If you have B2B products or services and are seeking ways to transform your LinkedIn leads into revenue–you have likely tried everything–and are frustrated by low ROI, exhausted marketing budgets, and drained energy.

Marketing agencies and business coaches typically advise LinkedIn outreach to the platform’s 850 million followers, but this method is no longer effective.  We all know what it is like to receive an unsolicited “cold call” from someone prospecting you as their client. No one likes that feeling. If you don’t like it, your audience won’t either. 

So what is the answer? 

The key to more sales is to move semi-interested leads off of LinkedIn and into a space you can cultivate, that is NOT LinkedIn, thus moving a curious prospect into a qualified prospect. 

Why is this important? For three main reasons: 

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1. LinkedIn only circulates your posts for 2-3 days max. This sole factor diminishes your ROI on content you worked hard to cultivate. Instead, use LinkedIn’s short circulation window to grab the attention of qualified leads–and immediately shift the conversation to somewhere sustainable–your site.

2. LinkedIn isn’t the first go-to. While it can be a great tool for targeting like-minded professionals and building a network–the truth is, LinkedIn is not the top go-to source.  LinkedIn is not in the top ten websites. It isn’t in the top 20, 30, or even 40. It ranks #48 in global popularity and #55 in US-based searches.  To top it off, Lewis Goldstein–president of Blue Wind Marketing–echoes user frustration when he reports that most people find the platform to be “ugly, not fun, and a bit boring.” Instead, the key is to shift people away from a platform they guiltily feel they “should visit” to your site which is engaging and instantly helpful for their specific needs. 

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3. LinkedIn is crowded with noise. LinkedIn is a great tool for coaches and consultants to interact with target audiences. But with so many experts on the platform, it is easy to feel silenced by the noise. if you are a B2B owner, you should not rely on an overabundance of content that gets lost within 48 hours. Instead, the goal is to create compelling content that makes them want to connect with you on your own channels. LinkedIn might be great for catching their attention. But you want to continue the conversation off of LinkedIn and in a location where you can get their attention easier in the future, where they will spend more time, and where the engagement lasts longer: your site. 

To make that shift, it’s time to give curious prospects–meaning individuals who have real business problems, real budgets, and who are willing to spend money in order to solve those problems–a trail to follow. At B2B Growth, we recommend the following seven hacks to transform your LinkedIn leads into hot leads. 

Hack #1 - Update Your LinkedIn Bio

Your LinkedIn Bio is prime real estate. Qualified prospects who are curious about your solutions are doing to be looking for the quickest, easiest way to connect with you. When you place your website link in such prime real estate, it draws in your hottest leads and places the conversation in your hands. 

On my LinkedIn, you can see I have used this method. I have closed dozens of sales from this method alone. When I ask clients where they found me, they often say, “I followed you on LinkedIn for a while, checked out your profile, and then went to your site to see what you had to offer.” 

But simply moving the interested lead to my site is not enough. To continue to nurture the conversation, It was important for me to add in the use of Hack #2. 

Hack #2 - Get them on your email list 

Once I bring interested prospects over to my site, my first goal is to make sure that they're on my email list.

It is vital to be optimized to collect emails. It is critical that you create a pop-up light box or have a lead-magnet offer for email capture. Both of these options must be “above the fold”  meaning a user would not have to scroll in order to be invited to take action. 

Once we have an email–and possibly their SMS information as well–it is easy to nurture the conversation. Why? Because we have cut through the noise of LinkedIn. We know these contacts have a need for our product or solution. When we create connection points with them, we are building trust and have opportunities to set ourselves apart as the Subject Matter Experts who can meet their specific problems, wants, or needs. 

Hack #3 - Highlight Your Featured Videos 

Use LinkedIn’s “Featured” section to direct casual viewers to your best material. What are the three most helpful videos you have, which your previous clients have found most helpful? Use those videos in this section.

How do you add a video to the “Featured” section? In the upper right-hand corner, click the “add” button. Copy and paste your video link. This can be from Vimeo or YouTube. But, as mentioned earlier, I recommend YouTube for its “suggested videos” feature. 

Afterward, you will need to add a description and upload a clean thumbnail that instantly points to viewer takeaways. (Bonus: Your LinkedIn thumbnail ratio is 1.91:1 ratio (1200 x 627 pixels) When naming your feature, remember prospects will want to know what they get from watching and how you can solve their problem. 

While I like linking videos in this “Featured” section, you can also direct prospects to your website, your Vimeo channel, or other content which is most valuable for your target market.  

Hack #4- Post A Video 

Out team produces a two-minute video or a LinkedIn live daily. At the end of each video, I will add a soft call to action. This was one of our recent posts. And yes–we do post on LinkedIn. Remember, content is great to place on LinkedIn, it just has a short shelf life. We target these posts as a way to continue the conversation off of LinkedIn and within our site. 

It is imperative to always include a soft call to action in every video, even if you are doing them daily. What is a soft call to action? It is an invitation to go one step further into a partnership. What does it sound like? It sounds like saying, “If you want more information…”, “If we can help in any way, feel free to reach out.”  Or, “If you want to receive a PDF that relates to what we've just discussed, you can go to this website…” 

Bonus Hack:  Make sure you have a phonetically easy-to-pronounce website name. If your main domain is complicated, consider purchasing a simple domain and forwarding it to your main site.ell.  

Hack #5 - Revive A Post 

Since we know LinkedIn buries content within 48-72 hours, the key to extending the longevity of your posts is to revive them. A couple of days after I post, I will revisit it and post the YouTube link in the LinkedIn post’s comment. This method pushes the post further, revives conversation for those who already comment, and encourages additional engagement.

If we can support you and help you to act on these simple strategies and more in order to scale your business and eliminate LinkedIn marketing frustrations, we would love to connect - send me a message on LinkedIn