8 Lessons in Using Linkedin for Marketing LinkedIn is not a magic pill. It will not solve all your marketing challenges. However, if used properly - it can generate hundreds of high-ticket clients, while taking much fewer expenses, comparing to other marketing channels.

When marketing one's startup, what are the top social media platforms that come to mind? Most people will say Facebook, Instagram, and even Twitter. What about LinkedIn? Most marketers ignore it despite it having 500 million members and 40 per cent million of them log in daily.

Beyond just scale, the effectiveness for sales cannot be understated. According to Inside View, a SaaS company that gathers 40,000 sources of business information, says LinkedIn generates more leads for B2B companies than Facebook, Twitter, or blogging individually.

As a work-centric social media, that is hardly surprising. What is surprising is that from LinkedIn's research, 51 per cent of companies have acquired B2C customers through LinkedIn. In 2020, marketers should embrace LinkedIn into their toolbox and here are some tips to do so.

^{Source: Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs}

Lesson #1. Linkedin is the Ultimate Connector
Despite all doubts, LinkedIn has proven to be the most efficient networking tool at the moment. During our practice, we were surprised dozens of times with the fact of how responsive professionals are on LinkedIn. By narrowing the filters through location, connections level, current companies and more, you can easily find a group of people that you would like to connect with. As a Premium user, you can even search for years of experience, function, seniority level, company size, and when they joined - it is a treasure trove of information for sales. Pretty much every startup owner or even student can contact C-level executive in a leading corporation - and receive a reply!

Lesson #2. At the End of the Day, It's All About Math

To succeed on LinkedIn, you would have to develop an agile process. As a major social network with the ability to connect to almost everyone, you need to cast a wide enough net. On average, 100 relevant requests for connection will yield about 20 per cent success. For B2B, where each lead could generate significant revenues, it may be enough. But for B2C, the same effort may vary wildly from 0.2 per cent - 2 per cent results (not unlike that of Facebook). During the campaign, determine your KPIs and measure accordingly - if it is awareness, measure followers. If it is engagement, measure messages exchanged. If it is leads, measure conversations that lead off the platform into calls/meetings. Consider all these aspects to adjust your strategies and use LinkedIn's maximum potential.

^{Part of Respect's agile process}

Lesson #3. The "Email" Texts Don't Work

LinkedIn is a social network that should be perceived as such. Which messages do you send on social media? Are they 2000-characters-long, with a clear introduction and signature, or are they short, quick, and straight-to-the-point?

Your messages should be as personalised as possible, no longer than 3 sentences, and most important - they should initiate dialogue. It is not about saying how great your company is with numerous texts, it is about building relations and being an interesting person to talk to.

Lesson #4. Automation Covers the Short-term. In the Long-term, It Will Ruin Everything

Automation seems to be LinkedIn's #1 enemy. However, it takes some time for it to be detected. That is why automation will skyrocket your results in the short-term. On the other hand, all of your efforts in growing a precisely-targeted network of professionals will be wasted because automation leads to suspensions and profile bans.

Lesson #5 Senior Profiles Perform Better

According to our experience, working from decision-makers' profiles makes your networking efforts much more effective, as people are more likely to accept requests and start a dialogue with a seasoned professional.

Lesson #6 Most Campaigns Need Mid-term Planning

LinkedIn Lead Generation will show some results during the first weeks of a campaign. However, these are too insignificant to be noticed. Really tangible results will be delivered on the 2nd or even 3rd month of the constantly-improved campaign.

Lesson #7 Personal Branding Matters. A lot.

Just like senior specialists, professionals with well-developed personal brands have much higher chances to attract attention of C-level executives and generate sales-qualified leads.

Lesson #8 You Need a Sales Team That Has Capacity for the Most Optimistic Scenario

It does not matter how successful your lead generation is if you don't have an effective sales team to close the leads. We have seen dozens of campaigns that were wasting hot leads just because of the inability to pick them up properly. Before starting a campaign - make sure that you have the capacity for the most optimistic scenario.