4 Steps to Turn LinkedIn into Your Personal Sales & Recruiting Machine

Blog Network Marketing
/ By Michael Angel Martin

(Please enjoy this amazing post by guest blogger Gloria MacDonald)

Network marketing is changing.

It’s no secret that more and more distributors are turning to the Internet and using social media to find new prospects and recruits.

Facebook is the first choice of many, which makes sense; it is, after all, the largest and most well-known of all social networking sites.

But, there’s a catch.

Facebook, as you already know all-too-well, is FILLED to the brim with distractions and potentially hours of non-profit producing activities (such as political rants, news, vacation pics, etc.)

In contrast…

LinkedIn is a place where people do BUSINESS

We talk about it being another “social media” platform — but it’s really a BUSINESS platform.

This makes it the perfect place for network marketers, because fully 80% of B2B leads originate on LinkedIn.

It’s also why 94% of all marketers—and all the successful network marketers I know—are now turning to LinkedIn to drive leads and sales.

There’s just one MAJOR caveat…

Because LinkedIn is the only social network made for professionals in mind, it’s got a whole ‘nother set of rules that are completely unlike marketing on Facebook or Twitter.

So to help you figure out and master these “rules,” I’ve put together the following 4 steps to get you on your way.

Read on, and by the end of this post, you’ll know how to turn your LinkedIn page into your personal sales and recruiting machine!

In no particular order, my first suggestion is to…

According to legendary adman David Ogilvy, 80% of your ad budget goes into persuading people just to read your headline.

And here’s something most folks don’t get:

Your social media banners function exactly like headlines.

They’re the very first thing people see; they determine whether your content gets read; they’re the “money” section of your page.

The only difference is, headlines are pure text, whereas LinkedIn banners are, of course, image-based.

Either way, your banners are PRIME real estate—and the part of your page that gets the most shine.

This means they’re the first part of your page you should optimize.

This might seem obvious, but I’m always surprised at how many people don’t take FULL advantage of the banner.

Look at it this way:

We all want to know, “What’s in it for me?”

Right? Right.

Well, your banner is exactly where you let people know what you can do for them.

It’s where you hint at the:

Problems you can solve
Assets you have (and their benefits)
Fears and pains you can address
Opportunities you can lead the reader to
…and so on and so forth

I cover everything you need to know about making a world-class banner in my brand-new, 3-hour LinkedIn Recruiting Playbook course, but here are my key tips:

First, have your banner done professionally on Fiverr, or make it yourself using a service like Stencil or Canva. Paying someone or using a professional-grade tool will help your brand look the part of a successful, well-to-do business.
Second, maximize your banner’s effectiveness by adding text and visual elements. For example, in my own banner, I use 3 colors and add plenty of text to make sure my CTAs get noticed:

Last of all, remember that this isn’t Facebook or Twitter. The people using this network are professionals, so stay away from overly bright colors, “hypey” claims, and other B2C tactics.

Now let’s move on to tip #2…

On the Internet, anyone can say anything.

You can make any claims, promises, and exaggerations you want; nobody’s stopping you.

And that’s exactly what a lot of folks do!

So to demonstrate you’ve got nothing to hide, make a point of getting professional headshots.

This demonstrates you believe in what you’re doing enough to stick your face on it.

This is powerful. It’s personable. It makes people like and trust you.

And this isn’t just me saying it.

Research shows that LinkedIn profiles with photographs get 36x more messages than those without.

In other words, using a profile pic means you’re more likely to get a reply from that prospect or potential customer.

But that’s not all!

Photographs will also give you more page views.

The same study showed that having a photo gets you up to 2,100% more page views.

That’s right; all you need to multiply your LinkedIn page visits and messages by more than 20x is a photograph.

That’s a lot of bang for very little buck!

My advice?

Make your photograph the BEST representation of you

Someone that does this very well is EMP’s own Ferny Ceballos:

A few things to notice here.

First, Ferny is using professional photography
The shot from stage suggests he’s delivering a lecture to other professionals, which positions him as an authority
Finally, the photo itself is clean, with no garish colors or gestures

Put these factors together, and you’ve got a person who looks the part.

Now, you’re unlikely to have photos that look like Ferny’s.

But you can certainly get quality lighting, a friend with a dSLR and—if your budget allows—a professional photographer’s time.

Yes; I said “professional photographer.”

Lots of my followers tell me they feel awkward so much as thinking about one, but here’s the deal:

You’re not doing this for yourself; you’re doing it for your brand!

Professional headshots drive profile views 14x better than nonprofessional photos—so this is about being pragmatic, not vain.

Eventually, you’ll end up with a series of photos that makes you look professional, warm and friendly.

Once you do, turn to another effective content type by…

If you’ve been in digital marketing for any length of time, you know how important content is.

Blog posts are the bread-and-butter of the modern online marketer…and would you look at that; you happen to be reading one right now!

But what you may not know is that the most available form of content—blog posts—is also the most common.

This doesn’t diminish their value, but the fact is, 2 million+ blog posts get published each day.

This makes it hard for your posts to stand out of the crowd when you’re sharing them online.

Enter video content!

First, video content stands out more.

There’s less of it, especially on a professional platform like LinkedIn—so people inherently pay more attention when they see it.

Second, video content is a lot faster to produce than, say, a blog post or a lead magnet.

All you’ve got to do is jot down your notes, then perform in front of the camera, and make a few edits if necessary.

Voilà! You’ve got a video.

Third, LinkedIn is actively trying to expand its on-platform video viewership—and it will reward you for creating more content.

Specifically, uploading videos through the LinkedIn app (not the website) will make the service show them to 5x more people at no extra cost.

That’s a tremendous difference, especially when you consider that video is the closest thing you have to in-person sales.

Here’s another way to look at it…

Imagine you’re delivering an in-person pitch to a live audience

Now imagine LinkedIn is literally putting “bums in seats” by bringing 4 more viewers for every single one already there.

Well, that’s exactly what happens when you upload content through the LinkedIn app.

Personally, I’m sharing videos 4-5x a week on LinkedIn—and this very blog post is based on one of those videos.

So if you want to grow your brand quickly, I advise you do the same.

Make videos often and leverage LinkedIn to drive crowds of people to them.

This will build your reach, brand trust, and help you make some instant sales, too.

Just don’t forget to…

Most social platforms serve the same audience.

92% of Twitter users also use Facebook, as do…
95% of Instagram users, and…
92% of Pinterest users

This means that you can serve the same content across most of your channels without a second thought.

In fact, this is the reason apps like Buffer and Hootsuite came about: to help you cross-post content across different platforms.

But here’s the problem.

LinkedIn isn’t like ANY of the above social platforms!

The same kind of messages that perform exceedingly well there—social updates, inspirational posts, upbeat videos—do not work on LinkedIn.

So what does this mean?

First, consider making completely-differentiated LinkedIn content.

Focus on providing value in short bursts, instead of pumping exposure with frequent messages.

Second, filter your LinkedIn content as much as you can.

Skip all the light n’ fluffy, feel-good stuff you use to fill up your followers’ timelines on Facebook.

Think “meat,” not “broth.”

Again: the person reading your message may be a C-Level exec, a busy entrepreneur, or a top-flight consultant.

So level with them with your very best content, instead of trying to sell to them as you would to a regular consumer.

Last of all, let’s talk about the things you should NEVER do on LinkedIn in my bonus 5th step…

I can’t say it enough: LinkedIn is a social network for professionals.

Because of its nature, LinkedIn gets a lot less user-generated content than Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.

Also because of its nature, LinkedIn is a lot more likely to attract users who are less likely to be patient with your mistakes and faux-pas.

This means you should know (and avoid) the don’ts of LinkedIn marketing:

Being too social. Having manners is excellent. However, don’t mistake small talk and politeness for an earnest desire to socialize. Always be 100% clear about what you want from people, and what’s in it for them.
Being too frivolous. VPs don’t put up photos of what they did at Sue’s birthday party from last weekend—and neither should you. Skip the beach shots, the social photos, and the “radical” job titles (e.g., “Chief Customer Excellence Radiant Sunflower Unicorn Evangelist”). If you’re making videos, skip the Snapchat filters.
Being too light on value. Like I said in a previous point on the top 5 reasons why you should be using LinkedIn to make a ton of sales and enroll new team members, LinkedIn isn’t where people go to find inspiration and positivity. It’s where they go to find value. If you don’t provide any in your videos—i.e., if you’re just making videos to make videos—you won’t get results.

And those are the don’ts you should always avoid on LinkedIn.

Just remember: rules are made to be broken.

If a potential client wants to talk about their kids, then by all means, talk about their darn kids and don’t worry about being too social!

Now let’s recap the 5 lessons I covered in this blog post (and the linked video):

Professionalize your banner
Position yourself as an authority
Publish video content
Differentiate your posts
Remember the 3 LinkedIn “Don’ts”

Of course, LinkedIn is a lot more complex than just these 5 tips.

LinkedIn is the source of 80% of all online B2B leads

…and a staggering number of B2C leads too.

Which is a huge opportunity, but things can get pretty competitive out there.

So if you want to take full advantage of that 5x video viewership and get your cut of these hot, B2B prospects, you’ve got to know your way around the platform beyond just the 5 tips shared above.

One trick is to “snoop around” my LinkedIn profile, as well as the profiles of other big names in your specific niche, because If you implement what successful marketers actually DO (and not just preach), and use their ideas and tactics ethically, you’ll do well.

There’s also a simpler option.

You can click this link right now to get access to my brand new course, the LinkedIn Recruiting Playbook.

The course is a full 3 hours long and it covers everything I know about LinkedIn, including how I generated over $70k in income in just the past two months alone, exclusively using LinkedIn prospecting and recruiting strategies.

Plus I personally address all viewers’ questions, so you can be confident you won’t have any flagrant knowledge gaps.

To learn more, get all the details and see how you can immediately access this special event.

So what’re you waiting for?

CLICK HERE to get all the details.

Cheers,
Gloria MacDonald
Creator of the LinkedIn Recruiting Playbook