Social media is a free publicity tool at the service of sales forces across businesses. MSPs who are not using social media platforms are likely to lag behind the competition to a considerable extent. Many customers first search on social media for the services they require. Many also seek information about necessary services from their social media contacts.
But all social media platforms do not perform equally when it comes to brand-building and brand-selling. With reference to purely professional networking, LinkedIn is where the action is.
An August 2019 update on Statista reports that LinkedIn had 160 million users in the United States in July 2019. The platform is second only to Facebook in terms of popularity in the B2B marketplace.
Key Benefits of Having a LinkedIn Profile
It is essential to have a company profile on LinkedIn to be exposed to a wide business network, make new connections and find out more about competitors.
The point of having a presence on LinkedIn is not just to advertise your business. It’s also about making new connections and building relationships. It is also a critical platform for directing traffic to your MSP website by sharing vital links.
You can also follow leading MSPs who are on LinkedIn to know what they are up to. That helps you to stay one step ahead.
But remember that your competitors will do the same, in all likelihood. So, what can you do to gain a competitive edge? This guide provides the insights you need.
Be Creative in Setting Up Your Company Profile
If you set it upright, your MSP company’s LinkedIn profile will come before your company's webpage in a search. The first thing to ensure is to be discoverable via suitable SEO keywords.
To stand out from your competitors, try using the relevant keywords in a new way. For the profile headline, look for keywords that have been effective for a long period of time, and keep it short and simple.
To give you an example from a different business field, a highly successful niche notebook company in New York uses the tagline “Building tools for thought leaders.” That makes this company’s name come up in a variety of searches that do not even relate to notebooks.
In this package, you will get five guides helping to create marketing strategies and tips on:
- Dealing with on-site SEO
- Creating web advertising properly
- Email chains for MSPs
- Content marketing for an MSP blog
- Social media marketing
Connect with Everyone You Know
Once you’ve created a company profile, invest time in finding everyone you know on LinkedIn and connect with them. Any person you know can be a potential client tomorrow or provide new leads.
But connect with them naturally. Do not send a sales pitch with your request to connect. That can do more harm than good.
Expand Your Network
Once you have connected with people and companies you already know on LinkedIn, the next task is to expand it. One part of this consists of checking the profiles of people and companies of your contacts. Select relevant individuals and companies from their contact lists and send contact requests.
The next task involves some research. It is important that you explore LinkedIn to identify possible businesses and personalities relevant to your managed services business. You need to connect with them. To send a contact request that will be accepted, start by stating that the individual’s or company’s profile has impressed you, and attach a relevant article that is potentially interesting.
Ensure that it is a short, highly readable article that establishes you as an expert professional in the field of managed services.
One important follow-up tip: Never forget to thank those who do accept your request to connect.
Keep Your Page Active
Remember that creating a company profile is not enough. You must dedicate time to keeping it active; otherwise, potential clients may think that you have folded up your business.
Or worse, they may think that you lack the initiative to keep people informed about your services on a regular basis, and your reputation might suffer due to customers’ negative feedback.
A judicious way to keep your page active is to post short articles on topics relevant to your managed service. That way, you can also establish your MSP as an expert in the field. These are the articles you can share with your contact requests to people and companies you do not know.
Further reading Blogging for MSPs: 100 Engaging Content Topics
Add and Update Audiovisual Materials
LinkedIn has made it easy to upload a video along with your profile. Use that option. Invest in making at least one short, informative video about your company.
And if you can make videos in-house without investing too much time and money, make several. Update them from time to time. That way, those who follow your profile will get to see new materials.
Focus on Clients in Your Profile
Your LinkedIn profile needs to be less about you and your company, and more about describing your MSP services from the client’s perspective.
For example, say “We can help you keep your data secure” instead of, “We ensure data security.” Preempt your potential client’s searches and describe your services in the form of responses to them.
Further reading MSP’s Guide on How to Get First Clients
If you already have some satisfied clients, feature them on your company profile (after obtaining their permission, of course).
Follow LinkedIn Insights
Insights are an important feature of LinkedIn. They help identify who you still need to connect with, in case there are followers and visitors you haven’t already included in your network. That will help you gain insight into the kind of managed IT services your visitors are looking for.
Insights about updates are of particular importance in selling your managed services through LinkedIn networking. These insights will inform you about posts that are drawing the most clicks. You can then strategize to upload the kinds of posts that draw maximum attention.
The Bottom Line
If you do things right on your LinkedIn page, you will soon see a positive impact. If no business lead comes through your LinkedIn profile, you know you need to make some changes to your company’s profile.
Read our guide for tips on:
- Prospect research
- Discovery call
- Main parts of a sales pitch
- Creating a sales deck (a structure example is included)
