5 tips for using social media to advance capture in the GovCon market

The number of government customers using social media to communicate their objectives and requirements is growing yearly, and LinkedIn is their social media tool of choice. In his annual 2022/2023 census of government customers using LinkedIn, Mark Amtower found “2.72 million Feds who are LinkedIn members.” He also found that “DOD and the uniformed services have 242 company pages and civilian agencies have about 320 company pages with a total of over 560 company pages.”

While their use of social media is rising, getting face time with government customers is getting harder. Agency security restricts drop-in meetings, and many government customers have limited office hours, usually taken up with in-house meetings. Therefore, LinkedIn and other social media platforms have become increasingly important to starting and maintaining relationships and getting the information needed to advance your capture.

5 tips for using LinkedIn to advance your bid capture

1. Research: Use social media to acquire as much background information as you can about your new or existing customers within the confines of your schedule. Review the agency’s LinkedIn page and the customers’ posts.
2. Initiate connections: Initiate a new connection by sending a direct message on LinkedIn explaining who you are, why you want to connect, and why the connection benefits the government.
3. Widen contacts: Use a connection with one person within the agency to learn more about their contacts until you’re connected with that 360^o circle of stakeholders who influence your bid. Acknowledge each new connection with a thank you and specialized message.
4. Engage contacts: Expand your relationship by responding to their posts so that you create a dialog with all those concerned with your account or a specific bid. After you connect, start a conversation about their requirements and objectives.
5. Deepen the relationship: Leverage your connections to set up in-person meetings. Continue using LinkedIn and in-person meetings to move your team from a relatively unknown position to a favored one with the government customers supporting the bid.

Summary

LinkedIn and other social media tools are growing in popularity among government customers, so consider using them as just one more tool in your capture tools arsenal.

By Brenda Crist, Vice President at Lohfeld Consulting Group, MPA, CPP APMP Fellow

Lohfeld Consulting Group has proven results specializing in helping companies create winning captures and proposals. As the premier capture and proposal services consulting firm focused exclusively on government markets, we provide expert assistance to government contractors in Capture Planning and Strategy, Proposal Management and Writing, Capture and Proposal Process and Infrastructure, and Training. In the last 3 years, we’ve supported over 550 proposals winning more than $170B for our clients—including the Top 10 government contractors. Lohfeld Consulting Group is your “go-to” capture and proposal source! Start winning by contacting us at www.lohfeldconsulting.com and join us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

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