We are at the point where potential customers are getting sick to their stomachs of the spam they receive every day in their mailbox. Sellers who pretend in an invite that they like to 'link', but once the invite is accepted you are trapped in a sequence of automated messages.
I receive these on a daily basis and it never ceases to amaze me how badly the average sales person uses, or rather misuses, LinkedIn to get in touch with potential customers. I am also convinced that customers are more likely to be driven away than attracted this way.
To help everyone who is interested, I would like to share my LinkedIn strategy or rather: personal branding strategy. Potential customers don't give a f*ck that your company has a new employee or that your company is going on a team outing. They connect with someone they don't know, because they hope and maybe even expect that this person has something to add. For this, the emphasis is on producing as much good content as possible on the topic I am good at.
At present, this strategy is producing one to three good opportunities per week.
These 9 tips will help you turn your LinkedIn account into a lead cannon
1. Decide who you are going to write for. Who are the most important people to consume your content?
2. What is the main purpose of thecontent you share? What does your target group gain by continuing to consume your content?
3. What content does your target group like? I found out, for example, that my target group values 'how to' content. Literally practical tips on how to do something. How is it with your audience?
4. Don't fetch but deliver. Make sure that the people who follow you also benefit from it. Come up with good content about your area of expertise. Make them a little smarter, help them make concrete steps.
5. Which people in your field are already very strong on LinkedIn and what makes them so good? List them and analyse their content. Do you recognise themes, certain types of writing or do they do a lot with video?
6. Determine your own themes. Determine the most important three to five themes you want to work on and stick to them. Do analyse every once in a while how the themes perform and adjust if necessary.
7. Get to know and understand LinkedIn's algorithm. There is a lot to find online. Important things to know are the best times to post, or how to boost reach.
8. Let go of the idea that every post generates something. Not every post generates leads or sales and that's okay. Sure, it can be commercial from time to time, but as a rule, that's not why people follow you.
9. Don't ask people for time immediately if you've only just connected. Show through your content that you are an expert and only then try to ask for time. Your chances of success are then much higher.
