Transform Your LinkedIn Profile Into a Lead-Generating Machine With This 30-Minute Daily Strategy
Jeffrey Lupo
Content Marketer | SEO Blog Content, Case Studies, Conversion-Focused | I help B2B tech generate leads through long-form content.
Expert content doesn’t do much in terms of traffic or conversions without promoting it to the right audience.
Successful lead generation means qualifying the channels you use for content distribution.
To that end, owners of SMBs and marketing agencies pay me to take over their Linkedin profiles to post, comment, share, and connect.
The reason I'm given this kind of permission is simple. Getting people to engage with posts on Linkedin is increasingly difficult. Whenever it is achieved, it’s often fleeting, which begs the question:
How do you post content that consistently generates engagement?
In this article, I share my strategy for turning a regular Linkedin profile into a powerful inbound marketing channel.
Consider it your Linkedin guide for:
Additionally, you’ll only need to spend about 30 minutes a day to accomplish all of the above.
But first, I'll briefly cover how not to use Linkedin and avoid looking like everyone else.?
What Everyone Gets Wrong About LinkedIn
If you want to engage with qualified leads on Linkedin, you need to fully appreciate why they are using it. This is where most companies go wrong. They simply don’t know how to leverage this very powerful platform.
Below are 3 of the most common misuses of Linkedin.
1. Blatant Self-Promotion
Many people use Linkedin as little more than a resume. Others use it almost exclusively to sing their own praises.
If you want to generate the kind of engagement that grows your brand, you must promote your business and accomplishments tactfully.
2. Treating It Like a Sales Platform
How many times on Linkedin have you received a direct message from a stranger with some salesman-like request?
And how many times did you end up signing up for whatever they were offering??
Probably zero.
Linkedin ads, on the other hand, do have their place and can be effective in driving sales.
However, you'll draw in more leads by not sending salesy DMs, and understanding that Linkedin is a place where people go for information and connection.
“Information” can mean learning a more efficient way to perform a job role, keeping in the know about industry trends, staying on top of important company alerts or updates, etc.
Instead of getting this information directly from a company website or through a search, we do so through various means of connection. That could be perusing a user’s feed, commenting, direct messaging, joining groups, and more.
3. Using It as a Company Journal
Company announcements, achievements, events, awards, and the like are all well and good to share on your Linkedin.
They benefit your company in multiple ways including increasing brand presence and credibility.
But if you want your company’s Linkedin profile to start making the kinds of connections that become clients, you need to start imparting value in your posts.
How to Get More Engagement and Qualified Leads On LinkedIn
The strategy I'm sharing below was learned from (and proven by) Nathan Collier of Collier Marketing.
When he taught it to me, he showed me that it can completely replace outbound marketing methods like cold email and Linkedin message outreach in about a year and a half.
It involves 4 essential post types that work together to turn almost any Linkedin profile into an inbound marketing channel. There’s also a component for commenting, sharing, and connecting that organically builds a network of qualified leads.
In addition to the primary 4 post types, I’ll share 2 more that I added for B2B companies.
Here’s my master formula in a nutshell:
4 Post Types That Turn Your Feed Into a Valuable Client Resource
So, what are the 4 post types you use to attract your ideal prospects?
Here they are In order of posting frequency:
I’ll go through each of them and explain what they are, what they do, and how to write them.
Tip: Always publish your posts in the morning (before 12:00 PM Eastern Time) for maximum visibility and engagement.
Post Type 1: Value Bomb
When making posts on Linkedin, leave the reader with something valuable.
If you help your readers, they'll be more likely to read your posts in the future.
Hence, the most commonly used post type is the "value bomb". This post delivers valuable content to your target audience on a related topic.
The content could be anything that’s useful to your reader.
Within these posts, you could…?
Share a process that you've found to be effective:
Mention how to use a tool that you love:
Offer a piece of info that can be put to immediate use:
For the format, keep the posts as short and sweet as possible. Also, try to include a list of about 3 bullet points in the body content.
Post Type 2: Story Post
A story post is similar to a value bomb in that it aims to provide useful, valuable content to the reader. It differs in that it follows the format of a personal story.
Essentially, it's an upgraded version of a value bomb. They usually perform better and generate much more engagement.
The downside is having to source original stories for each post makes them more difficult to come by.
To write a story post, simply share something (valuable to your target audience) that you learned in story format.
Because the point is still to impart value, story posts are the second most common type of post in this strategy.
Post Type 3: Query
Query posts come in two forms:
1. Single discussion questions posed in a simple graphical way:
2. Surveys that poll your audience on a topic they're interested in:
Queries should be posted about twice a month, making them the third most used post type of the original 4.?
The purpose of a query is to both generate engagement and conduct user research from your audience.
Use them sparingly. You don’t want the audience to feel like a focus group that’s continuously being mined for data.
Tip: r/AskReddit is a fun place to go for inspiration for queries.
领英推荐
1,200+ upvotes and almost 700 comments. It’s safe to say that people are eager to weigh in on this.
You could take inspiration from this Reddit headline and try something like…
“What advice would you give to a young [target audience job role] who is starting in [target audience industry]?”
Post Type 4: Personal Share
It's important to show that you're human now and again.
"Personal share" posts are the rarest of the main 4 post types. Aim for 1 per month.?
The reason is you only have so many posts to make per month. By keeping a positive ratio of valuable to personal posts, you make it clear that your primary mode of operation is to provide value, but you’re a real person, too.
Linkedin is still social media. So, it should come as no surprise that personal shares tend to outperform others in terms of engagement.
Personal shares can be a photo of you with your team or something as simple as showing off a new haircut.
Avoid self-disparaging comments or sarcasm. Stick to being warm and personal. Remember, you’re selling yourself as a professional who is delightful to work with.
Commenting, Sharing, and Connecting
In addition to regular posting, this strategy includes expanding your LinkedIn network through qualified comments, shares, and connection requests.
I say "qualified" because Linkedin is far too big to connect with everyone in a given industry.
Commenting
Commenting on a post is an opportunity to make a great first impression.
Before commenting, look for individuals who match your target audience. That usually means a decision-maker who has a higher-or-equal-to title than yourself.
In general, you want to move up in terms of titles (toward decision-makers) as much as possible.
If you’re in a manager role, go for people in VP or director roles. If you’re a VP, target people in the C-suite.
Check your feed, relevant hashtags, and keywords to search for posts within the same industries as your target audience.
The goal is to learn from and talk to people you aim to help with your product or service.
I look for posts that I find some genuine value in. That could mean:
Most comments should be brief, genuine, and positive. If you’re making a longer comment, take your time. Treat it like its own post.
No matter the length or nature of your comment, keep the author in the spotlight.
If they shared an insight into a market trend, resist the urge to criticize or give your own industry forecast. Instead, compliment, thank, or try to expand the conversation.
Don’t overthink commenting. Avoid delving into discussions about controversial topics or personally held beliefs.
Instead, distinguish yourself as a person who amplifies the efforts of others.
Tip: Be sure to tag the OP in your comments whenever possible. Addressing someone by name makes the exchange more personal, gains greater attention in their notifications, and makes your comment stand out among the others.
Sharing
Like commenting, sharing someone's post is an opportunity to make a memorable first impression.
Don't overcomplicate the process and don't steal the OP's thunder.
When you find something worth sharing (that imparts value to your target audience) comment something simple like:
?"Great insight @Name."
Keeping the message short and sweet serves two purposes:
Shares work as a positive first point of contact and show your relevant industry connections. They also build your activity feed into a resource for prospects to scroll through.
And of course, don't forget to leave a like or positive reaction to every post you engage with.
Connecting
Don't send connection requests at random. When you do send them, refrain from including a message along with the request (those are almost always followed by a salesy DM).
Here's when to send a connection request to someone:
Now your network is steadily growing with targeted leads with whom you've had some positive interaction. You can see a brief history of good first impressions clearly within your notifications.
2 Bonus Post Types for B2B Content
I've added two post types to this strategy for companies in the B2B space. These allow you to incorporate common post types in a way that compliments the overall strategy.
Post Type 5: Promotional Posts
The first works (primarily) to leverage your Linkedin profile as a distribution channel for content such as blog articles, case studies, and lead magnets.
These posts can also be made whenever your business promotes a product or service, discount, or special offer to your followers.
Promotional posts should always leverage:
For example….
Post Type 6: Announcements
Announcement posts promote upcoming events, such as product launches, conferences, or other industry-related events.
They include details about the event, such as the date, time, location, and registration information, as well as a brief description of what attendees can expect to learn or gain from attending.
The key to making effective announcements is always connecting in the reader's mind just how it benefits them.
Here’s an example that could be used as a simple template:
“We invite you to meet us at [conference name] in [place] that’s running from [date to date]...we’re excited to discuss [topic that’s interesting to the target audience] with attendees as well as how to [solve relatable problems / gain desirable results].”
Don’t just announce you’re having a party. Tell them about the free food and that their crush is going too.
What Posting and Commenting 5 Days a Week Looks Like
While posting announcements, promotions, and story posts requires at least 1 monthly call, regular posting, and commenting can be outsourced entirely.
The content calendar for posting and commenting for 1 month (5 days a week, 30 to 60 minutes per day) typically looks something like this:
To successfully run a calendar like the one above, the service would require (and include) an open line of communication, interviews, preliminary research, and ongoing user research billed at a flat monthly rate.
The biggest determining factor that affects this rate is how frequently you want posts to be published.
Other factors include specialized types of posting, more narrowly targeted outreach, increased organic outreach, and additional profile management.
One More Thing… Use This Tool to Supercharge Your Organic Outreach
I explained that you expand your network through manual commenting and connecting.
However, if you want to supercharge this strategy and gain a rapidly-growing list of followers, I recommend using DoneMaker to take over organic outreach.?
For a monthly fee, they’ll connect you with ideal prospects faster than I ever could, and even book sales calls for you.
Thank you for reading my guide!
If you have any questions or would like to further discuss lead generation, you can start a conversation with me here on Linkedin, or email me at [email protected]