While Facebook may have the highest profile of the current crop of social networking sites, smart marketers know that LinkedIn is an important part of their online marketing strategy. Did you know that LinkedIn’s visitor-to-lead conversion rate is actually 3 times higher than Facebook or Twitter? This infographic from QuickSprout gives the lowdown on LinkedIn’s vital statistics, and provides some handy tips on how to take advantage of the rich variety of tools and features that LinkedIn offers.
First, let’s take a look at the numbers. LinkedIn has:
- 259,000,000 users and 2,100,000 groups
- 184,000,000 unique visitors per month
- 172,000 new signups per day
- 200 conversations in groups and 7610 searches per minute
37.6% of businesses have used the site to build new relationships with customers, and 37.2% have used it to increase their branding presence. It’s actually been shown that 50% of LinkedIn members are more likely to purchase from companies that they engage with on the site! So, how do you make sure that you’re grabbing their attention?
- When: Post your content in the morning, Monday through Friday. This will help you attract the highest number of eyes on your updates.
- How Often: You can reach 60% of your unique audience by posting 20 status updates per month. Schedule your LinkedIn update into your workday.
- What: Shape your content to match what people want. 60% of LinkedIn members prefer content related to industry insights. Including a link will double your engagement, and adding an image will net you a nearly 98% higher comment rate. You can expect 75% more shares if your content includes a video.
An important part of LinkedIn is making the right connections. QuickSprout suggests 3 main strategies for tracking down new customers on the site.
- Use the advanced search feature, and specify the parameters for your target group. LinkedIn actually offers a pretty comprehensive list of criteria, including industry, title, location, years of experience, and many others.
- Research your immediate network. The perfect customer may actually be just one or two degrees of separation away.
- Use the Saved Searches feature to receive daily, weekly, or monthly alerts for potential leads.
