4 Ways to use LinkedIn to level up your MSP Business

Hi partners and visitors! A quick note about why we chose to blog about LinkedIn. It’s simple, really. We get asked about it all of the time, since we post most of our social content on LinkedIn. Our partners often ask how to dip their toes into social media, and this platform ticks all the boxes for us in terms of what we use it for. We are NOT paid by, or affiliated with LinkedIn. Thanks! – Shannon, Partner Marketing, HostedBizz

LinkedIn is a powerful and effective tool that helps you grow your audience through content engagement and targeted networking. Discover five ways to use LinkedIn to lever up your business.

LinkedIn provides a valuable opportunity to connect with your ideal prospective clients, as well as your existing client base.

1. BUILD YOUR NETWORK

LinkedIn is a great place to build your business network and your sales funnel.  Here are 3 simple ways to use LinkedIn to expand and engage with your network of connections.

  • Connect with people & businesses
  • Attract new connections
  • Engage with connections in your network – and out

Connect with People & Businesses

Start off by connecting with people that you know. This includes colleagues, business partners and other contacts that you’ve done business with already.  Connecting with people that you don’t know is also a great way to build up your network.  Choosing people who are in the same industry, or have the same interests as you do, will help build your network quickly.

Find partner businesses. If there’s a certain company that you’ve always wanted to partner with, follow their business page and check out their employees.  Connecting with them can give you a better understanding of the company’s culture, what solutions they offer, or even what services that they may require.

Pro tip: always set your LinkedIn profile to public. You want others to connect with you, as this helps to build your network more efficiently.

Attract new connections. It’s one thing to connect with someone. It’s another to interest them in what you have to offer! It’s so important to optimize your personal profile and/or business page.

What’s the best way to do this?

  • Paint a crystal clear picture of what your MSP offers in terms of products and services. Don’t use confusing jargon that may put off those who may not know as much about your industry as you do.
  • Always use clear logos that are custom fit for LinkedIn to avoid any visual issues, such as blurriness. It’s unprofessional.
  • Try to avoid common stock imagery for your header photo, and add a tagline if it’s appropriate.  Use every part of your LinkedIn profile you can to communicate your call to action to visitors on your page.
  • Add products and services to your business profile. LinkedIn allows you showcase what you offer when building out your business profile.
  • Post media such as blog posts, solution briefs, white papers, videos and other relevant content, on your page.

Pro tip: remember to always include a call to action for everything you post, such as “visit our webpage”, “book a product demo”, or “call our team for a free assessment.”

Engage with connections in your network – and out

Think of LinkedIn the same as you would an in person networking event. Unless you engage with others, you won’t build meaningful connections. Engage with your network to take full advantage of LinkedIn’s networking features.

Read through others’ content, and try to offer value when you can. This includes offering up advice (always remember to be kind) and recommendations if it suits the narrative.  Others can see your business name on everything you post, so be mindful of how you answer.  There are many ways to engage with your connections:

  • Ask for recommendations. Give reviews and recommendations.
  • Give props to other businesses and individuals to spark a positive conversation.
  • Join LinkedIn groups that are relevant to you to further promote meaningful, insightful engagement.
  • Use the reaction buttons as a quick way to engage if you’re short on time. This makes you visible on the newsfeed as your connections (and non-connections) scroll through.

2. BOOST YOUR SEO USING LINKEDIN

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is extremely important. The better the SEO rating, the more likely your business name will appear on top of the other results when someone searches for you. So what does LinkedIn have to do with your SEO? Like all large social media platforms, LinkedIn ranks really high in search results.  Adding your business to LinkedIn ensures that your business will be one of them.

Pro tip: even if you don’t intend on using your social media platforms often, it’s best to register your business name on all of them, to increase your exposure.

3. USE LINKEDIN TO DRIVE LEADS

LinkedIn offers a few ways to drive leads into your sales funnel.  With over 800M+ users, there are bound to be a few potential customers to tap into.

Run a lead generation campaign. 

This can be done organically from your business page, or you can pay to have the post “boosted” or run as an ad. That’s a whole other blog post – but here is how a basic lead generation campaign works:

  1. Create a landing page on your website, or decide on a target page where you will collect lead information.
  2. Offer up a downloadable piece of content, such as a whitepaper, how-to guide or a free assessment etc.  It has to be something that your audience needs, or wants.
  3. Ensure you have a form on your website so that you can collect relevant lead details from those who download your content (also known as tripwire content.)
  4. Post about your offer on LinkedIn, and watch for any new lead entries.
  5. Follow up! Call those leads, and ensure you have real time alerting for when the form is filled out.

Leverage a Sales Navigator plan

  • Enhanced insights into your current leads such as job changes, etc.
  • Advanced search abilities that provide a more granular search when looking for leads.
  • Automatic lead recommendations will save you time.

4. USE LINKEDIN TO BUILD THE PERFECT TEAM

LinkedIn enables you to connect with others who have the expertise and experience required to propel your business forward. LinkedIn profiles offer you insights into potential employees.  It lets you see such details as certifications, past and present experience, job descriptions and peer reviews.  It also includes a large job database, and job recruiter plans if you’re looking to quickly hire new employees. Already have a hiring manager? They can easily use LinkedIn as another tool to help them find the talent you need.

LEVERAGE HOSTEDBIZZ PARTNER MARKETING SERVICES

Build your network, manage your online presence, nurture leads, grow revenues, and drive more traffic to your site, with the help of HostedBizz marketing services for partners.  Not sure where to start your social media journey? HostedBizz support for partners includes a wide range of tools to help you build a profitable LinkedIn network.

  • Curated social media content, co-brandable
  • Enhanced lead generation with easy to use turnkey campaigns
  • Advice on how LinkedIn can work best for your MSP, based on your unique business goals

Not yet a HostedBizz partner? Book a quick call today to learn more about our cloud-based data protection solutions, and why so many MPS trust us as their preferred cloud service provider and IaaS provider.

About Shannon Peck

Hello! I'm Shannon. Nice to meet you. If you're already a HostedBizz partner, we've likely worked together creating custom collateral, or building lead generation campaigns.

I have been working in the tech marketing industry for well over 15 years, and love helping small and medium businesses reach their full sales potential.

To learn more about how I can help you grow your cloud-based offerings, sign on as a HostedBizz partner, and ask to speak with me! If you're already a partner, feel free to reach out. I'm looking forward to chatting!

- Shannon