In order to effectively engage with prospects in your LinkedIn network, you need to have something valuable to offer them. Creating a content marketing strategy will enable you to promote your brand, connect with prospects and keep the vital credo of social selling: service not sales.
Here are three imperative elements of a LinkedIn content marketing strategy that will help you achieve your lead generation goals.
Stay on Target with Your Content Strategy
A successful LinkedIn content marketing strategy revolves around your lead generation goals:
- Are you looking to have your prospects visit your company website?
- Are you trying to promote your latest offering?
- Are you looking to get your prospect on the phone?
Pick one main goal for your LinkedIn lead generation efforts and then you can develop a content strategy to help you reach that goal.
Content marketing begins and ends with your ideal prospect persona. When you know who you are talking to, you understand what you need to say to encourage them to engage with you.
And it is better to target only one prospect persona at a time. Quality lead generation evolves from one-on-one conversations. Target to many prospect personas at once and your message becomes muddied.
You also need to create a list of keywords that you want to include in the content you publish on LinkedIn. As with all online marketing, LinkedIn uses keywords to help people find what they are looking for. These keywords appear in searches outside of LinkedIn as well as within the site. Applying SEO strategies to your LinkedIn content marketing will help you meet your lead generation goals and improve your search engine ranking.
Variety is the Spice of Content Marketing Life
LinkedIn allows you to upload, publish, and promote a wide variety of content types, including:
- video
- short posts
- long posts
- lead magnets
- e-books
Using these types of content in your content marketing strategy allows people to digest your content in the form that appeals to them the most. It also encourages them to share your content with people in their network, extending your reach on LinkedIn.
Variety in LinkedIn content marketing isn’t limited to types of content. LinkedIn also allows you to post your content in multiple locations. You can leverage your company content by:
- Adding media to your LinkedIn profile,
- Publishing articles that appear in LinkedIn Pulse,
- Posting links to your blog posts in LinkedIn Groups,
- Sending updates to your network on your personal LinkedIn feed
When creating a content marketing strategy, you can’t neglect LinkedIn messaging. Many people believe LinkedIn lead generation is effective because you can send direct messages to first degree connections in your network. An effective messaging strategy includes finding and commenting on industry articles, reports and updates in your personal feed as well as your direct messages. This shows you have the finger on the pulse of their industry and can get a conversation going that may lead to a sale.
Respect Your Audience With Your Content Marketing
Social selling is a delicate balance. When you are developing your LinkedIn content marketing strategy, make sure the content you promote and create has actionable advice. If the person can use the information you offer even if they never become a customer, then they will remember you when they need your services.
This is what is meant when marketing experts say you need a “top of mind” strategy. It is a difficult concept for business owners to embrace. Future sales don’t pay the bills today. But a pipeline of consistent sales will make sure you can pay your bills today, tomorrow, and five years from now. And that is worth the effort of a top of mind strategy.
Respecting your audience includes the frequency of your posts. You want to have a consistent flow of:
- Articles on LinkedIn Pulse
- Updates on your personal feed
- Posting in LinkedIn Groups
Consistency helps people come to rely on your information and even look forward to seeing your next update. But you don’t want to post so often that you annoy people or make them think you are trying to push them into engaging with you.
Publishing updates on your news feed and in LinkedIn Groups two or three times a week is a sustainable routine for you to maintain and doesn’t bombard your network with too much information.
Posting articles on LinkedIn through your profile a few times a month helps you to establish your authority and gives you the chance to establish your brand. These articles are promoted through LinkedIn Pulse and can be seen outside of LinkedIn. This gives you an additional opportunity to reach your ideal prospect even if they aren’t on LinkedIn.
Creating a LinkedIn content marketing strategy helps you to achieve your lead generation goals, promote your brand and improves your search engine ranking outside of LinkedIn. Targeting one prospect profile at a time gives your content clarity. Using a variety of branded content increases engagement, and respecting your audience improves the quality of your lead generation efforts.
To learn more about developing a content strategy and setting up a messaging machine for your LinkedIn profile, download our ebook 10 Steps to Grow Your Company’s Revenue Using LinkedIn.
