6. Social CRM.
LinkedIn is ideal in a social CRM context: it allows us to gain a better view on – prospective – customers and other contacts. This can be done using simple Social CRM applications but also by using ‘connecters’, for instance, for Outlook. Although most Social CRM solutions offer integration with LinkedIn, you can also set up a basic integration of your contacts as LinkedIn supports Google Contacts. A benefit of a social CRM tool is that it allows you to see what your contacts are doing on LinkedIn in real-time, offering valuable additional information on their behavior and preferences. When targeting a contact, LinkedIn itself allows you to see this information in its own environment.
4. Selling and generating leads.
LinkedIn is probably the best network to generate leads. On top of traditional techniques such as mentioning interesting content potential customers can download or driving traffic to relevant sources, LinkedIn offers very personal ways of identifying potential leads, engaging them and turning them into customers. This is done by a good combination of listening, analyzing, participating, sharing, networking and responding. Networking with potential clients and marketing to them indirectly through LinkedIn will increase the opportunity to make sales.
Customers and prospect are more likely to post questions and needs, 18% is Group-related posts which gives the B2B marketers an opportunity to identify new leads. Another 18% are content sharing and liking content, which gives you insights on what they find interesting.
By giving answers to questions on LinkedIn, you can demonstrate know-how. If your solution/answer, in the form of a response to a question, is what potential customers are looking for, they will initiate a contact.
5. Traffic building.
One of the strengths of LinkedIn that is not often mentioned is its power in link building and traffic driving. Just as other social networks do, LinkedIn has a social sharing button that enables you to share content in your status updates (which are visible on the homepage) and in LinkedIn Groups (communities) you are a member of. This works especially well for business-related content and can lead to viral effects. Business content often gets shared more often via LinkedIn than via Facebook.