In the business world today the idea of a company without a face is becoming a thing of the past. Now customers, those who buy from other businesses do not just buy products they buy into the people who make them their expertise and the values they share. A study by Search Engine Journal about marketing led by company founders shows something interesting: the most powerful tool a company has is not its advertising budget or its search engine strategy it is the LinkedIn profile of the company founder.
If you are a company founder or a CEO you might think that LinkedIn is one more thing to do on your already long list of tasks. You might think, “I am not a marketing expert ” or “I do not have time to be a media influencer.”. The facts show that if you do not use LinkedIn you could be losing out on a lot of potential business deals.
This blog post talks about how smart company founders using simple LinkedIn posts to help their businesses grow. They are turning these posts into a way to get customers and make more sales.
The Power of the “Founder-Led” Advantage
Why do posts from a CEO do better than posts from a company page? It is because of how people think. We trust people more than we trust companies. When a company posts a story about one of its customers it sounds like an advertisement.. When a founder shares a story about how they helped a customer it sounds like advice from someone who cares.
The numbers from Search Engine Journal are very impressive:
* Founders who post on LinkedIn least 10 times a year get 33% more people interested in their business.
* When founders create content they can close deals that’re almost 4 times bigger than usual.
* Some companies like Aligned get 65% of their customers from LinkedIn alone.
This is not about getting likes or comments on social media. It is about being a company that people think about when they need something. It is about being, in the minds of the people who might buy from you so that when they are ready to make a purchase they think of you first.
Breaking the “Too Busy” Myth
The biggest problem for founders is finding time. You are running a company. Managing a team. You have to put out fires every day. How can you find time to create content for LinkedIn?
The secret to creating content is to change the way you think. Of thinking about creating content think about documenting what you do every day. You are surrounded by things to talk about every day. Every meeting you have every problem you solve and every trend you notice in your industry is a post for LinkedIn.
Successful founders use a system to capture ideas. They keep a note on their phone. When a client asks a question they write it down. When they see a competitor making a mistake they write it down. At the end of the week they spend a time turning those ideas into posts for LinkedIn. It is not about spending time on LinkedIn it is about using the thoughts you are already having.
The Three Pillars of High-Impact Content
To make LinkedIn work for you you do not need to be a writer. You just need to be helpful. There are three types of stories that work well for high-value buyers:
1. The Authority Pillar
High-value clients want to work with the best. They want to know that you understand the LinkedIn industry better than anyone
How to write it: Share an opinion. What is everyone in the LinkedIn industry doing wrong? What is a trend that no one is talking about yet? When you share insights you show that you are a thought leader, not just a vendor, on LinkedIn.
2. The Empathy Pillar
B2B sales are stakes and high stress. Buyers want to know who they are working with on LinkedIn.
How to write it: Talk about a time when things went wrong. Share a story about a project that did not go well and how you fixed it. Show your office your team or your morning routine. This makes your brand more relatable on LinkedIn. It builds trust with buyers on LinkedIn.
3. The Proof Pillar
At the end of the day buyers want to see results on LinkedIn. They need to see that you have done this before on LinkedIn.
How to write it: of a boring report tell a story on LinkedIn. ” Month a client came to us with a problem on LinkedIn. They were losing money on LinkedIn. We implemented a strategy on LinkedIn. Now they are seeing great results on LinkedIn.” This makes the value of your product or service clear on LinkedIn.
Moving the Needle: From “Likes” to “Revenue”
A mistake founders make is getting discouraged when a post does not get a lot of likes on LinkedIn. They see a likes and think, “This is not working on LinkedIn.”
This is a mistake. In B2B sales on LinkedIn, the people who are reading your posts but not commenting are often the ones who will buy from you on LinkedIn. The CEO of a company might never like or comment on your post on LinkedIn but they are reading it on LinkedIn. They are watching to see if you are consistent on LinkedIn. They are measuring your expertise on LinkedIn.
The metrics that actually matter on LinkedIn are:
Inbound Inquiries: People messaging you or emailing you saying, “I saw your post on LinkedIn about something can we talk about it on LinkedIn?”
Sales Cycle Speed: Does the prospect already trust you because they have been reading your content on LinkedIn for a while? If so the sales call becomes a conversation rather than a hard sell on LinkedIn.
Deal Size: When you are seen as an authority on LinkedIn you do not have to compete on price on LinkedIn. You can charge a premium because you are the expert on LinkedIn, not another vendor, on LinkedIn.
