LinkedIn just channeled its inner Facebook, making a move to leverage more of its users’ personal data so marketers can connect and engage in a more personalized fashion.
“Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of PYLON for LinkedIn Engagement Insights, a reporting API solution … that lets marketers around the world access LinkedIn data to help them improve engagement with their content and deliver positive ROI on LinkedIn,” LinkedIn shared in recent post.
“Built in a way that respects member’s privacy, LinkedIn Engagement Insights helps marketers make more informed creative and targeting decisions so they can be more successful on LinkedIn.”
(Related: How to generate nonstop sales leads on LinkedIn.)
The idea is simple: LinkedIn wants to make it easier for you to know more about your ideal prospects on the platform before you even begin talking with one another.
Like Facebook, LinkedIn has a virtual treasure-trove of data on its members – everything from where you live, work and went to school to your hobbies and professional interests.
More Effective Marketing
“Our strategic partnership with DataSift is rooted in a desire to help marketers take the guesswork out of media planning and ad optimization on LinkedIn,” LinkedIn noted in announcing the new feature. “Through LinkedIn Engagement Insights, marketers can get the information they need to build better marketing campaigns and more effectively reach premium professional audiences on LinkedIn.”
I’ve long been an advocate of using LinkedIn’s advanced search features to narrow your target audience down by specific niches, and then engage in 1-on-1, personalized marketing to build the relationship.
LinkedIn’s new tool – designed for advertisers – takes that approach to an even higher level.
(Related: How to win new business on LinkedIn.)
“Marketers can filter the interests and opinions of professionals through a variety of dimensions including industry, seniority, company size, job title, job function and more,” LinkedIn announced. “The multi-dimensional data helps B2B marketers discover the right audiences, create better content and understand how their brand stacks up against the competition on LinkedIn.”
(Related: How to Appeal to Multiple Audiences on LinkedIn.)
The Right Prospects + A Personalized Approach
Best of all, you don’t need to be a paying advertiser to utilize this approach on LinkedIn.
You can simply scan someone’s profile, and within a few seconds find multiple ways to break the ice and personalize your interactions.
It’s critical to always utilize an element of data from your prospect’s profile – where they live, went to school, hobbies/interests, where they volunteer, etc. – to help break the ice and spark a non-work conversation to get things off on the right foot and build camaraderie.
Just like in real life, you need to start off a LinkedIn relationship with a little bit of small talk!
The power of selling your product or service on LinkedIn lies in locating, engaging and quickly building a 1-on-1, personalized relationship with targeted prospects you find on LinkedIn.
Whether you decide to use LinkedIn’s new advertising tools or peruse profiles individually, the power of personalizing your engagements in this fashion is the secret to success on the network!
