Case Study: How We Increased LinkedIn Followers 5X in 6 Months

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LinkedIn is an essential platform for many B2B companies, and there are several reasons why:

  • 4 out of 5 people on LinkedIn “drive business decisions.” (Source)
  • 33% of B2B decision makers use LinkedIn to research purchases. (Source) 
  • 80% of B2B social media leads come from LinkedIn. (Source) 

There is no denying that LinkedIn is one of the most effective social media lead generators for B2B marketers. Since LinkedIn allows users to generate content and create engagement, it makes sense for those involved in the B2B industry to remain active on LinkedIn. 

Recently, our team at Green Apple collaborated on a strategy to enhance our LinkedIn presence that increased our followers by more than 500 in less than six months. 

The Challenge: Testing Ideas to Transform Our Strategies

We often help clients use LinkedIn as a marketing tool and find effective ways to optimize B2B LinkedIn pages for business. We also believe to serve our clients effectively, we should always be looking for ways to test ideas and strategies ourselves. Understanding the ways brands use LinkedIn gives us insight into how we can integrate new approaches into the social marketing strategy we create for clients.

In May 2021, we sat down to develop a year-long plan that would help us learn new tactics and achieve specific growth, interactions, and engagement goals. We started with a little more than 100 followers on our LinkedIn page. 

Our Approach: Collaboration & Content to Accelerate Connection & Growth

To test ideas and strategies, we worked through the same strategic marketing process we use with our clients: 

  • We identified a goal and created a feasible strategy — We started by setting a goal to have 1,000 followers by May 2022. This seemed like an audacious but achievable goal. We also wanted to develop a strategy that would be reasonable for our team to execute. We know our team is primarily focused on client goals, so we collaborated on a feasible strategy that was highly achievable. 
  • We used our team strengths to devise a plan — The strategy we created was built to maximize our team’s unique strengths and gifts. One of the things that makes Green Apple unique is that our team is diverse in experience and expertise. We wanted to highlight this by encouraging team members to be present on LinkedIn. We also wanted to give our insights into the marketing industry, share what our team members are learning, and highlight the milestones our team reaches. 
  • We created a team-oriented approach — We knew that collective buy-in would be essential for achieving our goal. From the very beginning, we rallied the team behind the goal and provided ways to engage with our content, share their own content, and grow our network. We also wanted to share content highlighting the “everyday” aspects of our team — including behind-the-scenes photos and personnel updates from the Green Apple Orchard. 
  • We evaluated and re-evaluated our content each month — It’s important to constantly measure your efforts and tweak your strategy based on what you’re learning. Each month, our team would spend time reviewing the content we posted. The insights we discovered based on the performance of the various topics or types of posts allowed us to adjust our strategy along the way.

The Results: Discovering the “Link” Between Intentional Effort & Exponential Growth

Six months into the strategy, we’re well on our way to achieving our annual growth goal. We’ve also experienced exponential growth in our engagement. We’ve increased our reactions by 4,872%, comments by 7,800%, and shares by 2,566%. Along with these quantitative results, we’ve also created deeper, more meaningful connections with people on LinkedIn we hadn’t experienced before. 

If you want to learn more about our approach or discover how you can leverage LinkedIn for growth, reach out to us to help establish a strategic social media plan. Also — if we haven’t connected on LinkedIn yet, we’d love to share our content with you. You can find our LinkedIn page here.

How to Write a Case Study that Brings in Business

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On your list of marketing goals, building trust with your audience should be somewhere near the top. As most customers will not consider working with you without thoroughly vetting others’ experience with your company, customer reviews are your first step. But, what if you want to take it a step further? That’s where case studies come in.

Case studies are some of the most beneficial assets that your company can have in its marketing toolbox. Not only are you featuring a positive experience with your company, but you’re explaining to your audience exactly how that customer benefitted—with statistics, quotes, and visual elements. To help you build your next case study, we’ve put together a few things that you should consider along the way, including how to get started and how to use it to attract new leads. Here’s how to write a case study that you’re proud of.

First, What is a Case Study?

A case study is an in-depth response project that allows you to highlight your business, products, or services and your real-life customers to share their experiences.

The opinions and stories of customers have incredible power over your prospects. Based on what people see or hear about a brand determines what judgment they have or what action they will, or won’t, take. Over time, by incorporating positive and genuine feedback into your various marketing strategies, you will gain more customers and drive more revenue.

Where Can I Use a Case Study?

You can use (and reuse) your case study in numerous forms that will attract your ideal client. The beauty of case studies is that it’s not what you are sharing about your service or product, it’s about what others are sharing, automatically creating an element of storytelling. 

Prove to potential customers that you have what they need by accentuating positive evidence through your:

  • Website: Often, your website is the primary location where potential consumers research information. By supplying helpful and authentic testimonials, you can help attract your ideal audience. 
  • Marketing Collateral: When creating your collateral pieces, use statistics or quotes found from the study to build your credibility. 
  • Social Media: You can design engaging graphics by utilizing takeaways or numbers found in your study.
  • Videos: Videos on all social platforms are becoming more and more popular each day. Repurpose your study results into movement creations with animated infographics, typography videos, or testimonials. 

Where Do I Start?

You first want to determine the purpose of your case study. In most cases, the purpose is to demonstrate how a common issue of your target audience is solved. An efficient way to determine what these issues are? Ensure your entire team is actively collaborating to compare existing or potential problems. 

After establishing the purpose, other key elements you want to implement are to:

  • Find the right candidate: The person or company you choose to focus the study on makes or breaks your case study. Choose someone who is willing to (enthusiastically) provide you with all the necessary information.
  • Emphasize your product or service: Be sure to let your audience know exactly which services or products you utilized in the case study. This way, they will become more familiar with your brand, and which features they are initially interested in pursuing. 
  • Be creative with your visuals: Did you help with a business’ website? Did a client have a transformative impact? Include content, photos, or screenshots of the candidate results to make the case study easier to follow and more attractive to view. 
  • Display numerical results: Numbers don’t lie, so it’s important to incorporate the “hard” facts into your final study. Present your impressive stats with pride, there’s a reason people like you and others should know that, too.  

Build a Reputation Management Strategy with Green Apple Strategy

Interested in taking your case study to the next level? Green Apple helps businesses like you improve their marketing strategies. Contact us today to schedule a consultation. We’re happy to learn more about you and help you accomplish your desired marketing goals.