Get Clients with LinkedIn

It might just be the most valuable, least talked about—and let’s face it, underused—social network available to you.

We’re talking about LinkedIn, of course, and if you’re not using it to find new clients, you’re missing out.

Since 2003, LinkedIn has been bringing business owners and employees together in a way that’s simply not possible with traditional networking. By connecting you with colleagues, industry leaders, and brands, LinkedIn provides a new way for those seeking employment to meet—and be hired by—the companies seeking new talent.

But it didn’t stop with the employee/employer relationship. In 2006, with the launch of public profiles, LinkedIn firmly staked its claim as an online database of professionals from all over the globe and in every industry you could imagine.

By 2013, LinkedIn boasted 225 million members, with new signups coming in at a rate of 2 per second, and by the end of 2015 that number had grown to more than 332 million users.

As you can see, that creates a lot of opportunity for coaches and service providers to find new clients. In fact, information product sellers, event producers, software sellers, and just about anyone who conducts business online will find LinkedIn to be helpful in finding and reaching new customers.

You just have to know where to look.

Here are the 8-Steps to Get Clients with LinkedIn

1. Set up your account
   Like any social media platform, LinkedIn provides you with a profile page designed to show the world what’s special and unique about you—and why they should get to know you better.
2. Optimize your profile for search
   LinkedIn boasts a sophisticated search algorithm that allows users to find the professionals best suited for any job. It’s closely aligned with Google’s own algorithm, so a well-optimized profile will not only rank well on LinkedIn, but it will inevitably show up when others Google your name.
3. Find and connect with your ideal clients
   Connections are the key to ranking better in a LinkedIn search. No matter how relevant or well-chosen your keywords are, if you’re not connected to a lot of people, your search ranking will be limited.
4. Find, join, and participate in relevant groups
   One of the best ways to connect with your ideal client on LinkedIn is to join relevant groups. You’ll gain valuable insight into what’s important to your audience, plus you’ll have a chance to share your expertise and build relationships.
5. Create your own LinkedIn group
   Once you’ve joined several relevant groups, you might be thinking, “I’d get a lot more out of this if I owned the group, rather than just being a member.”
6. Share valuable content
   Unlike Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn status updates are far less frequent. That means your message has a lot less competition and is more likely to be seen
7. Publish on LinkedIn Pulse
   Call it blogging, article marketing, or simply content marketing, one thing is certain: If you’ve not used LinkedIn Pulse yet, you’re missing out on a fantastic opportunity to reach a much wider audience.
8. Promote your best products and service
   The key to promoting your products and programs on LinkedIn is this: a perfectly timed and matched offer. That means the shotgun approach (such as you might try on Twitter) won’t work. Instead, you’ll want to carefully consider your products and programs and choose the one or two that will most likely resonate with your LinkedIn audience, and then share them strategically.

Find out exactly how to get more clients on LinkedIn by downloading the LinkedIn Business Blueprint.