Short on time for marketing your MSP? Give it to LinkedIn

Connect 

1. Comment on someone else's post
   This might not sound like 'proper content', but this is a surprisingly important part of using LinkedIn as an effective marketing tool.

   Not only will it make people feel good that you're engaging with their content (because, let's face it, we're all in the same boat on LinkedIn), but also because LinkedIn can see you doing it and will reward you for it by suggesting more people connect with you.

   2. Answer routine questions clients ask
   'Why is my computer slow?'

   'Why do I need to back up?'

   This may seem like obvious stuff to you, but remember, non-techy people feel utterly lost when it comes to tech.

   Every time a question comes into your help desk, put a note in your phone (or ask your techs to make a note somewhere you can access).

   If it’s a routine question, it’s 100% legitimate LinkedIn content.

   You could either write up the question and the answer as a post, or turn it into a LinkedIn article (all you need for this is your words, a headline question and a stock photo to go with it. Boom.).

   3. Horror stories
   What happened to your new clients recently that made them sign up with you (anonymously, obviously)?

   What’s the latest hack you heard about? What was horrible consequence ($20,000 stolen from someone's bank account, client details stolen etc)?

   Maybe you've just seen a news article about a hack that you could share a link to, along with your thoughts about how it might have been avoided?

   A bit of fear is no bad thing, especially if it will actually help someone in the long-run (and get you a new client).

   4. The Expert Says
   This is where you use your knowledge to teach people things (for free). What do you wish people would do more of? Back-up routines? Investing into proper kit?

   Don’t get too technical - use layman terms - but give your advice and opinions about things that would make people’s lives easier.

   This is a great one to do in video (bear with me here). Just grab your iPhone (or android) and film yourself chatting. Might feel a bit weird at first, but this kind of short video can be a seriously effective way of building up trust with prospective clients on social media.

   It doesn't have to be Hollywood quality, so don't let that kind of fear stop you from having a go. What’s more important is actually getting content that’s 'Good Enough' out there. And it's exactly the kind of content I started my YouTube channel with.

   5. Photos of happy clients

   This is based on the concept known as Social Proof, which basically means that most people prefer to do what other people are doing.

   So, in this instance, if someone’s checking you out on LinkedIn and sees a slew of selfies you've taken with happy clients, it sends a message that you’re trustworthy.

   Even better, see if you can get a client to say a few words about you on camera next time you see them, and hey presto, you have a testimonial video (these are good for your website too).

   Both of these scenarios involve having to whip out your phone and ask, but most people are very unlikely to say no.

   6. Funny IT cartoons/jokes

   

   This is a great one for Fridays when people prefer to see lighter content on social media.

   Just Google 'IT cartoons' or 'IT jokes', and share ones you like on your profile.

   Warning- Don’t stick them on your website because Getty is probably going to come and get you for rights violation. But on social, it's a bit of a grey area, so you should be fine.

   Again, these 'jokes' have to make sense to ‘average’ people (ie not just IT people). But this kind of post is insanely popular as it's an easy 'like'.

   Plus, it shows you have personality and best of all, takes very little effort.

Contact

One of the most powerful and most underutilised parts of LinkedIn is its messaging system.

You should message people day and night, because LinkedIn messaging is gorgeous.

The greatest thing about LinkedIn messaging is 100%, guaranteed deliverability.

You can't guarantee when they'll see it, but at least you'll know your message is in their inbox. Unlike email.

The other great thing about LinkedIn messaging is LinkedIn as a platform wants it to work. It will interrupt your LinkedIn browsing/experience to tell you you have a message. You can see them stacked up at the bottom of the screen.

And as if that wasn't enough, the third great thing is you’d be surprised how few messages are sent. I’ve got about 7,000 connections, but only get 2 or 3 messages a day. So those few messages I do get catch my attention.

If I’m not being bombarded, then your prospective clients aren't either.

Now, you should never try to sell to people in a LinkedIn message. Instead, educate them.

This is made easier by the fact that you know who you’re messaging, so you can make that message highly relevant to them (and all good marketing is highly is relevant to the person receiving it).

Let’s say you want to message a lawyer. Think about the kind of software they use, ie case management software.

Your message could go something like this:

‘Hi Stephen, tell me, do you use <insert software name here>?

Because if you do, there’s a useful setting we’ve discovered for our lawyer clients that you might find useful etc...'

They might not use that software, but it will register with them that you are an expert in their world.

You could even find out the names of all the most popular lawyer case management softwares, and work those into a fairly generic LinkedIn article (see Content), and send it out to all the lawyers you can via LinkedIn messaging.

Maybe some of them will open the message. Maybe some will reply and ask a question. Maybe some will even go onto your website to have a look.

At the end of the day, with all your marketing, you’re looking to find groups of people - ‘audiences’ - to listen to you that you can build relationships with.

And 30 minutes doing that on LinkedIn every day is a brilliant way to start.