{"id":531,"date":"2017-09-11T15:17:31","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T15:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/3.14.248.234\/?p=531"},"modified":"2020-10-04T23:05:56","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T06:05:56","slug":"linkedin-growth-hacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bamf.com\/linkedin-growth-hacks\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Killer LinkedIn Hacks to Generate More Leads and Go Viral"},"content":{"rendered":"

Viral posts are integral to your growth hacking strategy.\u00a0\u00a0If you want people to notice you, then you have to be seen. What if we told you that your virality on the platform can be measured and that you can growth hack LinkedIn?<\/p>\n

In this guide, we\u2019ll teach you how to optimize your posts for virality and maximum exposure. We\u2019ll even give you the lowdown on streamlining it with your lead generation efforts!<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got to start measuring what you do to find out if it works. Marketing and growth hacking are data-dependent.\u00a0\u00a0There is nothing you can do to separate them, so it\u2019s time to start looking at the data that we have.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

TABLE OF CONTENTS:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Measuring Virality on LinkedIn<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

1. Drive Traffic to Your Company\u2019s Landing Page<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

2. Lead Your Best Articles Back to Your Site<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

3. Use the ManyChat Integration with Zapier\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

4. Build a Custom Tool like the LinkedIn Auto-Connector<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

5. Skip Your Prospect\u2019s Gatekeeper<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

6. Use LinkedIn to Show Company Appreciation<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

7. Landing Pages<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

8. Increase the Size of Your Network<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Measuring Virality on LinkedIn<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve run a lot of tests to measure what makes a post go viral. It wasn\u2019t the number of comments that formed a correlation to the views, but rather the likes that gave us the connection. So, what does this mean for us?<\/p>\n

We may be able to \u201cpredict\u201d virality.<\/p>\n

The Old Algorithm<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s what the data told us before: the magic number was 142. That\u2019s how many views<\/a> a post will get for every Like \u2013 on average \u2013 with a 90.04% confidence. You can see how strong the correlation is in the line graph below:<\/p>\n

\"growth<\/p>\n

The New Algorithm<\/h3>\n

However, those were the previous number and the last time we checked it\u2019s at an average of 131 in 2017. This represents a change in the LinkedIn algorithm meaning that we now need fewer likes to get to those many views.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Viral posts on LinkedIn only stay viral for three days, and that\u2019s only 72 hours. Let\u2019s say you\u2019re running after 100,000 views for your post.<\/p>\n

This means that you need to get an average of 9.78 likes per hour for a post to hit its targeted views. (100,000 views \/ 72 hours = 1,388.89 views per hour | 1,388.89 \/ 142 = 9.78 likes).<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s assume that people are asleep 8 hours a day. That leaves us with 16 hours. 16 x 3 days = 48 hours. 704 likes \/ 48 hours = 14.678\u00a0If you are aiming to get 100,000 post views, make sure that you get 15 Likes in the first hour – minimum.<\/p>\n

Without taking any other velocity engagement metrics into account (which we don\u2019t have the data for, yet), you need at least 15 likes in the first hour of a post if you want to get 100,000 views.<\/p>\n

Another Case Study<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

These are the totals of a client that we\u2019ve worked with in the past, as you can see, there were fewer views per like. This could be indicative of a higher like requirement for a post to get more views.<\/p>\n

Note: However, LinkedIn is global \u2013 and you\u2019d better have made international connections by now \u2013 so it could be picked up globally. This increases your likelihood of hitting your targets since you\u2019re sure there\u2019s at least someone awake who\u2019ll see your post.<\/p>\n

What Does This Mean for Us?<\/h3>\n

The data does not lie. It might be crude since we do not have access to the exact algorithm that LinkedIn<\/a> uses nor do we have the information for how they calculate their velocity engagement metrics, but the correlation exists, and it can\u2019t be shrugged off too quickly.<\/p>\n

At BAMF, we know when we\u2019ve hit virality to the point where if posts are not getting\u00a0strong enough engagement, then we take them down.\u00a0If it\u2019s within the first hour, we still have time to adjust.\u00a0Rewrite the first line. Draw in the emotion sooner.<\/p>\n

Emphasize the pain harder.\u00a0This process is raw. It\u2019s intuition combined with our best practices and relentless obsession for excellent copy.<\/p>\n

But wait:<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t just rely on that magic number alone, even if you get 55 likes in the first hour, it will mean nothing if you don\u2019t have a copy that\u2019s good enough to create engagement. You need to make sure that you\u2019re conveying the sentiment that breeds emotion in your reader.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s more you can do (and often forget to do.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

\u00a01. Drive Traffic to Your Company\u2019s Landing Page<\/h2>\n

There are plenty of ways to get people to visit your website or landing page from LinkedIn. Whether it be a status update or through your company profile, you can drive traffic where it matters the most.<\/p>\n

Your webite.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Status updates are a great start at getting people to visit your website. Check this status update for instance:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It had 45,100 views, 448 reactions and 43 comments.<\/p>\n

That’s heavy interaction and that can be considered viral by any standard.<\/p>\n

It’s made even more potent because it had a link to our landing page on it. This means that our link was placed in front of 45,100 sets of eyeballs, that’s tantamount to giving everyone an invitation to your product.<\/p>\n

Simple viral posts such as these can only drive traffic to your landing page if you include a link to it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"bamf.commpany<\/p>\n

Also, your company LinkedIn page is one of the most powerful tools that you have in your disposal. You can use your page as a springboard to your website or landing page, but you have to make sure that what you have on it is convincing enough for them to do it. This means that you need to have enough teaser content on it for them to find enough value to get on your real site.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another strategy is to add links to content or additional content in the first comments. We do this in the first comment and not within the post body so that LinkedIn doesn’t limit the reach of the post.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, how are we supposed to this if we\u2019ve already given them the meat in the article itself?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Easy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Starve the reader a little bit more. If you\u2019re going to post a listicle with nine methods, leave the other four on your site and tell your reader to finish reading it there. If the content was good enough for them to stay for the first five, they\u2019re going to want the rest.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

2. Lead Your Best Articles Back to Your Site<\/h2>\n

LinkedIn loves how-to content about LinkedIn (how meta). And they love story-oriented content about the workplace. With how-to content, I always leave the second half of the article on my website.<\/p>\n

In this case, I wrote an article with eleven tips to gain a following on LinkedIn. I included the first five in the piece, then had a link to view the last six on my blog. This way I can capture my readers in a Facebook<\/a> re-marketing audience to run ads to them.<\/p>\n

This piece<\/a> drove almost five hundred visitors to my website over the span of a week. Impressive, huh?<\/p>\n

3. Get them on your List by leveraging value<\/h2>\n

You need to be capturing your audience on Messenger and email<\/a>. It\u2019s not one or the other. You need both.<\/p>\n

Our Messenger list has of over 6,000 subscribers and is more active than a 30,000-person email list.<\/p>\n

Yes, you heard that right.<\/p>\n

Check out what we did with this post:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We were willing to give away marketing dashboards that they could use for their organizations because we knew that it would be worth more to grow the list of people who would be a part of BAMF.<\/p>\n

There were able to grab thier free marketing dashboard on messenger, making them a part of our list.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We got them engaging with us by offering them an incentive. This allowed us to be able to connect with our network. Being able to personally connect with your network establishes your relational approach which is important in growth hacking.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Enough of these statuses over a year can build you a 10,000-person Messenger list!<\/p>\n

4. Build a Custom Tool like the LinkedIn Auto-Connector<\/h2>\n

We recently updated our custom LinkedIn auto-connector tool to sync with different merge fields. As a result, we can send out personalized connections at scale.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For example, \u201cHey {{first_name}}, Checked out {{last_company}} and noticed you were hiring for a {{job_name}} and wanted to talk about how I can help.\u201d The best part: Anyone can create a tool like this.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We spent several hundred dollars on the freelancing site, Upwork, to outsource the development work.<\/p>\n

It took him one week to finish it. Note: This tool is only available for our BAMF community.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are the top tools that work for this: GrowthLead, PhantomBuster, etc<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Disclaimer:<\/i><\/b> We do not officially endorse the use of any third-party tools to enhance or automate parts of the LinkedIn audience-building & outreach process, as this violates their terms of service. Failure to heed this warning could result in permanent suspension from the platform.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

5. Skip Your Prospect\u2019s Gatekeeper<\/h2>\n

At BAMF Media, we\u2019re a relationship building agency. Rather than send out a thousand cold emails, we offer to write about or interview our prospects. \u201cI\u2019d love to feature your professional story on our blog.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you have time to jump on my podcast with several thousand listeners?\u201d By playing up to their ego, we get an insane response rate. We only aim for the top five percent of the market because the response rate is so high.<\/p>\n

This way we can develop enough rapport to get the employee on our side before they talk to their higher-ups about our services. And we get the benefit of having excellent content worth distributing.<\/p>\n

This helps develop your image of being relatable with people. And, being relatable is the heart of your company.<\/p>\n

6. Use LinkedIn to Show Company Appreciation<\/h2>\n

This is an easy thing to do.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn professionals love it when you appreciate your company employees and partners. It\u2019s a sign of true leadership.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This draws lots of positive engagement and leads. Why? It\u2019s rarely done on LinkedIn although everyone knows you should do it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This appreciation post had a ton of positive side effects, including new leads, new recruits\u00a0 and a lot of exposure. Most notably, this post helped me land an official teaching post as a Professor at Loyola Marimount University, where my intern was from. Amazing to see what sharing gratitude and good vibes can do! \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Plus, your employee or partner who\u2019s tagged will appreciate the nice call out. And they\u2019ll receive a flood of connection requests their way. Appreciation statuses are the first step every company should encourage when building a culture using social media.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The above appreciation post had a ton of positive side effects, new leads, new recruits, hiring. Etc..\u00a0 Most notably, this post helped me land an official teaching post as a Professor at Loyola Marimount University, where my intern was from\u2026 amazing to see what sharing gratitude and good vibes can do! \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

7. Landing Pages<\/h2>\n

Because we need to measure what works and what doesn\u2019t, you should create different landing pages for your content. This allows you to check the metrics for individualized campaigns.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here’s the landing page we use for our LinkedIn Influencer service:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

8. Increase the Size of Your Network<\/h2>\n

Your primary email address is usually the one that is tied-in to your LinkedIn account, and you can sync your contacts from it to your LinkedIn account to form connections. However, you can also switch out this email for you to sync another email address\u2019 contacts.<\/p>\n

If you have a list of emails lying around, you can go ahead and go to \u201cAlternate Option\u201d in this article.<\/p>\n

Click the icon on the top right corner of the homepage to bring out a small dropdown menu. You will now want to select \u201cSettings & Privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Go to the \u201cAccount\u201d tab and make your way to the \u201cLogin and security\u201d area.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Find the field labeled \u201cEmail addresses\u201d and click \u201cAdd email address.\u201d Once you fill this out, click \u201cSend verification.\u201d Verify the email in your mailbox.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Now you will want to log out and log into your account again. Click \u201cMy Network\u201d on the navigation bar on top and find the field labeled \u201cAdd personal contacts.\u201d Input the email address you want to use here.<\/p>\n

The Alternate Option<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Alternatively, you can also click on \u201cMore options,\u201d which brings you to this page. This gives you a range of options on how to input additional contacts. Including a file upload, invite by email, Yahoo, AOL, etc.<\/p>\n

Being able to go viral by growth hacking LinkedIn won\u2019t mean much if you don\u2019t do anything with it. Whether you need the exposure or the leads in your pipeline, remember there\u2019s a systematic way to do it. Do not be afraid to experiment with your content, but be sure that you don\u2019t forget about the little details.<\/p>\n

Release, observe, tweak, and repeat. That\u2019s how you go viral.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Viral posts are integral to your growth hacking strategy.\u00a0\u00a0If you want people to notice you, then you have to be seen. What if we told you that your virality on the platform can be measured and that you can growth hack LinkedIn?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":19460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ub_ctt_via":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[112,136],"tags":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/bamf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/in_bug-e1568804908153.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Houston","author_link":"https:\/\/bamf.com\/author\/houston\/"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bamf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bamf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bamf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bamf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bamf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bamf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bamf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bamf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bamf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bamf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}