Its all About Beanstalk
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Social networks, and LinkedIn groups in particular, have turned lead generation on its head. It used to be that the number of relationships you enjoyed was limited to the number of people you could meet. Now you can build hundreds – even thousands – of relationships with prospects before you even meet them, then leverage that trust by reaching out to prospects you do want to meet.
This new approach to networking is not only scalable; it can also shorten your sales cycles. After all, you are meeting prospects that already know and trust you. The relationship, albeit virtual, is already there. And their membership in your group qualifies their interest in what you offer.Leads
The most important tip for building a successful LinkedIn group is this: define your target audience first. Who are your prospects? And what are their core problems?
Once you identify these, your second most important task is naming your group. The secret lies in giving it a name that sounds as if it could address your prospect’s core problems.
Some more tips:
· Before you go live, make sure to post interesting articles and conversation starters in the group. This will impress your first batch of members (e.g. staff and business partners) and get the conversation going,
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· once you have built some initial activity, start inviting your business prospects to join the group. You can do this via LinkedIn paid media such as LinkedIn Ads, or Inmails which allow you to send personalised one-to-one invitations,
· promote regular conversations around the group’s topics, to grow discussion threads. For example, if one of your members posts an interesting article, jump in by responding with your own thoughts. Have a conversation with that member for the whole group to see then encourage other group members to jump in,
· never sell or self-promote in your group. Instead, engage in ‘social selling’. That is, provide immense value to your members via expert advice and information, without any expectation of return,
· and finally, never allow spam or off-topic posts in your group. Members do notice and over time it will damage your group’s reputation.
Remember, each of your group’s members represents future business for your firm. So love them to death with the very best content, discussion, and friendship, and you will soon experience the business opportunities that LinkedIn groups provide.
For more info at - http://beanstalkmarketing.co.uk/lead-generation.php