Unbeknownst to some, you can actually win customers through professional social networking site, LinkedIn!

Gone are the days when LinkedIn was solely a space for jobseekers and headhunters. Now, you can market your services and win potential clients.

The big question is HOW? Here are some practical tips to answer that question.

It’s all about the summary

Make an excellent first impression with your summary. Start strong with a bold statement. Use keywords like a pro to make your profile search engine-friendly. Talk briefly about what your business has done, particularly its major achievements. You can also include your vision, the veritable of what’s next for your firm. When seamlessly put together, you will be ready to market your identity and value. All this is just the beginning!

Reach out

A well-made summary complete with an eye-catching professional photo is not enough. If you don’t do the heavy-lifting, your profile will be reduced to just a pleasing static page and nothing else. You have to personally reach out. Get the word out by starting a conversation with potential customers. LinkedIn comes with suggested conversation starters so you can utilise that. Also, be on the lookout for significant events: birthday, work anniversaries, job promotion, and so on. If you see a potential client celebrating a notable milestone, send them a greeting. LinkedIn provides various event-specific buttons that you can choose from. By reaching out, you go from being a static page to an actual live one that is actively engaging.

Substance

A beautifully-crafted LinkedIn page will all go to waste if you don’t know how to curate the content you share. Again, this adds to your value and identity. By looking at the content you share, prospective customers get the sense of what you stand for and what your business is all about. Connect them to what you do. Use articles that highlight the importance of your services. Don’t be too focused on form alone. The substance is more important.

Can it

To save you time and effort, it is beneficial to have canned messages that are ready to go. In other words, having pre-crafted notes to send to potential clients. Create a script for conversation starters, business intro, an invitation for a meeting, birthday and work anniversary greetings, and so on. A quick warning though: don’t just copy and paste. Use canned messages as a guide, not just a generic flyer that you can forward to all. If you want to win customers, your message still has to be specially customised for them. A canned message only serves as a template of sorts so you don’t have to constantly begin from scratch.

Go beyond

Ultimately, you have to persuade potential clients to go beyond LinkedIn. Have them check your website where you have a gallery of things you’ve done, the services you offer, and the stellar reviews you’ve received. Get them to say yes to receiving promotional updates via their preferred email address. Convince them to be part of your sales loop. By doing this, you can gauge the effectiveness of your engagement as well as the interest generated by your campaign. You can then use these data to sharpen your LinkedIn networking skills even further!

LinkedIn is a treasure trove of clients. In a way, it is a prime source of leads that you can use to your advantage. Try out some of these tips, win new clients, and grow your business! If you need help, drop us a line!