A Guide to the LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI)

Everyone knows that LinkedIn is the Facebook for professionals. 

If you’re part of the B2B industry, LinkedIn is the best way to connect with the right people in the business world. But are you making the most out of your LinkedIn page? A single LinkedIn tool can tell you exactly how your page ranks against others, but users often overlook it.

Looking at your Social Selling Index Score

There’s no tool nearly as comprehensive as the LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI) when it comes to LinkedIn marketing.

What exactly is the LinkedIn SSI score, and do we actually need it? The short answer is yes, and the reason is pretty simple: Your LinkedIn score tells you how effective your branding is compared to other businesses in your industry. The score is set on a scale of 0 to 100.

If your strategy involves creating a presence in LinkedIn for lead generation, then you might need to start looking at your LinkedIn score and tweak your plans from there.

How does LinkedIn SSI work?

LinkedIn SSI score works by gauging how well you or your company performs in four key variables, also called the LinkedIn SSI pillars:

1st Pillar: Create A Professional Brand

LinkedIn first takes a look at the basic setup of your page. Have you completed all the sections? Is your display photo and banner updated? Before anything else, spend some time to curate your LinkedIn page – it’s the first thing visitors will see. Remember: first impressions last!

2nd Pillar: Find the Right People

LinkedIn’s framework is focused on connecting with people in your industry. There are currently billions of users on the page. To improve your LinkedIn SSI score, go ahead, and send invitations or start conversations. After all, business is all about networking. 

3rd Pillar: Engage with Insights

The third pillar measures the value of your content through the engagement rates of your posts. This comes naturally with publishing meaningful posts. According to LinkedIn, users should be able to discover and share valuable information to establish or cultivate relationships. Circling back to the last pillar, don’t be afraid to reach out and share insights with another professional brand in the industry!

4th Pillar: Build Relationships

Doing all the three other pillars will help you culminate the fourth pillar: Build strong professional relationships. The fourth pillar rates how efficient you are at growing your network and reaching out not only to prospects but to people who can introduce you to these prospects.

The maximum points you or your business can get per pillar is 25, and if you sum up all the pillars, the highest SSI score you can obtain is 100. The platform then crunches these numbers to calculate your SSI score. 

Thankfully, LinkedIn is fully transparent about the score you get for each pillar so that you can pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses.

How can I improve my LinkedIn score?

Your SSI score is updated daily, which gives you plenty of opportunities to work on your numbers. If you’re serious about growing your business and improving your SSI score, you need to:

1. Level up your profile

Make sure that your profile is updated and curated. Add as much value as you can to your profile.

2. Be active

You need to be active on the platform if you want to build meaningful relationships with other users.

3. Publish Content

Content matters. Generate valuable insights through your posts for better engagement rates and to establish your credibility. 

4. Network effectively

Get in touch with people and start conversations. Who knows, your next client might be the person you’re about to send a connection invite to.

Key Takeaways

Closely monitoring your LinkedIn SSI Score will allow you to beef up your marketing strategies by letting you see how effective your branding is on the platform.

The best way to make the most out of it is by boosting through the key pillars: An effective brand, connecting with the right people, paying attention to insights, and building genuine relationships with fellow professionals. Remember: Your score updates daily, so it pays to be consistent!

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