LinkedIn is the world’s largest social media platform for working professionals — and we think it’s fair to say it’s the most important social network for recruiters looking to find new clients. Take a look at a few mind-blowing LinkedIn stats:
- There are currently 530 million users in more than 200 countries, including 128 million in the U.S.
- More than 9 million companies have a LinkedIn profile
- Every connection you make on the platform represents an average of 400 new people you can build business relationships with and 100 new companies who may be looking to fill open positions, according to the LinkedIn blog
So, you get it — LinkedIn is important. Are you using it to its fullest potential? Today we’re looking at the top tips to find new clients via LinkedIn.
1. Build a compelling LinkedIn profile
A good LinkedIn profile has the following four components:
- A picture. Profiles with a photo receive up to 21 times more views and up to 36 times more messages, LinkedIn reports. Go with a professional headshot.
- A headline. A strong headline immediately conveys why users should click through to you. Don’t just state your title — boring — instead, use this precious real estate to impart why users should click through. “Recruiter for Company X” isn’t nearly as compelling as “Recruiting the Very Best Talent for the World’s Greatest Companies.”
- Your summary. Be concise here; this is the place to include the must-know details of your current priorities and professional goals.
- Keywords. New clients are searching for you, and keywords in your job titles are how they will find you.
A final word about your profile: It’s tempting to focus on yourself, we know. Don’t do that. Instead, focus your profile on the potential client and how you can help them (more on this in our next tip).
2. Help, don’t sell
In everything you do on LinkedIn, focus on how you can help, not on how awesome you are. This is known as being benefits-driven, and it gives potential clients a reason to contact you.
The Content Marketing Institute calls this the 80/20 Rule of Corporate Content, and it applies to recruiters as well:
- 80 percent of your LinkedIn content and activity should focus on your clients, their problems, and solutions to those problems
- 20 percent should be salesy content and activity focused on how great you are
3. Engage with your connections
Show a genuine interest in your connections. Start conversations (but don’t be a pest), like their updates, share your own updates (more on that in tip number seven), ask them a question related to their area of expertise, interact with them on Twitter, and above all, stay relevant to your industry.
4. Reach out to second-degree connections
Go to your profile, go to the search bar at the top and type in “Add connections.” Kablammo — LinkedIn is going to return a seemingly never-ending list of second-degree connections (the people connected to your first-degree connections). Reach out to them to grow your network, keeping in mind the advice to be helpful, not salesy.
5. Join LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn Groups is an excellent place to find potential clients, establish and nurture relationships and demonstrate your value and expertise. Be an active, thoughtful member of a couple of the most prominent groups related to your industry (just a couple, though — better to do two groups well than 5 or 10 groups poorly). As you interact and establish trust with other members, they will be more likely to come to you with their recruiting needs or recommend you to a connection.
6. Use Advanced Search
You’re likely familiar with LinkedIn’s Advanced Search function; it’s vital in the search for qualified candidates. You can also use it to search for potential clients, most notably by searching in the job title field.
You know the job titles of potential clients in your industry better than anyone, but some good starters include CEO, chief executive officer, hiring manager, chief human resources officer, director of HR, etc.
Make sure you know the basics of Boolean search operators. Mastering these operators will enable you to perform smarter, more refined searches that better target the people who are in decision-making positions. You can also search by company, group or alumni.
And, use LinkedIn’s search alert feature to run a daily search and receive the results via email.
7. Post status updates
Posting status updates is a critical part of establishing your personal brand and staying top-of-mind with your connections. Don’t be verbose, but do:
- Include images, video and Slideshares
- Target your posts to your different audiences
- Tag connections in your updates using the @ symbol
8. Publish original content
LinkedIn launched its own publishing platform in 2014, and just a year later it reached the 1 million publisher mark. Use it to post long-form, original content that discusses industry trends and establishes yourself as a thought leader. Your LinkedIn content becomes a part of your online profile, and you’ll gain exposure and increase connections as people engage with your content.
9. Find decision-makers at your target company
When you already know the company you’re trying to get in with, you can use LinkedIn to connect with the right people there. Try this tactic:
- Go to the company’s LinkedIn page
- See which employees you already have as first-degree connections
- Reach out to those connections and ask for an introduction to the decision-maker(s) (emphasize how you’ll help them and their company)
- If you don’t have any first-degree connections at the company, scour the LinkedIn Groups you’re active in for someone who can connect you
- Use LinkedIn to learn about the decision-makers — and then reach out, again demonstrating how you will benefit them and their company
10. Use LinkedIn Analytics to get even better
LinkedIn provides you with stats to see how well you’re doing with all of the above. Use them to see:
- Who has viewed your profile
- If your profile views are increasing
- The roles and companies your viewers are coming from
In addition, with a paid LinkedIn Recruiter account, you receive an InMail Analytics report that shows how effective your outreach has been.
Use these metrics to assess your progress and adapt your tactics accordingly.
Connect with TrackerRMS
LinkedIn is an invaluable tool for recruiters — and so is TrackerRMS, the premier integrated software solution for recruiting agencies. Use it to manage your relationships, run searches for candidates, and manage your sales, recruiting and onboarding needs — all from within the platform. Contact us to learn how our end-to-end software solution can help your recruitment company become more productive and profitable.
