LinkedIn will tell you that its Social Selling Index, launched in 2014, is a measure of how successful a company or an individual are at developing their brand, connecting with the right people, engaging with insights, and establishing relationships. The combination of these four points let others, as well as yourself, establish how well you are effectively using the LinkedIn platform. Each one of the 4 points carries 25% of your overall score. LinkedIn also claims that their statistics show that as a salesperson’s social selling index rises, so does their sales success.
How does this benefit your business?
According to LinkedIn the higher your SSI, the more opportunities there are than for those with a lower score, because those with higher scores are better placed to make new leads and sales because you have connected with the right people, established your brand, engaged with insights and analytics and fostered relationships.
How does it work?
LinkedIn’s SSI scores you or your company perform in 4 key areas. These are;
- Create a Professional Brand
- Find the Right People
- Engage with Insights
- Build Strong Relationships
Create a Professional Brand.
LinkedIn looks to see if your profile that you’ve put together is complete and looks professional. This includes the use of a cover photo, how many articles posts you’ve created and how many page views you are getting as well as how many followers you’ve gained.
Find the Right People
LinkedIn wants you find the right people to connect with and to reach out to relevant people with insights.
Engage with Insights
LinkedIn defines this as “Discover and share valuable information to initiate or maintain a relationship.” This measures engagement, in terms of the number of shares, likes and comments your posts are receiving.
Build Strong Relationships.
This measures how successful you are at expanding your network to not only reach direct prospects, but also those who can introduce you to prospects.
LinkedIn then uses all information received and calculates your score by measuring performance in each of the four areas.
Need more guidance? I can help you maximise your SSI and increase your effectiveness on Linkedin. Message me directly for more.