Five Reasons Your LinkedIn Campaign is Failing (and how to fix it)

So you decided to reach your target audience using the world's largest professional social network...cool!

But things are not looking so great - you're ROI is low to non-existent, people are not responding, no one sees your posts.

Let's look at some of the reasons this may happen and fix 'em!

You didn't hold your breath long enough

 This reason is common amongst people who ran intent-based campaigns - mainly PPC campaigns where you start to see results (=inbound leads) pretty quickly.

So they spray and pray, sending 100's of connection requests and generic follow up messages with little to no results.

LinkedIn is a social network, so you need to network; people want to know you before they transact with you. Hoping for ultra quick results and then giving up after you don't see any is a surefire way for LinkedIn Failure.

SOLUTION

Plan on getting results within a three to six-month period.

Create a multi-touch campaign targeting your audience with an activity recipe that may look like this

1.      Visit prospect's profile

2.      Wait three days

3.      Follow prospect's profile

4.      Wait one day

5.      Send a connection request to the prospect

6.      Wait for approval

7.      Send thanks for connecting message

8.      Wait three days

9.      Send link to a credibility building article

10.  Wait three days

11.  Send a link to join your Linkedin OR Facebook group

12.  Wait three days

13.  Invite the prospect to your webinar

14.  Wait five days

15.  Invite the prospect to a one on one VoIP call or meeting.

*Sounds complex? It is! Deals generated with B2B prospects are usually worth five to 7 figures ANNUALLY and, therefore worth it.

 **This strategy works better with people who are active on LinkedIn - you can find them by using a premium search filter showing either Changed jobs in the past 90 days OR Posted on LinkedIn in the past 30 days.

 ***Don't have that time? Try LinkedIn's Paid Advertising and make sure you budget at least $5K/Month.

You didn't set proper attribution

 LinkedIn may be the first touchpoint, but your leads are converting elsewhere:

·      They may call and purchase on the phone.

·      They may contact another salesperson and purchase from them.

·      They may convert on your website...

And you don't know about this because your attribution is not set up.

SOLUTION

1.      Download a list of the prospects you're targeting, upload them to your CRM, and tag then with linkedin. When they convert, this will allow you to attribute these leads to you/LinkedIn (at least as a touchpoint in the journey).

2.      Dedicate a trackable phone number to LinkedIn and add it to the contact details section in your profile and any other "call me" call to action you have.

3.      Add a UTM parameter to the Calendly link you share on LinkedIn so you can quickly tell the source of a booked Calendly meeting as LinkedIn. Here is a Howto.

4.      Add a UTM parameter when you add a link to your website on LinkedIn. I'm talking about places like your company page call to action button, the contact details section in your profile, blog articles you post, and others.

5.      Set up your Google Analytics to measure and track traffic, conversions, and goals generated from LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is your only touchpoint

 Let's admit it; most LinkedIn profiles are Zombies.

They rise back to life every two to four years when their owner is back on the (job) hunt, logs in, does a few updates, and gets a job.

Then they go back into digital decay.

The result? Your marketing message is like a tree falling in the woods and no one's there to hear it.

SOLUTION

Email. Good ol' cold email.

You can run an email finding chrome extension on any LinkedIn people search. Find their professional/company email. Email them.

 Cold Email usually doubles to triples the number of leads we generate comparing to a LinkedIn only campaign.

*Is cold email SPAM? Make sure you consult Google (search), this article, GDPR and CCPA.

You're trying making a withdrawal before making a deposit

I owe this one to Josh Braun, so I will let him explain this concept:

SOLUTION

After you connect with someone, seek to add real value to their career.

Then add some more value in your next message. And some more in your following message. And so on. Only then you earn the right to make a withdrawl and ask for your prospects' time.

These can't be:

1.      A discount

2.      Gated content

3.      Product Trial

These can be

1.      A checklist

2.      A recommendation about something/someone that can help them

3.      A valuable sample of what you offer e.g. a list of leads

  You don't know how to sell to outbound leads

 Someone approved your connection request. Hey, they're even happy to jump on a demo call. But that's where it stops. They've gone cold.

Why?

Unlike people who

Read an article on your blog and filled a content us form

Or those who searched for "wizzy widgets" on Google and clicked on your ad...

many of the prospects generated through LinkedIn lack real buying intent.

Or they might just one part of the purchasing decision-makers circle in their organization.

SOLUTION

You can not generate buying intent.

However, you can:

 1.      Get to know your prospects' needs.

2.      Get to know your prospects' organizations and key decision-makers.

3.      Educate each of them about available solutions, including yours.

4.      Take time to follow up and follow up again in a meaningful way that adds value to THEIR career.

5.      Build real human relationships with your prospects.

Congratulations. You've just changed status from a salesperson into a trusted advisor. They might still not buy from you, but they will recommend you to someone who will.

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 Want me to expand on any of the above in a how to video? Let me know in the comments.