The Top LinkedIn Features to Drive Growth

LinkedIn is more than just a digital, static resume.

Used the right way, the platform has plenty to offer both marketing and sales teams.

It has plenty of features that can help boost your combined marketing and sales efforts. On top of the more organic format of liking, commenting and sharing, you can use these top LinkedIn features to reel in leads and potential partners.

5 LinkedIn Features for Marketing & Sales

#1: InMail and Sponsored InMail

LinkedIn isn’t just about shared posts and engagement. You can also use the platform to connect with promising accounts and partnerships. 

InMail is LinkedIn’s messaging feature that lets you contact people you’re not connected with (i.e. your leads). 

With LinkedIn Premium, you’ll receive 5 InMail messages every month. With Sales Navigator, you get 20 InMail messages a month. 

*If this isn’t enough messages for you, you can use a LinkedIn email finder to extract the email address of your leads so that you can email them instead. 

You can also use sponsored InMail messages, which is when you pay to have your messages shown to specific users on LinkedIn. This is also an effective option for marketing through the platform, although it will be an added expense. 

#2: Search by 2nd Degree Connections + Title

Use LinkedIn’s search feature to quickly identify potential partnerships. 

Instead of limiting your lead generation or marketing efforts to strangers within your target audience, you can add a different tactic: connect with the people most likely to respond. 

• Search for a specific title or role on LinkedIn
• Narrow your search by “2nd degree Connection”
• Narrow the list further with industry and location filters
• Reach out with either a Connection request or an InMail message, mentioning your shared Connections and why you’d like to connect with them. 

This tactic is difficult to scale, but it works for both marketing and sales teams — and particularly well if you’re looking for ways to work together. 

On top of 2nd & 3rd degree Connections, use the How You’re Connected tool on individual profiles. This will introduce you to other members through your various connections.

When you go to a person’s profile, you can see who in your network is connected with that person and what they share in common, like a current employer or alma mater. 

Searching within 2nd degree connections is a great way to know who else might be interested in what you’re selling. Looking at How You’re Connected is a great opportunity to mention the connection in your initial outreach. 

#3: Groups

For a more organic approach to sales and marketing, join a LinkedIn group. Not only can you connect with professionals with shared interests who are in the same industry, but you can give your brand a wider reach. You may even find some valuable content and partnership opportunities. 

You can learn what people want and need by listening to their struggles and questions shared in these groups. So you can improve your marketing strategy and offer solutions directly to individuals. 

LinkedIn lets you join up to 50 groups. Start with a handful and spend a few extra minutes every day engaging with them. After a few weeks, you’ll be ready for your own post. 

#4: Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a premium account that’s perfect for your next marketing campaign or new lead gen efforts. 

For example, you can target specific accounts so they see certain content you post. Or you can use the Buyer Circle, which lets you see all of the main stakeholders and decision-makers involved in a particular deal.

#5: Advanced Search on Sales Nav

When you have the Sales Navigator account, one of the most useful features is the Advanced Search.

With this lesser-known of the LinkedIn features, you can use the filters to create highly targeted lead lists and cold email campaigns: something like “VP of Sales at software companies with 100-500 employees in California”.

The filters you can use include:

• Job function and title
• Location and industry
• Company size
• Keywords
• People who have changed jobs in the past 90 days
• People who have posted on LinkedIn in the past 30 days
• People who follow your company on LinkedIn

Sales Nav lets you to easily find and connect with LinkedIn professionals who are in your target audience. 

Using the Advanced Search feature, you can search for specific groups of people, save them to a dedicated list, and then contact them directly via InMail or email (once you export their emails). 

How do you like to use LinkedIn Sales Navigator? What about other LinkedIn features?