When it comes to lead generation, everyone’s looking for the “silver bullet.” I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s no such thing. The process of gaining a lead and converting it into a client requires work, no matter which way you slice it. However, LinkedIn is leading the charge in the area of online lead gen. In fact, did you know that, according to a recent study by HubSpot, LinkedIn is 277% more effective for lead generation than Facebook and Twitter (see chart, below right)?
The effectiveness of lead generation and conversion extends beyond your personal profile and into the business realm as well. As financial professionals, you have the ability to create a LinkedIn company profile and leverage this resource as another opportunity for clients and prospects alike to locate you. This is beneficial for SEO purposes because it creates another record online of your business name and website.
Now that you’ve decided to create a LinkedIn company page, how do you generate followers and, ultimately, leads for your business? Read on for six key things to consider for maximizing your LinkedIn company page efforts.
1. Optimize your company profile.
Make the most of your available real estate on your LinkedIn company page. Fill out all of the components and check for consistency with your other branded materials. For example, you should include your company logo (a 100 x 60 pixel JPEG, less than 2 MB works best) and a custom banner (646 x 220 pixel JPEG, less than 2 MB). Additionally, it’s important to list company specialties, attach any company groups (if your company hosts a LinkedIn group), and write a purposeful description that explains how you help your clients achieve their goals. Also, list the products and services that you offer. For example, if your office offers tax preparation services, make sure prospects can see that when they visit your site.
2. Include follow buttons on your website or blog.
The fastest way to get people to follow your LinkedIn company page is to get the widget from the LinkedIn Developers page and add it to your corporate website/blog. This allows those who visit your website to know that you have a LinkedIn page as well. If you have a dedicated website developer, you can always create your own custom follow button and hyperlink as well.
3. Make the most of your brand advocates.
Your employees should be your biggest advocates. Here are two ways to increase in-house grassroots promotion on LinkedIn.
Strategy No. 1: Consider making it a requirement that each employee have a company follow button in their email signature. Based upon the sheer volume of emails that your company sends, you should certainly gain followers to your profile via this method.
Strategy No. 2: Create a culture that encourages employees to build their own personal brand on LinkedIn, while at the same time building the company brand. Ensure that employees keep their LinkedIn profiles updated and free of errors. Each employee profile is linked to the company page based upon their current occupation, so this is another means of expanding the company network and increasing the visibility of your company.
For clients and prospects that visit your company profile, this provides a valuable resource: a list of all employees (at least all those on LinkedIn) with whom they may connect in order to build a deeper relationship with your company.