Social Selling ~ 7 min

What is a LinkedIn SSI score and how to increase it?

Sales Team, Experts in business development, Sociabble
Sales Team Experts in business development

LinkedIn SSI is all the rage these days, at least when it comes to Social Selling. And though previously reserved for paying members, LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index (SSI) is now available for all users. In this article, you’ll learn exactly what the Linkedin SSI is, why it’s important, and how to increase your own SSI score.

The LinkedIn Social Selling Index is a number that baffles many—what does it mean, how is it calculated, is it even helpful? Well, when it comes to generating leads and making sales online, the answer is an emphatic “yes.”

We’ll discuss all of this and more in this post, and we’ll offer a solution for helping you to get your Social Selling initiative off the ground and into high gear!

What is the Social Selling Index / Sales Index?

The Social Selling Index provides sales professionals with insights into their Social Selling activity, enabling them to set targets and track their development as social sellers.

The impact of Social Selling is no small matter, given that sales professionals who take advantage of data, insights, and knowledge online are six times more likely to beat their quota than salespeople with basic or no social media skills. Scored out of 100, it shows LinkedIn users how they rate against industry peers and their own network.

Users are able to track how their SSI develops over time, as well as how they perform in four key areas: establishing a professional brand, finding the right people, engaging with insights, and building relationships.

How can I see my SSI number on LinkedIn?

This is an obvious question, but an important one, and luckily, the answer is quite simple. To begin, log into your LinkedIn account as you would for normal use.

Then, go to the SSI page under “Sales” here : https://www.linkedin.com/sales/ssi 

On this page, you will find information related to your performance on LinkedIn compared to your peers for both your network and your sector. You will see the average SSI of the group, your ranking in the X%, and your progress across the week.

If you have your job title and industry set on your profile, the SSI page will tell you the average SSI score for that position and industry. LinkedIn will also tell you the average SSI of your network, and how you rank. And if you happen to be one of those lucky and/or talented individuals who rank in the top 1%, congratulations—you’re officially considered a Thought Leader.

Linkedin SSI Score

What is a good LinkedIn SSI score?

So what is considered a good score? What’s exceptional and what’s average? Well, it’s pretty straightforward.

The closer your LinkedIn SSI score is to 100, the better you’re performing, as compared to your peers.

LinkedIn recommends that industry leaders have an SSI score of greater than 75 to stand out in the crowd and become a true Thought Leader in the field. So if you have a position of leadership at your company or in your industry, it might be worth making the effort to bump up that score at least to the 75 mark.

But you don’t have to be an industry leader to have a high score. You can also position yourself as a Thought Leader in the field no matter your role, with the right strategy and content.

Does LinkedIn SSI really matter?

According to LinkedIn, the higher the user’s score, the more successful that person or company is at reaching their sales goals. They also claim that active LinkedIn users gain 45% more sales opportunities, are 51% more likely to hit their quotas, and are 80% more productive. So yes, the SSI score is indicative of effectiveness and success.

Linkedin SSI

For example, Freshworks, a Sociabble client, was able to raise their LinkedIn SSI score to 73.2%, which represented an increase of +.4 in just 3 months by using the Sociabble platform to launch their social selling program.

This, coupled with +515 new leads generated over roughly the same period, made it clear that Social Selling was doing its job. The increase in SSI score was linked to better performance.

Moreover, SSI is also a performance indicator in Sales Navigator, LinkedIn’s paid subscription for salespeople engaged in prospecting. Having a good SSI score will allow you to stand out on the platform.

How to increase your LinkedIn SSI score in 4 easy steps

So we know SSI score matters. But what can you do to actually increase it? Well, never fear.

There are a few simple, practical steps you can take to boost your score and get it up where you feel it needs to be.

Step 1: Thoroughly complete your LinkedIn profile

Make sure you have a professional profile photo (plain background, correct outfit, preferably smiling face), your job title under the name, completed description with skills, recommendations, etc. Your account is like a business card that must be complete, clear, and pleasant to browse.

Step 2: Develop your professional network

Find the right profiles to complete your network, interact with people in your network (comment, react, share their posts, etc.). This will allow you to engage in conversation and to build relationships that will prove fruitful and relevant.

Step 3:  Be active on LinkedIn

Show your presence by sharing and commenting on relevant content adding elements specific to your expertise. In order to launch a successful Social Selling program, combine curation and employee advocacy to share high-quality information so that prospects say yay or nay with more confidence, including industry news, thought pieces, and interesting data.

Note: It’s important to write publications and articles yourself. Talking about your experiences, your successes, or simply giving your point of view allows you to remain active and thus, increase your SSI score.

Increase Linkedin SSI

Step 4: Communicate regularly with your customers and prospects

In order to build strong relationships with your prospects and clients, maintain a steady connection. Stay in touch, reach out. You will expand your network to not only reach new direct prospects, but also those who can introduce you to new ones via their network.

How to reach the next level in lead generation and tracking

No matter your industry or sector, Social Selling is a critical part of any sales tool kit. A strong LinkedIn SSI score is part and parcel of the business these days. But is having a high SSI enough on its own? How do you monitor progress and keep track of fresh leads?

In short, you need a digital tool that can help you generate and track leads online, creating trusting relationships that can transition into actual sales over time.

With Sociabble, you can do all this and more. The platform allows you to monitor new leads with its lead tracking tool, determine which content has generated the most leads, see how leads have passed through company assets, and follow the progress of sales reps. Sociabble allows you to track and measure all of this data.

It can also be useful for measuring the proportion of current deals that have been influenced by the Social Selling program, by monitoring the contacts of current dealmakers that have clicked on content shared by employees on social networks.

If you’d like to know more about how Sociabble can help you deploy your Social Selling program, you can sign up for a free demo.

Sociabble has already helped dozens of companies such as Generali, Orange Business Services, and Freshworks, in over 180 countries worldwide.

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