How to Measure Your Social Selling Content on LinkedIn
One vital component of social selling is the ability to gain trust by establishing oneself as a credible adviser and thought leader. However, the process of becoming a thought leader can take some time and it can be difficult to track your effectiveness if you are just getting started. As a result, I’ve compiled a list of three simple ways to measure your impact and growth as an industry thought leader on LinkedIn.
Before we discuss measurement, it is important to remember consistent, high-value content publication should be your main focus to start. While it might take a few extra minutes, the benefits are huge. For one, if you are posting content, your name will appear more frequently in the stream of content and as a result, you will stay top of mind with your audience.
Good content publication also helps you enhance your authenticity and helps you establish yourself as a thought leader. When you post content that other users find valuable, they will begin to associate that value with you, as you are the one that provided it. Whether it takes the form of engagement on others’ posts, status updates, or LinkedIn Group discussions, content publication is the first step.
The next step is to measure the results of your efforts. If you are just getting started, you can measure the effectiveness of your content – and your progress of becoming a thought leader in three easy ways.
1. Expressions of Interest
Expressions of interest are, simply stated, interactions on your content. Whether that is a like or comment on a status update or even a click through on your link, a measure of authority can be tracked with the increase in number of people who are engaging with your content and showing their interest in what you have to say.
2. Who’s Viewed My Profile
After users view your content, they will most often have an interest in who you are. Track the number of people who have viewed your profile and how they found you. This area offers valuable insight for LinkedIn users and is a great indicator of whether your content is leading to personal interest.
3. Reach
Finally, users who value what you have to say will want to connect with you so they can more easily stay on top of your content. Track this by noting how your network is growing as a result of inbound requests to connect and how that correlates to your content publication.
Above all, your goal with content publication for thought leadership should be for others to read your content, find value in it, and then contact you for more information about the subject matter at hand. Take time to review the three metrics above as you publish content, and revise your content plan to include strategy that helps you achieve the best results for each. Doing so will help you increase your value as a thought leader while creating valuable relationships in parallel, helping you achieve tangible social sales success overall.
(Editor's Note: This post was originally posted on rFactr's blog. rFactr's social sales program provides sales organizations with an easy way to activate their team on social channels, enabling them to connect with prospects and begin the sales process earlier in the sales cycle. Learn more... )
