Use 7 Effective Steps with LinkedIn to Rapidly Attract Prospects and Recruits
By: Rob Renaud
Tags: LinkedIn, Network Marketing, Multi Level Marketing, Linkedin Marketing, MLM

Wondering if you should use platforms like LinkedIn in your network marketing business? The fact is EVERYBODY’s using social media to sell their stuff these days. Even the biggest brands like Coca-Cola, Nike, Lego, American Express, General Electric, Lowe’s, Taco Bell, and NASA are flexing their social muscles and building huge fan bases online.

According to Infusionsoft, more than 70% of small businesses are planning to include social media marketing in their business strategy. But while Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram get most of the buzz, many entrepreneurs are neglecting a hidden goldmine of hot, receptive prospects.

After all, when you’re trying to get your business noticed, wouldn’t it make more sense to go where the business action’s really at? Hint: LinkedIn is where it’s at!

LinkedIn is Not a “Social” Channel — It’s a “Business” Channel

LinkedIn was created as a place to talk business. Since the early 2000s, it’s where professionals hang out and network with other professionals. It’s got such credibility as a business networking site that two professionals join LinkedIn every single second.

According to their own research, LinkedIn reports:

51% of companies acquired a B2C (business to consumer) customer through LinkedIn.

93% of B2B (business to business) marketers consider LinkedIn to be the most effective site for lead generation.

50% of LinkedIn members say they are more likely to buy from someone they’ve engaged with on LinkedIn.

80% of LinkedIn members want to connect with companies to enhance their decision making.

92% of B2B marketers include LinkedIn in their digital marketing mix.

And if that’s not enough to convince you, check this out…

Inside View reports that LinkedIn generates more leads for B2B companies than Facebook, Twitter, or Blogging individually.

Econsultancy reports that LinkedIn is responsible for 64% of all visits to corporate websites from social media channels.

So how do you use LinkedIn to attract the kind of high-quality prospects who’ll build your network marketing team fast?

7 Steps to Use LinkedIn for Network Marketing

Whether you’re a brand new marketer or an experienced pro, you can use LinkedIn to generate leads, build brand awareness, and establish strategic partnerships with serious businesspeople. Here’s how you get started:

1. Define Your Goals and Target Audience

Start your LinkedIn strategy by determining exactly what you want to accomplish.

Do you want to generate leads and sell products?

Build your brand awareness?

Recruit team members?

Once you know exactly what you want, it’s easier to define and hone in on a specific audience. Let’s say your goal is to sell a training program to network marketers. LinkedIn has over 700 groups specifically for network marketing professionals.

Or imagine you’re part of a health and wellness company and you want to target network marketers in that field. There are more than 1,500 groups on LinkedIn dealing with health and wellness. Additionally, the site has 38 groups focused only on health and wellness marketing.

Depending on your goals, your LinkedIn job is to attract the audience who shares your goals and invite them to connect with you. From there, you can build your network marketing team with the prospects you want.

2. Create Your Personal LinkedIn Profile

Once your goals and target audience are clear, you can start to make your LinkedIn profile shine. You’ll need to make sure it is professional and appropriate for your target audience. The goal of your personal profile is to portray yourself as a professional. Not as a goofy skateboarder or karaoke singer or kid’s soccer coach like you might on Facebook.

Why? Because people do business with people they know, like, and trust. Your profile has to create the kind of first impression that makes people feel comfortable trusting you and answer for themselves, “Can I see myself working with this person?”

Complete your profile as close to 100% as you can to establish your credibility and add to it as your accomplishments grow. Oh, and use a professional headshot for your profile picture. LinkedIn’s own research indicates that profiles with professional portraits drive profile views up 14 times than those with non-professional portraits. Putting your best face forward shows your target audience you believe enough in what you’re doing to put a professional face on it.

3. Start Connecting and Building Relationships

Starting from your own contact list, invite current and former colleagues, clients, customers, and others you’ve done business with in the past who fit your target audience profile. Focus on who you are and who you want to reach with your messages.

Join groups and invite people who fit your target audience to connect. As soon as someone accepts your invitation to connect, or reaches out to connect with you, send them a message and a gift.

Remember, the goal is to “give without want” — to provide value FIRST before you ask for anything. Thank people for reaching out, offer a brief statement about yourself and your purpose, and give them something of value. This can be a link to a lead magnet, your website, or an offer you think might be valuable to them.

You might say something like, “Thanks for connecting. I’m passionate about the home-based business industry and how it can help generate substantial income for people. Here’s something that I think might help you move forward toward accomplishing your own business goals.”

Then, stay in touch to build likeability and trust. When you get LinkedIn notifications of birthdays, job anniversaries, or job changes, send a brief message to stay connected. Make sure to always include something of value in your messages like a link to an offer or to an article you’ve written. Or, you can send an invitation to subscribe to your mailing list or to follow your Company Page.

Read the full story