LinkedIn Lead Generation — Choosing the Right Option for Your Business

Lead generation is a must for any business, and LinkedIn is the best place for generating B2B leads. However, when it comes to LinkedIn lead generation, the question is how you should search for, communicate with, and pitch to your potential clients. The question is not only about the particular strategy but also about choosing the most cost-effective one. There are different options, such as hiring a lead generation specialist, outsourcing a lead gen team, utilizing built-in LinkedIn features by yourself, or using automation tools and services. In this article, we are all about these options and the big picture of LinkedIn lead generation to help you make an informed decision.

What is LinkedIn Lead Generation

Lead generation through LinkedIn much like through any other channel implies establishing connections with decision-makers relevant to your business for further turning them into paying customers. 

How does LinkedIn differ from other platforms for lead generation?

As it has been said previously, LinkedIn is supposed to be the premier platform for generating B2B leads, as it brings together more decision-makers than any other platform. Therefore, attracting potential leads here has some significant distinctions compared to more casual social networks like Facebook and Instagram. LinkedIn members are looking for professional networking opportunities that set the tone and the whole structure of communication. On the contrary, other platforms have more diverse audiences and are more into entertainment which makes these platforms more suitable for B2C interactions.

So, what LinkedIn lead generation strategies are there, and what steps do they include?

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DIY LinkedIn Lead Generation Strategy 

The basis of a LinkedIn lead generation strategy if you do it yourself consists of nine major steps.

1. Understanding your target audience: Knowing your ideal customer profile (ICP) makes it much easier to utilize LinkedIn searches and create compelling content and messages for your outreach. Check out some more recommendations for creating an ICP. 
2. Creating and optimizing your profile: Make sure that your LinkedIn profile looks professional and communicates your business message. For this purpose, use a high-quality profile photo and background picture, create a strong headline, and fill in at least the top LinkedIn section, such as summary, experience, skills, education, and projects. See the full list of optimization steps here. 
3. Doing content marketing: It is challenging to create content that stands out from the crowd. Yet, the content based on your experience is always the best choice. Regularly post industry insights, case studies, and your company achievements. Also, try experimenting with content formats. Employ plain text, infographics, and videos to showcase your expertise. Here are some tips for creating a LinkedIn content calendar.
4. Engaging with your network: Actively connect with other users relevant to your industry, follow some of them, like, and repost. Participate in industry-related groups and events, which will help you expand your network even further. All these activities are crucial both for networking and getting high LinkedIn rankings — Social Selling Index (SSI). 
5. Reaching out to potential leads: After your LinkedIn profile is well established, it is time to start your LinkedIn outreach by creating personalized messages tailored to your recipient’s profile. 
6. Utilizing Sponsored Content and Message Ads: Another way to reach out to your potential customers is by using LinkedIn ads. Take advantage of its targeted options to reach decision-makers by job title, industry, company size, and more. 
7. Upgrading to LinkedIn Premium plans: The free LinkedIn version is limited by the number of searches and invitations. Plus, it has poor search filters that can make professional selling or recruiting quite problematic. So, consider upgrading to a paid plan such as Sales Navigator or LinkedIn Recruiter for generating leads at full capacity. Find out if LinkedIn Premium is worth it.
8. Hosting webinars and live events: Meaningful events that articulate first-hand experience could be a great lead magnet on LinkedIn. Promote them through your posts and direct messages, and demonstrate your expertise, encouraging attendees to keep communicating with you. 
9. Measuring campaign performance: Finally, do not forget to monitor your LinkedIn performance using analytics tools. It will help you to refine your strategy and focus on what works best for your audience. 

The pros of the DIY approach are that you have full control over the whole process of lead generation. However, it is highly time-consuming. As a time-saver, you might wish to use an automation tool for LinkedIn lead generation.

Automated LinkedIn lead generation

To illustrate the automated process, let’s take a look at the Impasto LinkedIn lead generation service. 

How does it save time in generating leads through LinkedIn?

• There are consulting hours included, so you will know exactly how to approach your ICP, and optimize and warm up your profile for LinkedIn outreach. You will have step-by-step guidance tailored to your business needs along with a message sequence to reach out to your target groups. 
• As an automation tool, Impasto.io lets you search for contact information in bulk. It means that in just half an hour you may get a list of 100-200 contacts with information, such as their names, job titles, current companies, email addresses, etc.
• Similarly, you can send invitations and message sequences to these contacts altogether. There is no need for any manual activity, just click Send and wait for the results. 
• Despite the automaticity, Impasto has robust personalization features for crafting engaging prospecting messages. Namely, it includes hyper-personalized link previews and variables, such as Name and Company, to add to a message sequence.
• Right in the Impasto dashboard, you will be able to track lead behavior and campaign results. Impasto is equipped with a scoring system that helps you gauge the interest of your potential customers even if they have not responded yet. 

Thus, Impasto or other LinkedIn lead generation tools can speed up the process by 2-3 times more than if you employ the DIY approach. Plus, with Impasto, you can manage up to ten LinkedIn profiles simultaneously and, this way, optimize and have control over your sales team within one tool.

Outsourced lead generation on LinkedIn

In case, you are out of time and there is no in-house sales team behind you, make use of outsourcing lead generation on LinkedIn. 

Check out all the pros and cons of outsourced lead generation. 

What does this process look like from the inside?

We asked the Impasto sales team to illustrate the outsourced process they offer for their customers. And that is what we have got:

• We start with negotiations for clarifying customer expectations and discussing lead generation steps and KPIs.
• Then, we send a questionnaire for building ICP & Buyer Persona, prepare these documents, and send them for approval. At the same time, the client decides on three LinkedIn accounts for outreach that they delegate to our company.
• After approval, we create prospecting messages tailored to the client’s target audience and prepare a list of steps for the profile warm-up. 
• We agree with the client on a technological map within which we act. 
• Then, we start the warm-up process in line with the created ICP and the approved content plan.
• After the preparation steps are over, we start searching for and reaching out to prospects. On average, we launch the outreach in a week. 
• We update all the data in the report every day and transfer warm leads to the client. If necessary, we make adjustments to the scripts to improve performance

This way, you can get up to 60-100 active conversations and around 20 hot leads every month. What is even more valuable is that you get professionally optimized LinkedIn profiles and the whole process of LinkedIn lead generation out of scratch for future. 

To conclude: How to benefit from any approach

• Set clear objectives by defining measurable goals, such as increasing leads by 20%.
• Tailor your lead generation strategy to match audience preferences.
• Understand how much you can afford to spend on lead generation.
• Combine strategies and tactics, such as by mixing organic and paid LinkedIn features.
• Monitor and adjust your strategy in line with your KPIs.

FAQ

How much does LinkedIn lead generation cost?

If you decide to team up with a Linkedin lead generation agency you can expect to pay about $1000 – $5000 per month, depending on which team you pick. 

How do I get leads on LinkedIn without paying?

By optimizing and warming up your profile, creating valuable content, engaging with your network in industry-related groups, building new connections, and reaching out to your potential leads with meaningful messages. 

How much does a B2B lead cost on LinkedIn

The price you’ll pay for each lead in PPC campaigns can range from $50 to over $200, and it hinges on your industry and the specific keywords you’re targeting.