If you want to improve your marketing presence and grow your security industry business, LinkedIn is an ideal place to begin.

Think about this:

• LinkedIn has a staggering user base of 950 million users and 63 million company profiles.
• Average users spend 17 minutes on the platform daily.
• Over a third of buyers who see a business’s ads on LinkedIn research the company with the purpose of buying.
• LinkedIn has twice the conversion rate as other platforms.
• Security businesses can target and attract high-quality potential customers using the platform’s search features.
• Average searchers are middle or bottom of the funnel.

And, significantly, there are 65 million decision-makers on LinkedIn. One of the most challenging things for any security dealer, integrator or manufacturer is getting in front of the key decision-makers.

The good news is that LinkedIn provides an effective way to bypass gatekeepers and connect with your prospects directly. Even better, many of your competitors aren’t taking advantage of this because:

• They either lack the knowledge of how to do so, or;
• They believe it will be time-consuming, difficult to learn or lack results.

Create a professional and client-focused LinkedIn profile — Before you begin any activities that will put you in front of key decision-makers on LinkedIn, you must first ensure that you have a profile that is professional and, most important of all, client-focused. Make sure your bio is result-focused.

Connect with other employees — Before reaching out to a key decision-maker, connect with one or more employees who belong to the same company, especially within the same department or location. This can increase the chances of the key decision-maker accepting your connection request and getting your content in front of the prospect before you even connect.

Send a personalized request — Sending a personalized connection request is a crucial step in your LinkedIn journey. Just like in the real world, building relationships here is all about that personal touch.

So, always keep this in mind: every connection request you send should be tailor-made. Whether they're a top decision-maker or not, taking that extra moment to include a brief, friendly note goes a long way.

Demonstrate your expertise — Boosting your authority, credibility and trust factor doesn't have to be rocket science; it's as simple as crafting and sharing valuable content that resonates with your potential connections.

LinkedIn Publisher posts may not shine as bright in the newsfeed as they once did. Nevertheless, they still pack a punch because they serve as your trusty toolkit for providing value to your prospects.

According to brand research experts, Zippia:

• 82 percent of consumers feel MORE positive about a company after reading custom content.
• 90 percent find custom content useful.
• 60 percent of people seek out a product/service after reading content about it.
• 65 percent of buyers feel that the vendor’s content had an impact on their final purchase decision.
• 82 percent of buyers viewed five to eight pieces of content from a winning vendor.

Post daily updates — Post a daily status update with valuable content (whether created or curated), an interesting stat or a thought-provoking statement that resonates with your prospects. Each time someone likes or comments on your post, their network can see it, increasing the visibility of your post to your 2nd-degree connections and beyond.

Engage with decision-makers on LinkedIn and other social platforms — Another great way to get on the radar of potential prospects is to do a little research to see what other social media platforms they might use. When appropriate, like, comment or share their posts. Be sure the interaction is natural and makes sense from their perspective. Where possible, look for ways to start a conversation by commenting or asking a question about their post.

Use social video — Create a short video that first addresses your prospect by name and introduce yourself. Finish your video by thanking them for connecting with you on LinkedIn. You can share the link to this video as part of a personalized message with a short note.

It’s all about the long game on LinkedIn. By consistently delivering value and firmly establishing yourself as a security industry expert, you’re essentially paving your way to the doorsteps of those pivotal decision-makers.

To read past Marketing Madmen columns click here. //