7 Steps to Finding Targeted Leads on LinkedIn

It’s no secret that LinkedIn is the ultimate in B2B marketing, but if you go in without a strategy, it can feel aimless and unproductive. But it doesn’t have to be. By investing just a few minutes a day in connecting and engaging strategically, you can start generating targeted leads for your business and building authority in your industry. Here’s how in seven easy steps:

Make sure your profile is tailored to the person you want to work with

One of the most important principles in marketing is that you have to be willing to alienate most people in order to appeal more to the right people. Most people view their LinkedIn profiles as the place to list everything they’ve ever done in order to make them look more experienced, but like most things. LinkedIn profiles are about quality, not quantity. Everything on your page, from your tagline to your portfolio pieces, should be focused on what your target client would want to see.

Utilize LinkedIn’s trials and incentives

Occasionally, LinkedIn will promote to you a trial of Sales Navigator or a small budget towards running ads. Take note of these, and use them strategically. Especially with ads, you’ll be more likely to get good results on a trial so that you want to keep running them.

Maximize your LinkedIn feed by connecting and engaging strategically

Engaging on your LinkedIn feed is one of the best ways to start turning digital connections into meaningful ones, but first, you have to make sure you have the right people in your feed, to begin with. Search for and connect with your ideal clients, and follow those with whom you’re unable to connect. 

Then, once you’re seeing their posts, start engaging with them. Leave meaningful comments that generate discussions. Don’t self-promote, just engage normally, as if they were a colleague. And do this on as much content as you can. They’ll start to notice and hopefully click over to your profile.

Say “congratulations”

You know the notifications you get from LinkedIn saying someone has been at their job for a year, or that it’s their birthday? LinkedIn doesn’t actually think we care that much about the birthdays of people we connect with. It’s giving us a conversation starter. So instead of ignoring it or sending the generic message it recommends, give it a bit more thought. Use it as a way to start a conversation in messages with someone you may not have any other reason to connect with.

Pay attention to who is viewing your profile

There’s a reason LinkedIn gives you this information. It wants you to form meaningful connections, and it’s easier to do that with people who have expressed a professional interest in you. One way they do that is by viewing your profile. So as you’re engaging in your feed and messaging people your congratulations, keep an eye on who is noticing, and you can focus your interactions with them a bit more.

Prioritize getting to know certain connections

As you start paying attention to your curated feed and comparing that to the people viewing your profile, you can focus your interactions with them a bit more. If they really fit your ideal client profile, you can start reaching out to them. Tag them in relevant content. Send them messages to ask questions about the things they post. Keep the conversations going. These are now valuable, actionable leads. But it’s not time to pitch them just yet.

Tailor your content to your ideal clients, and then send it to them

Once you have established who your valuable leads are, it’s time to invest in demonstrating your authority to them. Taking their industry and position into account, create content as a part of your regular content strategy that speaks directly to their needs. Use the engagement you’ve had with them and the content they’ve shared as a brief for what you create. Make sure you’re answering their questions and solving their problems. 

Once you’ve posted it on your website or as a LinkedIn article, send it to them directly. Tell them you thought of them, and ask for their thoughts. Even if it doesn’t lead directly to a pitch opportunity, it will open up a valuable dialogue that will help you better qualify the content you’re creating. But you’d be surprised how often it does turn into a sale.

It may feel like a long game, but engaging with the right people on LinkedIn and being strategic in your connections will help you grow your business not just with any people but with the right people. In just 15-20 minutes per day, you could start generating a steady flow of leads to take your business in the direction you want.