by Francois Muscat | Aug 19, 2020 | LinkedIn, Social Media Marketing
LinkedIn has become one of the most widely used social media and networking sites for professionals, boasting a group of 590 million of influential, affluent, educated people. A glance at some of the demographics will prove that content marketing on LinkedIn is less about pouts and poses, and more about building valuable connections:
- LinkedIn is most popular with users aged 46-55 years old. (The average age of a Fortune 500 CEO is 58 years old.)
- LinkedIn is ideal for targeting high-paying customers as it is home to Fortune 500 executives, CEOs, founders of major companies, and more.
LinkedIn Tools to Dazzle Your Audience
There are tools built into LinkedIn which assist in boosting your ROI. Available for all LinkedIn advertising products, such as LinkedIn Sponsored Content and LinkedIn Sponsored InMail, LinkedIn Matched Audience zeroes in on users who are most likely to boost revenue. The three targeting options are:
1. Website Retargeting
LinkedIn members who have already visited your website must already be somewhat interested, right? Define them by which pages they visited, and then use this tool to easily target different audiences with relevant ads.
2. Account Targeting
Tap into the network of LinkedIn’s 19 million Company Pages to find target accounts, segment your list with filters for Company industry or company size, and then market to the appropriate decision-makers and influencers within them.
3. Contact Targeting
Rather than duplicating your efforts, connect your contact management platform (Marketo, Oracle Eloqua, or Acxiom/LiveRamp) to LinkedIn’s contact targeting. Seamlessly create a customised audience by securely integrating the two.
Award-Winning Solutions
Leveraging LinkedIn for business purposes is easy once you have a compelling profile and bullet-proof strategy. For more information on how WSI can help you, contact us today.
by Francois Muscat | Jul 28, 2020 | LinkedIn, Social Media Marketing
As a group owner or manager, you can build a community where like-minded professionals with similar interests and goals can connect, learn, and grow. LinkedIn released a series of guides and notes on how to maximise groups engagement. Have a look at these strategies for building the foundation of a dynamic and lively community.
Digital marketing: Checklist of key components to set your network up for success
Build a team
Assign and share duties with other administrators who can help manage membership, implement group policies, and facilitate new discussions.
- Who can assist with group management?
- What will their obligations and duties be?
- How will you uphold correspondence and accountability?
Define the culture and guidelines
Specify a clear and compelling objective in the group description and establish guidelines for how the group will operate and how regulations will be implemented.
- What is the aim of the group?
- Who should join?
- What are the requirements for membership validation?
- How should members use the group?
- What are the rules and regulations for discussions?
- How will the rules be upheld?
Develop a conversation strategy
- What topics are participants interested in discussing?
- How often will your team post and/or comment in the group?
- What daily, weekly, or monthly themes will be relevant to your group?
- How will you ensure that individuals feel welcome?
- Are there members with whom you can collaborate as community leaders?
- How will you reward active participants?
Finalise the details
- Confirm that your group name is specific and concise
- Upload a clear and relevant logo
- Complete the group description and rules
- Share your first post to set the tone of the community
Visit your LinkedIn Groups today: www.linkedin.com/groups. Once your group is up and running, you will need to consider techniques to evoke participation and conversations. Click here for suggestions on getting your members more involved.
Need help with your digital marketing and social media? Then contact WSI OMS today.
by Marelise da Silva | May 27, 2020 | LinkedIn, Social Media Marketing
LinkedIn has become one of the most widely used social media and networking sites for professionals, and while it is not as formal as corporate communication, there are some lessons to learn in using LinkedIn as a networking tool.
How to use LinkedIn successfully in networking:
LinkedIn is a powerful connector (as long as you’re using it correctly)
Professionals are incredibly responsive on LinkedIn and if you approach it correctly, you will be able to build your network effectively. With all the handy features (such as filtering by location, industry, current company and more) you can curate the group of people you want to access and connect to easily. It’s like your dream team of networking partners all gathered at one event, but they are there all the time. The key here is getting this group to interact with you.
It’s all about the approach
As with most networking attempts, the approach can be the deciding factor in the exchange. On LinkedIn you need to interact as if you were on social media, but in a professional setting. You’re your connection messages short, clear and to the point while inviting your potential connection to start a dialogue. Make it personal by mentioning connections you may have in common or commenting on the person’s achievements, research or interests.
Don’t leave it up to automated messages
LinkedIn doesn’t play well with automated messages, and using automated messaging extensions may get your profile banned because using “bots or other automated methods” to “send or redirect messages” is against LinkedIn’s Dos and Don’ts.
Branding is still important
First impressions count, even in the world of online networking. You need to carefully curate your brand image on LinkedIn just as you would on social media and in face-to-face interactions. Create your profile content with intention, check for errors and keep the visuals professional and relevant. If you don’t have professional headshots, you can still get a clear, professional looking photograph with a little bit of research and a smartphone camera. Put in the effort with your profile to make it an extension of your brand.
Commit to the long-term process
Although you might see an upswing in the initial stage of your networking and leads generation campaign on LinkedIn, the significant results will only come after around 2-3 months of consistent work. In this time you may need to evolve and refine your approach based on what you can see is working and what is not. Keep doing research and trying out different strategies until you find what works for you.
Get ready to close the deal
Whether you are using LinkedIn to network in your individual capacity or using it as a tool to generate leads for your business you need to be ready to close the deal with potential connections. This can mean being ready and willing to take the conversation further into a sales process or going for an interview (if you’ve reached out because of a job opening). Don’t waste your connection’s time by dragging your feet in the process when closing time is at hand.
Contact WSI OMS for more information on how to use LinkedIn in your networking and marketing campaigns.
by Marelise da Silva | May 15, 2020 | LinkedIn, Social Media Marketing
LinkedIn is a powerful social media portal for lead generation, with two new professionals signing up to join every second, and by incorporating LinkedIn into your social media marketing strategy, you can easily boost business leads. Learn more in this guide
4 social media marketing strategy tips for generating leads from LinkedIn:
1. Prioritise LinkedIn
If you decide that LinkedIn has the potential to take your business to new heights, then it’s essential that you make it a priority. Trying to tackle it as an afterthought just is not going to provide the results that you’re after. Embed the social media platform into your editorial calendar and make use of its ever-popular publishing platform to post your best pieces as often as possible. This will lead to your organisation being viewed as an industry thought-leader and trusted authority.
2. Make an effort with relevant connections
Do you have connections on your LinkedIn profile that you have yet to meet, but are keen to? Make an effort to interact with them and build a relationship. Eventually, when you decide to pitch your business and its offering to them, there’ll be a much higher chance that it will be well-received.
3. Engage and interact
Join groups and take part in the discussions taking place within them. Post updates on your profile. Write recommendations for your connections. Celebrate others’ accomplishments. Spend time perfecting your profile. There are so many ways to make your presence known on LinkedIn, and this is a great way in which to encourage more attention to your business.
4. Refine Your Profile
Do some research into the best keywords to be using and include as much information as possible without coming across as verbose or boastful. It is important to complete every aspect of your profile, as studies have shown that professionals who do this receive forty times more direct inquiries and leads than those who do not.
WSI OMS is a social media marketing agency that specialises in social media marketing strategy and other social media services to help you maximise the return on investment from your digital marketing efforts. Get in touch for more information on how we can help you to improve your social media marketing strategy.
by Francois Muscat | Apr 7, 2020 | LinkedIn, Social Media Marketing
Generating leads through LinkedIn is one way sales executives can use social media to increase sales, earn more commission and make the sales process more efficient. According to LinkedIn, eighty-nine percent of Business to Business (B2B) marketers use LinkedIn for lead generation, and it generates twice as many leads as the next most popular social channel.
LinkedIn has more than 660 million professionals on their platform, and these members are an engaging, captive audience. LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms are designed for maximum convenience to both users and marketers, and when presented to a LinkedIn member, their profile data is already pre-populated. Less time is spent filling out the form, resulting in higher conversion rates.
With LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms, you can:
- Generate high-quality leads at scale
- Prove the return of investment (ROI) of your lead generation campaigns
- Access and manage your leads easily.
LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms is a tool that can help you drive demand for your product or service, with the following options:
- Download – share an eBook to position yourself as a thought leader or to share more about your product.
- Sign Up – sign up a member for any product or service such as software demonstrations or to test-drive a car.
- Register – allow members to register for an upcoming webinar or event.
- Gather Interest – share details of programmes such as your educational establishment’s online certification to identify interested members.
Before setting up your LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms, consider the following:
- Establish your target audience
- Identify what is a lead to your business
- Develop your offer
- Set up a plan to manage your leads
- Confirm who will follow up with leads
- Decide on your plan to evaluate success.
Social media is one of the best ways to reach the people and companies you want to do business with. WSI OMS can assist you with creating company profiles on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. We also offer digital marketing seminars designed specifically for your company’s needs. Contact WSI OMS today for social media solutions for Sales Executives.
by Francois Muscat | Mar 23, 2020 | LinkedIn, Social Media Marketing
Sponsored content on LinkedIn is a sure-fire way of getting your social media marketing aimed at the correct audience. Use this guide to help you create LinkedIn sponsored content.
Get Picky With Your Promoted Content
The first step is to choose what content you want to promote. It may be a blog post or a web page featuring a promotion. Copy the URL, go to your company page on LinkedIn and paste the URL into the update box where it reads: “Share an article or photo” and post the article, photo or link.
The post will now appear in your timeline. Above the post, you will see a grey arrow with the words “Sponsor now”. When you click on the link, you will be taken to your LinkedIn campaign manager.
Work the LinkedIn Campaign Manager
Once you are in your LinkedIn campaign manager, you can go through all the processes you need to in order to promote your content. LinkedIn’s campaign manager is very similar to Facebook’s campaign manager. Click on the article link that you want to promote and click on “create a campaign” in the top right corner.
You can choose whether you want to promote your content with targeted native advertising, drive traffic from the desktop with ads, or send targeted messages directly to people. If you want to sponsor the content, click on the top option that reads: “Promote your content with targeted native advertising”.
Next, you will name your campaign, choose your objectives, select your audiences, the location you want to target, and how you want to target them. You can target people by fields of study, member groups, job titles, job function, years of experience, and a host of other options that aren’t available to you with Facebook ads.
If you’re looking for ways to improve your social media marketing strategy and online reputation management, contact WSI OMS today for a consultation.
