If you want to use LinkedIn to get clients for your business, there are a few things you should know first.

It gives you access to high-level decision-makers (CEOs, CMOs, etc.) and offers a way to connect and build relationships in a professional setting.

However, it’s not as straight-forward as other platforms, such as Facebook. Plus, you often have to wait longer for your efforts to pay off.

To help you out, here is a simple 8-step process you can use to get more clients from LinkedIn.

How to Use LinkedIn to Get More Clients

1. Create a professional presence.

You need to have a professional, up-to-date LinkedIn profile before you begin your outreach campaign.

You wouldn’t show up to a client call wearing sloppy, unprofessional attire.

In the same vein, you also don’t want to show up in a potential client’s inbox without putting a good amount of thought into your public profile.

What kind of impression does your current profile leave on potential clients?

Can they figure out how you can help them, just by glancing at your profile?

2. Identify your prospects.

You will have to search LinkedIn to find people you want to connect with.

Begin by considering common titles your ideal clients would use to describe themselves.

Most people use their job title (CEO, CMO, entrepreneur) as their LinkedIn title.

If your prospects are entrepreneurs, they also often include their target audience in their title (e.g. “social media strategist for wellness companies”).

3. Plan for updating your profile often.

Finding clients on LinkedIn means playing the long-game.

As a result, if you want your outreach campaign to be successful, you can’t abandon your profile after sending out a couple of messages.

Post frequent updates to let your connections know what you’re up to and to stay at the forefront of their minds.

4. Send a connection request.

When you find your prospect, send them a personalized connection request.

Include a good reason for connecting, such as something you have in common or something you noticed on their profile.

Never, ever send a standard connection request.

Because your prospect will be much less likely to respond to your message, they may even click the “I don’t know this person” button after seeing your request.

If you receive too many of these responses, your LinkedIn account may be restricted or banned.

5. Follow up.

You should always send a “thank you” message after someone accepts your connection request.

The goal of this message is to establish a rapport without requesting anything in return.

Keep the momentum going by sending follow-up messages that add value to the conversation.

For example, you could share a valuable piece of content with them to establish yourself as an expert.

6. Move relationships offline.

When you have established a good rapport, suggest moving the conversation offline by scheduling a meeting or a phone call.

If the prospect responds positively, send them a link to your online scheduling page.

If they don’t respond, continue nurturing the relationship by providing more value.

7. Use trigger events to engage and re-engage.

Not all prospects will be ready to talk to you about your services right now.

The key is to stay at the top of their mind and build trust by re-engaging with them based on trigger events such as:

  • They viewed your profile
  • They got a promotion or changed jobs
  • They engaged with your content
  • They published an article
  • They posted a status update

Make sure that the content of your message is relevant to the person you are talking to, and the specific trigger event.

8. Connect and engage on other social media platforms.

Once you’ve established a little bit of a rapport, suggest connecting with your prospect on other social media platforms as well.

If you are connected on more than one platform, your prospect will be more likely to see your posts and updates.

Plus, different platforms offer different ways to engage with your potential clients.

For example, you can utilize the power of Facebook groups to establish yourself as an expert in the eyes of your ideal client.

Why You Might Want to Use Facebook Instead of LinkedIn

If you only have the time or resources to focus on a single social media platform, I would recommend using Facebook instead of LinkedIn.

First of all, Facebook has more than 2 billion active users.

If you are going for visibility, it’s the place to be – even if you work with executive coaching clients who use LinkedIn frequently.

Because LinkedIn conversations can feel a little impersonal, it is harder to build the “know, like, trust” factor with potential clients.

In addition, the connections you make on LinkedIn often take a long time to develop.

On the other hand, you can run a Facebook challenge to attract new clients to your business in under a week!

Need More Help?

While LinkedIn is a great tool for promoting your business online, Facebook is more effective in terms of both visibility and trust-building opportunities.

Want to know how to make the most of your Facebook marketing?

Book a FREE strategy call right now.

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Alina Vincent
Business and Technology Strategist and CEO at Business Success Edge
Alina Vincent is a business strategist and the creator of a popular "Profitable Online Challenges" program. Alina is passionate about helping entrepreneurs package and monetize their knowledge and expertise to create a leveraged and scalable business. Experts hire her for strategic advise and simple step-by-step approach to creating successful online programs, engaged Facebook communities, and profitable online challenges. Finding her zone of genius by combining a strong analytical background, which includes advanced science degrees, with creative vision, Alina works at the intersection of logic and imagination, giving her clients everything from practical research-driven systems and strategies, to creative original and intuitive solutions.