I love Facebook, it’s my favorite platform by far. But there are other platforms out there that can help you generate leads — like LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is the business version of social media. You get on there to connect with other business professionals or businesses themselves. It is more professional, there’s not a lot of personal information on there, and all of it is business-driven. It also has incredible SEO capacity, so if you aren’t on LinkedIn, you really should be.

LinkedIn is a great way to differentiate yourself. If you have a common name like John Smith or Susan Brown it’s important that you’re on LinkedIn because it helps people understand which one you are. You can customize your URL on your profile so that you stand out, and when people Google your name you’re the one that comes up, and not the Susan Brown in Omaha who sells life insurance.

The best way to generate leads on LinkedIn is to set yourself up as an industry expert. You should also set yourself up as a community expert because you can drive it based on location. You can access people based on similar interests, like sorority or school alumni groups. If you’re a real estate professional in Huntsville, for example, and you know that your last ten sales came from engineers relocating to Huntsville for a job, you can get on LinkedIn and find a group for engineers in Huntsville. It’s that simple, it’s just a matter of connecting with your end user.

You have the capability to make connections but statistically you’re more likely to be noticed if you’re just active. You don’t have to go into LinkedIn and send a ton of emails or direct messages, you just gotta do you. It can be as simple as posting something on your profile a couple of times a week. You can schedule it, it’s easy!

Once you have the connections that you want, then you have all these emails. I know it’s surprising but people sign up for LinkedIn using their email! You download the email lists and now you can send out an email asking for people to sign up for your email newsletter.

There are all these neat options you can have in your profile, too, like video. I have a video in my profile telling people what I do and why you need what I do. Who’s going to sell you better than you? A quick video in your profile is awesome and so simple.

I love LinkedIn. It’s a great way to grow your personal brand and reach your end user. Building community, top of mind awareness, that’s where your leads come from.