIn, consumers are more likely to share their contact information with you. Thus, making it easier to get quality leads for your brand. You can also post follow-up content on your LinkedIn page after the event. This would be aimed at getting a feel of how the event went. You also could have potential customers reaching out to you directly or through the post about questions they had on the live event but were too conscious to ask. This way, you reintroduce your brand’s idea and give your followers a more personal touch.

3. LinkedIn Profile Optimization

It was touched upon earlier about how your profile should contain keywords to be found easier. But that is only the start of getting your profile noticed and generating leads that could lead to a conversion. Instead, you should look at your LinkedIn profile as a sales pitch visitors will come across and decide whether to invest. In this case, investing would mean providing the brand with a lead. Since your profile is one of the first things a consumer sees, optimizing it to fit the criteria required to be looked into is essential. So it is a two-part process, the first being unique enough to be found and the second convincing enough for people to take an interest in you. 

So let’s focus on the first part, which is being found. You might need to conduct a profile audit first to see where you stand. The very first thing to remember is to finish setting up your profile. Then, LinkedIn will always prompt you to complete your profile if details are left blank. Do take these seriously, as the platform is trying to assist you in being noticed. Incomplete profiles are never spotlighted. 

The platform even goes to the extent of rating your profile after filling out your details. You will be assigned a certain level on LinkedIn, depending on how much you fill out. These levels signify how strong your profile is perceived on the platform. The levels are Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert and All-Star. You can always bump your brand profile into the next strength level by following the instructions given by LinkedIn. Finally, you would be more likely to generate a lead if you’re at the All-Star level than if you were still operating at the Beginner level. 

4. Keyword Optimization

We often associate keywords with Google and its SERP, but most social media platforms have search algorithms that work similarly. LinkedIn is no exception. You might think incorporating numerous keywords into your profile might be the easiest way to cover your bases, but it could be the opposite. The art of mastering keywords is to find ones that relate to you and your brand. You also should anticipate what people would be looking for in your industry. Once you ask yourself questions your consumers probably ask themselves when they have an issue, you are on the right track to getting better keywords.

Your keyword research should consist of an in-depth analysis of what keywords get high volume, and also try your best to avoid generic ones. You can always use a third-party keyword tool to assist you in narrowing down your selection. Generic terms like Manager or Director aren’t terms consumers look for in the SERP. To help filter out generic terms, you can do a bit of research on LinkedIn itself.

First, you can go to the Jobs section of LinkedIn. Once you have navigated there, you can then type in the industry you operate in. Then, when you click enter, you will see the number of job postings. Then, go through a few attractive postings and look at their wording. Their description would have buzzwords that would be common in most business descriptions. For example, they could be words like Content Strategist Manager or optimization of webpages. These terms are often used to grab the attention of users. In the same way, you would use these terms to grab the attention of potential leads. When you pick the keywords you like, you can integrate them into your profile to make it stand out more. 

5. Focus On Your Links

The first link we are going to look at is backlinks. If you have ventured onto Google Ads before, you know what backlinks are and how important they are to organic searches. If you are new to this, backlinks are essential if you want your profile to be ranked higher in SERPs. These links are used to tie up relevant links to your profile. The more quality links you have, the more your profile will be better positioned in a search. Being ranked higher would mean you are viewed more often, leading to more consumer engagement. More leads or engagements would eventually amount to conversions as well.

Here are a few tips you could use about backlinks for your profile:

1. Linking your LinkedIn profile to your blog through a backlink.
2. Adding a link to your author bio or company bio if you upload blogs or posts to other websites as a guest.
3. Add links to your other social media platforms on your profile.

The more open you are with your consumers regarding your other socials, the easier for users to trust you with a lead.

The following link we will focus on is your anchor link. These links direct consumers to different parts of your webpage by having them scroll through the whole page. In addition, LinkedIn allows you to three anchor links to your website on your LinkedIn profile. It should be noted that when you type in your URL, you can click on the drop-down menu on the right and select Other. This can be used to type in relevant keywords to describe your URL.

The last link to remember is your profile URL. Customizing your profile URL and moving away from the default URL LinkedIn provides is suggested. You can often see URLs with a long list of numbers and words that have nothing to do with your brand. This kind of URL is not easily noticed and can confuse some consumers. But, not to worry. You can change your URL to something more relevant, like your name, brand, or motto. Sometimes you might find the issue of finding the URL you want as the name could have been taken already. In that case, you can use modifiers like initials or nicknames. This might seem a minute task, but having a recognizable URL is vital to generating leads, especially during online marketing campaigns. 

6. Imagery and Connections

It is important to remember that LinkedIn is a networking site. So having numerous connections on your profile would increase your reach. Having connections is also vital for organic searches. It is observed that first, second, third and group-level connections are considered when positioned in an organic search result. So, connect with people in your industry and reach out to interesting prospects. 

In addition, LinkedIn will spot that you are making valuable connections, and its search algorithm will reward you for your efforts. Verified or reputable connections will also be seen by consumers as a seal of approval and could generate more leads. If users see you are aligned with trustworthy individuals or brands, they will be more likely to share their contact information. 

The next element you need to look at is imagery. This consists of your profile picture, background banner and your images in your posts. Like Google, LinkedIn also recognizes heavy images and will rank you lower if your images load up in code. Add a caption or title to your images to give them context. You can use your keyword data to fit buzzwords into your captions. This way, if someone enters the keyword into the search bar, your image will pop up, along with your profile. 

If your images take too much time to load, this could hinder your chances of a lead. For example, consumers might get tired of waiting and just move on. This also ties up with being found on LinkedIn. Using a high-volume keyword like Digital Content Writer in your photo will help people looking for that profession find you and thus engage with your profile. Adding a location will be helpful in terms of visibility.

7. Observing Company Page Activity

Apart from messaging potential leads, you can also find relevant discussions to which you can relate. This might sound time-consuming because there are thousands of discussions happening daily on the platform. For example, LinkedIn can assist you in filtering out unnecessary discussions. You have access to LinkedIn’s social listening tool. If you participate in relevant discussions, you can attract like-minded consumers interested in the topic. You will also build a reputation if you engage with industry pioneers and academics. 

To enable this feature, you must venture onto the LinkedIn Activity tab. Next, navigate to the Filter options and select Mentions. This way, you will now highlight your company mentions in your feed. When you enable this option, you can view the different ways people talk about your brand, both the positives and negatives. Finally, you can hone in on essential discussions among users and add value to the conversation. This also gives you a list of people you can contact who are interested in your brand and could amount to potential leads. For example, if you spot a complaint or a bad review, you can take that opportunity to address the issue and suggest a solution. You might also turn that consumer around into a customer due to the helpful user interaction. 

8. Be Active With Your Content

To generate leads on LinkedIn, consumers need to feel active and motivated to solve their problems with products or services. For example, if a potential lead stumbles upon your profile and sees that you haven’t posted anything in years and aren’t active in discussions, they are less likely to share any info with your business page. Organic content is a green flag people look for when they are scrolling through the platform. So let’s look at how your content can affect your lead-generation process. 

The following ways to excite consumers are:

• Long Form Content Buffs

These pieces of content are created to attract soon-to-be customers. You can observe that content like this usually consists of ultimate guides to ebooks to reports. However, it can be anything considered educational and solve consumers’ problems. This should be a significant chunk of your content strategy on LinkedIn. After all, this platform is different from the rest. The educational value outweighs the aesthetic at times. 

You can interchange between these formats and even think of new kinds. The key to attracting potential leads through this content is offering them something exclusive. This means they won’t be able to access this information anywhere else. The idea behind this is that if you offer unique and valuable information to consumers, they are more likely to share their contact information with you in exchange. So you get a lead and potential conversion, while users get what they came for. So it is a fair give and takes. 

This kind of content can be seen all over LinkedIn, where you have an exciting report you want access to that’s shared by a brand you know. The only catch is that you must share your email address, name and other details to access the file. Once you do, the whole report is open to you. This might not work for every consumer, but if your content is top-class, you will have an excellent pipeline for quality leads.

• Case Studies

Trust plays a vital role when people are scrolling through social media and considering what brands deserve their attention. This is regarding their services or products and how other consumers have fared with the brand. While Long form content buffs might attract a potential lead, a case study sometimes solidifies the bond. It stands as a sign of credibility and reliability. A case study is created to show consumers a brand’s problem-solving ability. It proves your excellent work and the kind of interaction a customer has had with the brand. This paints a picture in a prospect’s mind that what they did worked and could also work for me.

Selecting the right one is vital to use case studies to your advantage and letting them help you generate leads. You must compile a list of your best case studies and share their snippets on your LinkedIn page. This creates a bit of a buzz on the platform among your followers. You can then link the complete case study in the post to your website. The sudden interest in the case study is the perfect point for redirecting consumers to your website and product pages. People know you can learn a lot from a brand from their case studies, and utilizing them should be a part of your content strategy. 

Be sure that the case studies you do pick are relevant. They should tell a story, not too long, that people lose interest in and not too short, that it seems unbelievable. You must highlight a problem and a solution to combat the issue. Only then will you be able to convince potential leads of your capabilities. The case study should end positively and reflect what you learned from the experience as a business. Showing consumers that you learn from every interaction shows that you are growing.

If you can find clients willing to allow you to quote them, there is nothing like it. A customer quote is perfect for convincing a lead that you are the right vendor. When you have so much reassurance from customers and a business, it’s hard not to feel like you want to share your contact information and see this kind of service firsthand. So when you upload a post about your brand’s case study, include a customer quote and a website link to the entire case study.

9. Include Your Employees In Lead Generation

We have gone through the profile and content optimization aspect of lead generation, and it can safely be said that without these, you will not see much success. So, LinkedIn gives you a host of ways by which you can promote and share your content. One major factor to remember is that even if your content is excellent, you will not see quality leads without an extensive network of connections.

So to reach more people, you can implement a few tools. One such tool is the LinkedIn employee advocacy tool. This tool is designed to alert your employees of content the brand is uploading. This is perfect for spreading the word about updates or uploads without spending anything on advertising. When your employees are alerted, some might be inclined to share the post, which could encourage more business leads as your employee’s reach is a lot more niche than a brand’s reach. 

To enable this option, go to a post you want to promote and click on the three dots above the post. Then select the option Notify Employees. This will indicate to LinkedIn that you want alerts to your employees on your network about the content the brand is uploading. The strategy will work if your employees share the brand’s content.

10. Conversion Tracking

If going down the organic routine is not working, the paid route is always available. Like most social media platforms, LinkedIn offers users paid advertising tools to help brands generate leads and possible conversions. If you want to dabble with those tools, your first step would be to install LinkedIn’s Insight Tag. This tool tracks external conversions. If you have trouble finding it yourself, go to the Campaign Manager tab on your page, head to the Account Assets menu and select Insight Tag. You would be asked to follow a simple setup procedure and verify that everything is working smoothly.

Once you finish the setup procedure, go back to the Account Assets menu and select conversions. You have a choice of clicking the Create A Conversion option. Once you pick that option, you can configure an event you want to track. When you have established the goals you want to achieve, tracking is easy. For example, you can track sign-ups, downloads, leads, and purchases. This kind of data can be valuable for advertisers or brands to make reports on and track for well a campaign is doing. 

One thing to remember is that to access that tracking for return on ad spends, you must enter the monetary amount you link every conversion to. This would give your conversion event a value that can be tracked. You can add these events to your campaign and monitor your overall results.

LinkedIn is becoming a significant contender in social media and is constantly updating its UI to serve the community better. As a brand, this is your best bet for generating quality leads that would be interested in your business, but also this platform gives you access to other professionals in the field who are in the same boat as you. Remember that even though you have competitors on the platform, you always have a scope to learn from them. 

These ways to generate more leads will only work when you work on three main aspects. First, they are your profile, content and audience. These will make or break your lead generation campaign on your business pages. Most of these options do not cost anything if you know what you are doing, and you can always utilize the paid tools LinkedIn provides to advertise you and your brand. There is nothing wrong with putting aside funds to market yourself, nor is there anything wrong with sticking to organic results. Both ways only work if you constantly grow and adapt to the digital space. 

Remember to experiment with different content styles, imagery and audiences to find where you are best suited. You can make the most significant impact on a platform by being yourself. If you want professional guidance for your business’s LinkedIn marketing strategy, check out our social media marketing services.