What is your marketing budget this quarter? How much do you spend on ad campaigns, email lists, or mailing lists?
Here’s a secret to boost your budget: you may already be sitting on a goldmine of untapped leads, hidden in plain sight.
You just need a little guidance to know where and how to access leads
What is this goldmine? It’s a little thing known as social media, especially your professional network on LinkedIn.
Whether you’re growing a small business, recruiting, or working in sales or marketing, you can tap into the high-value connections you already have.
We’ll share some quick and easy tips for making the most of those connections and working beyond them.
You can also use ChatGPT to optimize your LinkedIn profile, attracting even more leads—we’ll show you how, below.
The best part is, these tactics are free, at least to start.
Become a Prospector to Access Leads in Your Own Network
Nearly half of LinkedIn users have between 301 and 999 connections, according to a report from 99 Firms. Career coaches target 1,000 connections as a “solid number” for professional networking.
This means that most LinkedIn users have hundreds or even thousands of potential leads just waiting for them. But you’ll have to put in some legwork to benefit from them.
Finding leads isn’t just about numbers; it’s also about relevance. First, take some time to develop your ideal customer profile (ICP).
🎯Define Your Ideal Customer
Before you start searching for leads, clarify who you’re trying to reach. Your ICP should include the following:
✅Job titles (e.g., Marketing Director, Product Manager)
✅Industry sectors (e.g., SaaS, health tech, education)
✅Company size
✅Geographic location (if relevant)
✅Pain points they likely face
Once you know your ICP well, you can search for them.
🎯Audit Your Network
Now that you know who you’re looking for, you can use LinkedIn’s filters to sift your connections as if you’re mining for gold.
Start with your first-degree connections. Go to “My Network” → “Connections” and use the search bar and filters to identify people who match your ICP.
🎯Reach Out Mindfully
Next, reach out to each relevant contact with a warm message that references how you know them, whether it’s from a past job, a networking event, a mutual group, or something else.
Then offer something of value—a free consultation, a helpful resource, or an informational article link, for example.
The key here is to personalize your correspondence and make it relevant. Avoid generic sales pitches at all costs.
Follow the Gold Rush to the New Territories
First-degree connections are a great start, but LinkedIn’s usefulness in lead generation isn’t limited to your own network connections. What about all those ideal prospects who are just one or two connections away?
LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator can help you find potential leads outside your network, filtering users by demographics like years of experience, number of employees, decision-maker status, and keywording of bios posted content.
Unlike the Connections search described above, Sales Navigator is a paid tool.
There are other free and affordable tools you can use if Sales Navigator (starting at $99.99 per month) is beyond your budget.
You can use a service like GrowMeOrganic for “LinkedIn Prospecting” to target prospects, then extract contact information from LinkedIn profiles and interface with a CRM database.
For example, you can harvest their posted phone numbers and email addresses, then reach out using automation services.
Similarly, Hunter.io can find email addresses connected to LinkedIn profiles, and Phantombuster can scrape lead data and automate searches.
Attract Leads with an AI-Optimized Profile
You’re not the only one scouring LinkedIn. Businesses and individuals in need of specific products or services are, too. Others may be searching for experts or collaborators. Optimizing your profile to be compelling, discoverable, and conversion-ready can go a long way in helping them find you.
🔸Use ChatGPT to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT are fantastic resources, allowing you to optimize your profile content quickly and easily.
For example, you can copy and paste your profile into ChatGPT along with the prompt “Optimize this profile for LinkedIn.”
If you can get more specific, do so!
For example, you might say, “optimize this LinkedIn profile to generate freelance copywriting leads” or “optimize this profile to generate interest in [type of services] for [target audience].”
Phrases like “Make it professional, personable, and persuasive” can help, too.
🔸Don’t Forget These LinkedIn Profile Sections
When you set up your LinkedIn profile, you’ll be prompted to input information into the basic sections, but there are numerous optional sections you should cultivate as well. These include:
✅Headline: Use keywords plus outcomes (e.g., “Helping EdTech brands grow with SEO-driven content.”)
✅About: Tell your story, highlight results, and add a call to action (CTA).
✅Featured: Pin lead magnets, case studies, or service pages.
✅Experience: Focus on outcomes, not just duties.
✅Recommendations and skills endorsements: Ask past clients or colleagues for brief testimonials; ChatGPT can help draft the ask.
You can optimize your LinkedIn with individual profile sections, such as your Headline, About section, or Featured section, by copying and pasting them into an AI text generator as described above.
You can also ask ChatGPT to help you write polite and persuasive requests for recommendations or skills endorsements.
Networks and Email are Better Together
LinkedIn is just one point of contact. Once you’ve identified a potential lead, you’ll want to follow up off-platform. If your connection publicly displays their email address, follow up with an email.
Why?
Some people are more responsive to emails than to in-network messages. Not everyone checks LinkedIn regularly.
Email also gives you more freedom to write a longer message.
As an additional point of contact, email reinforces your message and preserves your reach if certain contacts become unavailable on LinkedIn.
Finally, email addresses can be integrated into automated workflows that allow you to track engagement
If your LinkedIn outreach is a second-degree connection or a cold call, you can send a “soft” follow-up after they accept your LinkedIn request.
You can also email contacts who don’t respond to your LinkedIn request. An email subject line like “Following up on our LinkedIn connection” or “Saw your post on [topic]” might jog their memory and move them to action.
You can also collect email addresses wherever you have a social presence. For example, you can set up a Linktr.ee—a landing page you can use across platforms—and turn on the “Subscribe” prompt to collect email addresses.
This lead capture system can preserve your reach if a particular social platform is shuttered, changes the algorithm, or removes your account.
Engagement to Opportunity
Just as you optimize your LinkedIn profile, you should strive to optimize your other social media channels as well.
Why?
Not every lead converts immediately. Sometimes, you may need to “woo” them with artful, curated, and informative content.
When they engage with your content—liking a post, commenting on it, sharing it, or following your feed—it’s a signal that they may be interested enough to become a customer.
Generate conversations with content such as the following:
👉Ask questions or propose a poll
👉Post case studies and success stories
👉Share helpful tips or industry insights
👉Comment thoughtfully and respectfully on others’ posts.
When someone engages with your content, message them within 24 to 48 hours, while your brand is still top-of-mind.
Thank them for their thoughts and perhaps ask a related question to encourage a reply. A conversation could lead to conversions.
The good news is you don’t have to spend hours sending direct messages.
Platforms like ManyChat allow you to automate messages based on engagement.
For example, you can send automatic messages when someone replies to your post or replies with a specific keyword. This can include a download link for a lead generator.
Remember, the goal is to start conversations, not to make a sale immediately. Avoid pushy, sales-first conversations early on.
Relationships built over time can eventually lead to high-value conversions and word-of-mouth referrals.
Key Takeaways
Lead generation doesn’t necessarily mean paying for ads or spending time on cold contacts. There are hundreds or thousands of leads waiting for you on your current networks, especially LinkedIn.
There are more just on the periphery—unconnected users who fit your ICP. Audit your current connections, then use tools to reach out for more.
Don’t forget that email and other social networks are still important. Look for engagement that signals interest, then slowly court your prospect to build a relationship. Avoid pushy sales tactics during this phase.
Finally, you can use AI and automated tools to save time and ensure seamless communication. This can help you scale your efforts as your business grows.
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