Lessons on Using LinkedIn for Lead Generation
I’ve heard more B2B marketers citing LinkedIn as a key social network they want to add into their lead generation and marketing strategy. I often get asked questions like “how do you generate leads via LinkedIn (without alienating your network)? How are you doing it? What works, and what doesn’t etc.”
In this post, “5 steps for using LinkedIn as lead generation tool,” I share what I’ve learned so far. I’m still experimenting and I’d love to get your input on this.
My colleagues over at MarketingSherpa just posted a terrific case study on Using LinkedIn for Lead Generation. In the case study, they profile a marketing team and their lessons on “joining LinkedIn groups, sharing relevant marketing collateral, and qualifying the leads that come through the channel.”
Here’s a quick look at the 6 lessons they learned:
Lesson #1. Target groups by activity level (relevance), not just by size
Lesson #2. Join groups under your own name, not a company
Lesson #3. Place collateral in the context of a conversation
Lesson #4. Response rate is highly variable
Lesson #5. Create social media-specific landing pages
Lesson #6. Quality can be an issue with leads from LinkedIn
Read MarketingSherpa: Using LinkedIn for Lead Generation: 6 Lessons
Resource: 2009 Social Media Marketing and PR: Benchmarks and Best Practices
Related posts:
Read 5 steps for using LinkedIn as lead generation tool
Savvy B2B Marketing: Using LinkedIn to Gather Industry Intelligence
You may also want to check the B2B Lead Generation Roundtable Group on LinkedIn. This group is all about sharing ideas that focus on the many aspects of B2B lead generation such as lead nurturing, lead management, teleprospecting and more. The group has grown to 2500 members in just 8 week but I’m even more excited about the quality discussions. I’m learning a ton from members. Check it out
Lead Generation, Marketing Strategy, Referral Marketing, Sales, Sales Leads, Social Media, Web/Tech, Word-of-Mouth
Join the B2B Lead 
Follow @B2BLeadBlog on 
Subscribe to our 
Subscribe to our 
Learn more about the 
Contact 
Join the team at 
Amen to all, Brian. I added one that is implied in your 6: Tread very, very carefully.
Brian, interesting stuff. We use Twitter quite a bit, but have just started looking into LinkedIn as a way to reach potential customers. And just joined the B2B Lead Generation Roundtable Group, so hope to see you there!
Ron Davis
Brian,
I definitely agree with Marketing Sherpa’s assertion that generating leads on LinkedIn requires a different approach than generating leads in more traditional B2B or even other inbound marketing techniques. People don’t join LinkedIn to be sold to. Marketers should use this tool very cautiously.
Here’s a couple additional thoughts on how marketers can use LinkedIn to help out with other aspects of marketing.
First, I think LinkedIn makes a great business intelligence tool if your role in marketing or sales focuses on targeted accounts. I wrote a post called Don’t Ignore the Backlinks http://bit.ly/oGGrB that explains how you can use LinkedIn to support your lead nurturing efforts. This same concept would apply to anyone proactively researching a targeted account.
In addition, forums like LinkedIn are a tremendous tool to use for channel management. In my experience, the best VAR channels have an almost club-like feel to them. LinkedIn is a great tool for building this experience.
Finally, LinkedIn and other social media tools provide marketers with an opportunity to redefine what it means to engage with the customer.
All the best!
Melissa Paulik
Hey, this is a good stuff. I’ve been also working online and providing solutions on lead generation. What you have just shared here are great.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing the learnings, Brian.
Thanks for the good tips. Although I signed up over 3 years ago, I have mostly underused LinkedIn. I just joined the B2B Lead Generation Roundtable Group, and look forward to learning and applying ideas such as lead nurturing, lead management, teleprospecting and more.