Software as a Service (SaaS) marketers tend to spend a lot of time and money creating content and promoting it, but lead generation doesn’t come easy in this industry.
Since SaaS companies have to sell their software and continuously engage their subscribers with frequent updates, they may not have enough cash flow for ad spending. When they do, returns are often slim unless they have a team of experienced, knowledgeable marketers.
On the other hand, SaaS businesses can use LinkedIn® to sell their products. It’s one of the best social media platforms for any company that wants to sell to other businesses (or B2B).
While LinkedIn® can help SaaS companies sell directly to their customers, you’ll need an impressive strategy to make the most out of your sales methods.
Why LinkedIn is the Best Option for SaaS
The vast majority of SaaS products are sold directly to businesses. Customer relationship management (CRM) software, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, and e-commerce software are rarely, if ever, used by a person who doesn’t sell products or services.
While project management and accounting software may be used irregularly by non-business customers, they’re more useful for enterprises that handle multiple accounts and projects.
With that said, it’s clear to see that businesses are a SaaS company's ideal customer base because they’re more likely to need their services and subscribe longer. This effectively makes SaaS companies a B2B, which thrive on LinkedIn. In fact, 86% of B2B marketers rely on it.
Why do SaaS B2B companies rely on LinkedIn?
- Context: LinkedIn users expect to be sold to, meaning a cold email won’t cause upset or an instant unfollow. When you create ads on LinkedIn, they’ll sit next to industry news, workplace discussions, and career tips, making your SaaS ads incredibly relevant.
- Precise Targeting: Targeted LinkedIn campaigns allow you to choose targets based on company size, job functions, member age, job seniority, company industries, and more. Plus, every ad comes with a whole host of valuable data and valuable insights.
- Account Targeting: By uploading a list of company names in LinkedIn’s account targeting feature, the AI will find similar matches across 30 million pages. Lookalike Audience can do the same, except with existing customers or potential buyers.
- Lead Generation: There are hundreds of ways to use lead generation tools to your advantage. You can set ads based on objectives, like website visits or video views, and you can use multiple formats, like InMail and text ads, to reach a wider audience.
- Employees: With property optimized profiles, your employees can become your biggest asset and spokesperson for your company. SaaS businesses can share, post, and create unique ad content that promotes your products, backed by social proof.
Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn promotes professionals who want to make connections with other, like-minded business people. By simply being on LinkedIn, you can increase your selling power, reach, and visibility in your industry.
How to Set the Foundation for Lead Generation
LinkedIn is a great platform for lead generation, but you won’t be able to learn from your marketing campaigns without the right tools. If you’re serious about lead generation, you must use the following tools and software to increase your conversion rate.
- Automation Tools: Lead generation is a lot of work, but automation tools can make it effortless. For example, Saleflow’s LinkedIn automation tool can help you set up an unlimited number of follow-up messages and connection requests to users.
- LinkedIn Showcase: As a separate page from your specific business page, LinkedIn Showcase can feature products and services meant for a different audience.
- Landing Pages: You need an outstanding landing page to sell your products. Software like Landbot® lets you build conversational landing pages in a “choose your own adventure” style guide. This prompts more visitors to see your services as sincere.
- Video and A/B Tests: Shakr®, a video creation software, makes it easy for anyone to create stunning videos, A/B tests, and campaigns that support your business needs.
- Google Analytics: While LinkedIn’s analytic software is good in its own right, Google® Analytics also gives companies the ability to check analytics that affect your page's SEO. Google still ranks social media profiles, so it’s important to pay attention to your SEO.
Before setting up your tools, set business goals that focus on achieving higher conversion rates, LinkedIn specific achievements like a larger network, or involve boosting your overall profits.
7 LinkedIn SaaS Lead Generation Ideas
You’ve got the basics down. Now, it’s time to use what you know about LinkedIn to sell on the platform. The following SaaS lead generation strategies will work on LinkedIn and beyond.
1. Connect With as Many People as Possible
LinkedIn doesn’t punish you for adding too many people to your network, so do not hold back. Unlike Instagram, the quality of your network is less important than its quantity. Feel free to add business leaders across LinkedIn, even if they aren’t people you’d typically sell to.
Since LinkedIn encourages building connections, you can utilize any user’s connection list to find more people to sell to. Automation works wonders with this lead generation strategy because the software can find more potential customers based on who you target.
2. Send Cold Inbox Messages (but do so Intelligently)
Sending cold inbox messages requires some tact and professionalism. You cannot just send a message asking someone to buy your product and expect your SaaS product to sell. However, you can use the following tips to craft the perfect LinkedIn outreach message:
- Be Personable: Address your prospect by their name, but do not act like you know the person. Adding a human element is great, as long as you aren’t too friendly.
- To The Point: Short and sweet is best. Limit yourself to 1 paragraph or 5 sentences.
- Connect First: If you do not have a LinkedIn premium, you’ll have a limited amount of Inmail credits. Connect first, then send an Inmail message to ensure it gets read.
- Common Ground: Scan the person's profile before messaging them to see if you have something in common. Mention that in your message to personalize your messages.
- Call-To-Action: A call-to-action entices your connections to act, especially if it’s time-limited. Ask if they want to have a “virtual coffee date” to set your expectation.
When done right, cold inbox messages can lead to a large number of sales. You can also use automation here to filter through messages and/or send automatic responses.
3. Share Comparison Content From Your Website
Businesses will often spend days comparing SaaS products to find the perfect match. Make the process easy for them by comparing two distinct brands yourself. X vs. Y is a common Google search phrase, and if your content appears on your search engine results, you’ll attract leads.
Make sure to post your comparison content on your website first, so you can share your blog post on LinkedIn. This strategy brings more traffic to your website and LinkedIn page.
4. Offer a Free Trial or Gift-With Purchase
Experienced SaaS marketers know that free trials increase conversion rates. When customers are able to test the software, the reliability of the product speaks for itself. Even if the customer didn’t buy your product, you now have an email you can use to nurture that same lead.
SaaS companies are often successful in converting leads after the free trial stage because they share exclusive coupons or discounts directed to previous customers.
5. Showcase and Leverage Customer Reviews
97% of customers say reviews impact their buying decisions, meaning there’s a one to one correlation between great reviews and higher sales. Ideally, your business will have more than 10 reviews for your customers to look at. If not, you need to ask your buyers for reviews.
Utilize your reviews anywhere you’re able: on your website, social media pages, and ads. The more reviews you garner, the more social proof and trust you’ll earn, leading to more buyers.
6. Run Targeted Ads and Multi-Channel Techniques
Use LinkedIn’s targeted ad marketing platform to promote your product to more people. When creating targeted ads, be mindful of:
- Location
- Company
- Age and Gender
- Education
- Job Experience
- Interests
Your targeted ads will be more effective if you utilize multi-channel marketing techniques, like creating content that’s specific to your audience and A/B tests that determine the best ads. Only ad 2-3 targeting facets to your campaign to avoid limiting who sees your ads.
7. Create or Join a SaaS LinkedIn Group
LinkedIn Groups is one of the most underutilized SaaS marketing channels. However, groups are filled with potential leads who need answers to industry questions and require valuable content. If you prefer to create your own group, make sure it has a SaaS-relevant name.
Whether you join an established group or make your own, you can build authority by interacting with group members, sharing relevant content, and adding members to your network,
Start Implementing These Tactics to See Results
SaaS companies need to utilize state-of-the-art marketing techniques to sell more products, and LinkedIn can help.
By selling to businesses directly, SaaS companies can increase their conversion rate and reach more customers.
If you want to learn even more ways to sell to your customers, head to the SmartBiz® Learning Center and read our guides.
