LinkedIn has become the go-to platform for thought leaders, scrappy startups, up-and-coming corporate stars, and companies looking to make inroads with new sales leads. In fact, LinkedIn has developed a reputation as a lead generation machine, and for good reason.
According to HubSpot, LinkedIn is 277% more effective than Facebook and Twitter when it comes to lead generation. That’s a pretty impressive difference, and it makes sense. After all, you have a high concentration of corporate leaders who are in business mode. They’re thinking about business development, curious about new opportunities, and open to the content you share.
But here’s where it can trip people up: many CEOs and sales teams expect those LinkedIn leads to be ready to buy – an unrealistic assumption that can keep you from actually closing the deal. The truth is, LinkedIn leads are still very top-funnel, and if you want to nudge them toward the decision-making stage, you’ll need to help them along.
Nurture. Nurture. Nurture.
Be prepared to give your top-of-funnel LinkedIn leads some TLC. Chances are, while they’re not ready to buy, they might have a problem you can solve. After all, they’ve already downloaded your content and shown some initial interest. Here are some helpful ways to nurture those leads and address those needs. If you’re strategic about how you continue to make contact with them, you’ll start to see those conversions you were hoping for. 
Expand your strategy to address each phase of the funnel.
In most buying situations, one nudge is never enough. In fact, studies show that B2b buyers consume an average of 13 pieces of content before they make a buying decision. Those leads that started with LinkedIn are at a place on their buyer’s journey where they’d like to learn more, so as they (and other leads) move down the funnel, it’s important to have bottom-funnel tactics ready to go. Some effective strategies for leads who are in the decision-making phase include:
- More detailed content pieces, like comparison guides and case studies
- Google search marketing
- Display ads
- Email campaigns
You’ll need to spend in order to sell.
It’s easy to get conned into thinking some leads are free. After all, you’ve created some quality content – shouldn’t you get an organic audience? Not really. Every lead has a cost, and as they move through the funnel, the cost will go up as their quality increases. After creating your content and distributing it through LinkedIn, be prepared to make an investment up front to keep your leads engaged, through display ads and the other tactics listed above.
All of this is to say, social platforms are a great way to secure leads, but one cannot live on LinkedIn alone. Once you snag some promising prospects through the content you’ve shared, stay with them as they move down the funnel. The sales process is a journey, and mapping out the right pieces of content to share along the way will help each interested person make a good decision.
With packages starting at $1,999, the Peer team can help you identify gaps in your sales process and optimize the offers and assets you need to close more deals. Contact us now to continue the conversation, or fill out our easy online form, and we’ll be in touch.
