According to a report by Hubspot, 43% of marketers found customers through LinkedIn in 2013. Even more surprising, was the finding that LinkedIn has the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate out of any social media sites. With LinkedIn growing (at an approximate rate of two new members per second) these numbers are only likely to increase, making LinkedIn an essential component of any company’s technology marketing strategy.

LinkedIn is unlike other forms of social media that give businesses a direct line of contact to their customers, and therefore requires a different approach. As a leading technology marketing company, we’ve learned a thing or two over the years about effectively using LinkedIn for marketing and engagement with potential customers.

Create a Compelling and Current Company Page

Your company LinkedIn page must absolutely be:

a) Consistent with your brand, website and other social media presences
b) Visually engaging and appealing, with photos, links to articles and in keeping with the company’s visual branding
c) Active and updated on a regular basis

Make sure your company page accurately reflects the tone and feel of your brand and is frequently updated. A ‘dead’ page that was last updated months ago might make visitors question whether your business is still current or thriving and make you seem less credible.

Content is King
Post high quality content that addresses a potential or common problem your average customer might be facing, or something that is top-of-mind for them. Provide commentary on the news you share to entice potential customers to seek out your expertise and opinions by offering up your professional perspective on an issue. Consider flipping this model around and posing questions to your audience to increase authentic engagement and create genuine conversations.

Join Groups and be an Active Participant

Join groups relevant to your area of business where prospective clients or customers might be gathering. Participate in discussions, offer up opinions or guidance and simply listen to what your potential customers are saying. This can be not only a great way to market your business but to gather customer insights as well! Being an active participant in these niche groups is free and can help establish you as a thought leader in your field and demonstrate how you can help prospects address their pain points. Being part of a group also lets you InMail up to 50 people for free, even if you’re not in their LinkedIn network. This is a good tool that can be used to introduce yourself or have more private conversations with group members.

Don’t Disrupt; Be Discovered

Most consumers don’t like to have their daily workflow interrupted with pitches and advertisements – and even less so on LinkedIn where they aren’t expecting it. Try to avoid using LinkedIn as a direct pitching tool – making LinkedIn work for your business as a marketing tool will require more effort than that! Build relationships that might convert to leads (and customers in turn) by offering useful content and allowing yourself to be “discovered” for the value you offer.