Lead Generation on LinkedIn: Step-by-Step Guide

Lead Generation on LinkedIn: Practical Lead Gen Tools

LinkedIn offers a variety of tools specifically designed to make lead generation easier for you:

LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms

LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms are specially developed forms that allow users to leave their contact details directly on LinkedIn. Let’s say a user clicks on an ad with a Lead Gen Form. The form is then automatically filled with data from the user’s LinkedIn profile, such as name, contact details, etc. This eliminates the hurdle of having to enter one’s data – and that makes it more likely that the user will submit the form. The result: Less effort for users, a higher conversion rate, and thus more qualified leads for you.

LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn Ads are paid advertisements that are placed on the platform. Ads can appear in various formats, such as Sponsored Content, Sponsored Messaging, Text Ads, and Video Ads. Each format has its advantages, depending on the goal you’re pursuing – be it brand awareness, lead generation, or direct sales promotion.

A key advantage of LinkedIn Ads is precise audience targeting. With LinkedIn’s extensive targeting options, you can target your ads to specific professional groups, industries, companies, or even specific roles within a company. This way, your ad reaches exactly the people for whom your product or service is relevant. You can monitor and optimize the success of your campaigns with the analytics tools on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a premium tool specifically developed for sales. It offers advanced search and filter functions that go far beyond the basic functions of LinkedIn. With Sales Navigator, you can specifically search for potential leads based on criteria such as company size, industry, position, and location.

You can also create lists of leads and companies and continuously monitor them. You receive notifications when there are changes to the contacts in the list or when they are active on the platform, for example when they publish a new post. This allows you to act at the right time and increase your chances of successful contact.

Sales Navigator also offers the possibility to send InMails directly to people you’re not yet connected with. These messages are generally opened more often than conventional emails, making them an effective method for lead generation on LinkedIn.

How do I find potential customers on LinkedIn?

To successfully generate leads, you first need to know who you want to address. A thorough target group analysis is the first step.

Target Group Analysis and Approach

A precise target group analysis helps you to align your LinkedIn marketing and B2B sales with the most promising leads. Because the greatest reach doesn’t help you if you don’t reach the right people with it. So you should only start with lead generation on LinkedIn when you know who your services or products are most relevant for and what characterizes your dream customers. A LinkedIn agency will then help you design your content appealingly for the target group and create personalized sales messages.

Using LinkedIn Search and Filter Options

You know who your target group is? Now you just need to find them on LinkedIn. With the advanced search on LinkedIn, you can specifically search for relevant people, companies, and content. With filters such as location, industry, or company size, you can refine your search and find the right contacts. By combining these filters and using LinkedIn Sales Navigator, particularly high-quality leads can be identified.

Tip: Especially in B2B sales, you should always try to get in direct contact with the decision-makers in the company. This way, you get to your goal in the shortest way.

Successful Lead Generation: LinkedIn Groups and Events

Groups and events are also a good way to generate leads on LinkedIn. In LinkedIn groups, you can share your knowledge and exchange ideas with like-minded people. Events, on the other hand, offer a relaxed setting to interact with potential interested parties and make yourself and your brand known.

Posts in LinkedIn Groups

On LinkedIn, there are numerous groups with a wide variety of topics, among which there is guaranteed to be one suitable for your business. In LinkedIn groups, it’s not just about being there, but actively participating. Your goal should be to offer real added value and not just take on the role of a silent observer. That means content contributions that lead to engagement – be it through exciting questions, interesting articles, or useful tips. Show that you know what you’re talking about and are ready to help others. If you position yourself as a helpful expert, your name will quickly come into focus. And don’t miss the chance to like and comment on other members’ posts – this way you not only stay in the conversation but also build real, valuable connections.

Creating and Participating in Events

It’s advantageous for every company to be present at events, be it a large trade fair, a small after-work event, or a digital meet-and-greet. You’re not just dependent on existing events. You can also create events like webinars or workshops with just a few clicks, to which you can invite your target group. This way, you position yourself as an expert and get in contact with potential customers with little effort.

LinkedIn Lead Generation with InMail and Direct Messages

Have you gained an overview of your target group with the search and filter options and ideally with LinkedIn Sales Navigator? Then it’s time for active contact initiation with connection requests, direct messages, and InMails.

Your advantage with this method: You know exactly who you’re addressing and build sustainable contacts. Unlike with advertising campaigns: You initially have no connection to the LinkedIn users your ad reaches. The lead generation runs one-sided – the user decides whether to click on the ad and establish contact or not. You have no influence on their decision and don’t learn the reason for possible doubts. In direct exchange, you get direct feedback and can show yourself as personally as it is not possible with ads. Through personal address, the lead feels heard and appreciated, which wouldn’t be possible with an ad directed at a general target group.

A bonus: With ads, you pay for limited reach. Direct messages are free in themselves, you just have to invest time.

However, the time investment for this should not be underestimated. Also, a friendly message is not enough, it must also be psychologically refined for sales. We at Leadtree not only bring the necessary know-how but also years of experience. That’s why we take over the communication with potential leads for you, from the first message to the booked appointment – psychologically sound for sales and still authentic. You save time and frustration and can look forward to conversations with new qualified leads every month.

Best Practices for InMail and Direct Messages

Filtering out potential leads and sending messages is not the problem when it comes to lead generation. The art lies in formulating messages that are followed by a positive response and an appointment booking. There are a few tricks you should keep in mind.

1. Be precise: Keep your messages short and snappy, and get straight to the point. With a long block of text, every normal user will click away immediately.
2. State the benefit: Show why you’re contacting the recipient and especially what’s in it for them. In every good sales message, the potential customer is in the foreground – there’s no place here for long digressions about you and your company. The user must immediately understand why your message is relevant to them.
3. Personalization is everything: On social media, users are now flooded with advertising and general advertising messages no longer work. It’s important to stand out from the crowd and build a direct connection with the addressee. Therefore, in your messages, refer to something you know about the recipient, be it a common interest, the industry, or the professional position. This shows that you’ve really engaged with the user’s profile, instead of sending out standard messages en masse.

Examples of successful connection requests:

Dear Maria, I have just read your post and noticed your profile. I would be happy to connect 🙂 

PS: Congratulations on the new challenge at company XYZ, I saw that you’ve only been in the role for 2 months

—

Hello Mr. Meyer, I saw that you are also based in Munich and doing research on the topic XYZ. What do you think about an exchange on XYZ? 

PS: I hope you also survived the Oktoberfest period safely 🙂 

Examples of successful messages:

Great to have you in my network, Maria!

I hope you are doing well! I have been working intensively for years on the topic of XYZ for female managers, as this has a significant impact on their careers.

Having seen that you also work in HR, I would be happy to share these experiences and strategies with you.

Company XZY used these insights to strengthen their female managers internally. Given our common interests, are you interested in exchanging ideas?

—

Thank you very much for connecting, Mr. Meyer! Pleasure to e-meet you.

My current focus is on the topic XYZ and so far I have had very positive experiences with networking on LinkedIn with experts in the field of XYZ.

I would love to learn more about your research on XYZ. Depending on your interests, I can also share my experiences from our collaboration with InstitutX, InstitutY, or InstitutZ. Are you available next Tuesday for an exchange on the topic?

Best regards

Max

How do I use LinkedIn Ads and Lead Gen Forms?

The most important thing first: LinkedIn Ads only make sense if you’ve built a sustainable foundation with organic lead generation. If you know how to find your target group on LinkedIn, create appealing content, and generate leads with direct messages, you can additionally improve your results with advertising campaigns.

With LinkedIn Ads, you can increase your reach in a plannable and controlled way by simply paying for it. So advertising campaigns are an accelerator for your lead generation. In any case, you should work with Lead Gen Forms. If the user sees that their data has been automatically entered into the form, they will very likely submit it. So with Lead Gen Forms, you always get more leads than without.

Creation and Optimization of Lead Gen Ads

1. Set campaign goal: In the LinkedIn Campaign Manager, select “Conversions” as your campaign goal. This way, your ads will be geared towards lead generation.
2. Define target group: Think carefully about who you want to address. However, you should have already completed this step with organic lead generation.
3. Create ad design and text: Now it gets creative: Choose an eye-catching image or video and create a concise ad copy. There should be a clear call to action at the end.
4. Create Lead Gen Form: Create a simple form with the most important fields. Use LinkedIn’s pre-filled fields and only ask for the data you really need. Less is often more here.
5. Set budget and bids: Determine your budget and your bids. LinkedIn gives you suggestions, but also test your own settings to find out what works best for you. A LinkedIn agency can advise you on this.
6. Launch and monitor the campaign: Now you can launch the LinkedIn Ad. Regularly monitor the performance while the campaign is running. This way you can make adjustments if necessary.
7. Conduct A/B tests: Test different versions of your ads to find out what works best. Experiment with images, texts, and call-to-actions.
8. Analyze results and optimize: After the LinkedIn Ad is before the LinkedIn Ad! Use the collected data to optimize your future campaigns. Analyze which elements have worked well and continuously improve your strategy.

Costs and Budget Planning

The costs for LinkedIn Ads can vary depending on the campaign and target group, so it’s important to plan your budget wisely. Start with a small test budget to find out which ads perform best. This way you keep costs under control and can invest specifically in successful campaigns. However, you shouldn’t be too frugal, because if you want to find out which ads really work, you need to collect enough data and need a correspondingly large budget. But before you invest money, you should first be able to show an appealing profile and content with a solid engagement rate.

If you have a fixed budget, it’s worth considering whether you want to focus on social selling instead of ads for lead generation. This way, you get in direct contact with decision-makers, can write to them to pitch your service, and additionally, always play your extended network with content to stay top of mind – all without advertising expenses. At Leadtree, by the way, we guarantee you a certain number of appointment bookings per month. Later, of course, you can use your experience with the content and addressing your target group to design your ads in the best possible way.

In summary:

• You use your budget for lead generation with LinkedIn Ads: The reach depends on the budget and it’s not guaranteed that users will click on your ad.
• If you focus on lead generation with social selling instead, you get in targeted contact with selected leads through direct messages and content and build your network long-term and sustainably. However, this approach is significantly more time-consuming. To proceed as efficiently as possible here while ensuring that you also achieve good results, it usually pays to hire an agency so that you can focus on your core business during this time.

The financial investment is more worthwhile than with LinkedIn Ads: Instead of placing ads “into the blue” and hoping for feedback, you get guaranteed results with our social selling strategy.

Best Practices and Success Stories

Want to know what successful lead generation looks like in practice?

For the start-up Fabula Games, we conducted a target group segmentation to identify important decision-makers and contact them directly. The result: An average of 13 high-quality appointment bookings per month.

The network of Lukas Heinzmann, CEO of Gyde, grew from 882 to over 12,000 relevant contacts through our tailored communication strategy.

We helped the well-known B2C service provider Blinkist achieve an average of 23 booked meetings per month by optimizing the LinkedIn profiles of the team, targeted networking, and taking over communication with promising new customers.

Impressive, right? If you also want to take off on LinkedIn like this, we should talk!

Tips for Successful Lead Generation on LinkedIn

To really take off on LinkedIn, you should not only know the basics but also continuously work on optimizing your measures. Here are a few tips:

Profile Optimization for Maximum Visibility

A professional LinkedIn profile is your calling card. Make sure your profile is complete and up-to-date. A convincing profile picture, a clear description of your expertise, and relevant keywords can help you become more visible in search results. We effectively align your profile with your target group based on our experience.

Regular and Relevant Posts

Regularly post content that is of interest to your target group. Whether it’s industry insights, helpful tips, or interesting articles – well-thought-out content marketing ensures that you stay in mind and increase your reach.

And how do I increase the reach of my LinkedIn posts?

By posting regularly, you become more and more present on LinkedIn and your posts are shown to more and more users. Engagement is particularly important: The more users like and comment on your posts, the more people see your content. So post relevant content that, for example, encourages commenting through questions. Before you rack your brains now: You can also get creative content production from us.

Use of Media: Videos, Images, Voice Notes

Use a mix of media to make your posts varied. Videos and images attract more attention than pure text, and LinkedIn voice notes add a personal touch to your sales messages. Use these tools to communicate your messages more effectively.

Time Management and Continuous Optimization

Set fixed times to take care of your LinkedIn marketing. Regularly monitor the performance of your posts, sales messages, and ads to find out what works and what doesn’t. Continuous adjustments and improvements help you stay successful in the long term.

How can I generate more leads without investing more time?

You post regularly, send out contact requests daily, and have already built up a small community, but want more leads? Then support from an agency is worthwhile. At Leadtree, we know exactly which methods will get you more leads in a plannable way through our experience. Because: Why trial and error when you can rely on proven lead gen strategies?

Differences between Lead Generation on LinkedIn and Other Platforms

LinkedIn clearly stands out from other social media platforms when it comes to lead generation. Because what works on Instagram or TikTok doesn’t necessarily fit LinkedIn.

Comparison with Other Social Media Platforms

Social media is not always the same. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are somewhat more geared towards B2C marketing. Eye-catching ads, humorous videos, nothing seems impossible. Even though LinkedIn is becoming more relaxed and personal, as a pure business network, things are still more serious on the platform than on other platforms. This is also due to the target group, which is significantly younger on Instagram and especially TikTok. On LinkedIn, teenagers are not looking for entertainment in the form of reels, but decision-makers are looking for new opportunities for their businesses. Of course, this doesn’t mean that cross-platform marketing strategies don’t work. After all, more and more B2B companies are becoming active on Instagram and TikTok, and LinkedIn is also relevant for B2C companies. However, you can’t transfer your content, ads, and sales strategy one-to-one to another platform. If you want to do lead generation on LinkedIn, you should align your strategies very specifically to this platform.

That’s why there are specialized LinkedIn agencies like Leadtree that know exactly what works on LinkedIn and what doesn’t. Depending on the service, it can be difficult to stand out from the competition. The challenge is to remain visible in the digital jungle and gain the attention of decision-makers.

We at Leadtree help you successfully master this challenge.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions about Lead Generation on LinkedIn

How do I generate leads on LinkedIn?

Use social selling methods such as appealing content and direct messages. If that works well, LinkedIn Ads or creating events can additionally be effective methods.

What is meant by generating leads?

Generating leads means identifying and winning potential customers or business contacts who show interest in your products or services.

What is a Lead Gen Form on LinkedIn?

A Lead Gen Form on LinkedIn is a form that is directly embedded in LinkedIn. Users can leave their contact details without having to leave the platform, which increases the conversion rate.

How do I get more followers on LinkedIn?

Share valuable content regularly, interact with other users, and network in a targeted manner.

How can I be found better on LinkedIn?

Optimize your profile with relevant keywords, be active in groups and discussions, and use the search functions on LinkedIn to connect with the right people.

How do I become successful on LinkedIn?

Here’s the rule: Consistency is key. Take regular time to create and post content, interact with the network, and connect. The algorithm will thank you for your effort.

How do I get likes on LinkedIn?

First, you should know your target group and know what they want to read. Post relevant content regularly, keep the texts as short as possible, use a catchy introduction, and work with a call-to-action at the end so that users are invited to share or comment on your posts.