LinkedIn has become a powerful social media tool for various businesses to reach their potential buyers or clients and other professionals. It has evolved to be much more than just a platform for recruitment. Companies can leverage various features available on LinkedIn as part of their marketing efforts. According to Content Marketing Institute, LinkedIn is the most popular platform for B2B marketers, followed by Twitter. With 740 million active users, LinkedIn gives B2B marketers opportunities to create brand awareness, generate leads, share content, build connections and sell their products or services.
Most of the time businesses have their profiles on LinkedIn but do not leverage features that can help them in their marketing efforts. Then some businesses are not aware of how LinkedIn marketing can help them. In this article, we will discuss different ways in which marketers can use LinkedIn for B2B marketing. If you doubt incorporating LinkedIn marketing as part of your overall marketing efforts, then maybe this will help you decide.
Here are some best practices for B2B marketing with LinkedIn.
Create a LinkedIn Showcase Page
Showcase pages are an addition to your LinkedIn Company Page. Why do you need showcase pages? Showcase pages allow you to target a specific audience by giving them the information they need about your company, initiatives, products or services. You can highlight an individual product that caters to this specific group. Then share content that is relevant to this audience. These pages can help B2B businesses gather better quality leads. It is also useful for businesses that have more than one buyer personas. The audiences who are interested in some specific products, services, offerings or initiatives of a company can follow that particular Showcase Page.
You can create a Showcase page by going to your Company Page > Admin Tools > Create a Showcase Page. There are many features available on Showcase pages like Page analytics to help you see the performance of LinkedIn pages. It can also help you manage your social media posts by allowing integration with tools like Hootsuite. When you create a Showcase Page ensure that you add all the relevant information and do not leave it incomplete. Personalize the page based on your buyer persona. Share content that is relevant to the purpose of that page. The Showcase Pages can be found under ‘Affiliated Pages’ on your main LinkedIn Page.
Optimize LinkedIn profile for search engines
SEO or search engine optimization is as important for your LinkedIn profile as it is for your website. Marketers put efforts into optimizing their websites for search engines yet overlook their social media platforms. LinkedIn is among the top 5 sites that Google indexes. You can use this to become more visible to your target audience. Make a list of all the important keywords and phrases that your audience uses to look for products you have to offer.
Use these keywords and phrases throughout your LinkedIn profile. Incorporate them into your profile, headlines, summary, and job description. Also, make sure to add images like display and background photos on your profile. Using the right keywords will make your profile visible to the people looking for it.
Join and participate in LinkedIn groups
LinkedIn groups allow you to connect with professionals from your industry. Members of the group can share interesting content and have discussions. This helps you find what is going on in the industry and stay updated. You can also share your content with the group. Various industry experts can help educate other members of the group. When you are a part of a LinkedIn group you can attract quality leads by sharing content. People or other businesses interested in your products or services can connect with you.
By joining these groups, you can also establish yourself as a thought leader and build a good reputation for your business. If you just join a group that is not going to help. Ensure that you are actively participating in the group by sharing content, having conversations, commenting, and more. Along with joining a group, you can also create your group. Add people from your industry and connections who are interested in sharing content and educating themselves. B2B marketers should join relevant groups to find valuable connections, attract quality leads, and create brand awareness.
Leverage LinkedIn Advertisements
There are many platforms that you can utilize for online advertisement. But LinkedIn ads are an ideal option for any B2B company. DataReportal, Hootsuite and We Are Social reported that 727 million people can be reached through LinkedIn advertising. In addition, LinkedIn reported that marketing solutions increased by 50%. This increase is because advertisers trust LinkedIn ads to generate warm leads.
One of the key benefits of LinkedIn ads is the targeting option. You can be very specific about the type of people you want to advertise to. LinkedIn ads allow you to target people based on their industry, job title, education, company size, and more. There are many criteria that you can select to match your buyer personas. When you target the right audience, you can get better quality leads and also save money. You display ads only to people who need the product or services you offer.
Not sure how to get started with LinkedIn Ads? Here is a beginner's guide to help you with LinkedIn advertising.
Share content regularly
LinkedIn is a powerful platform when it comes to content marketing. According to HubSpot around 15% of marketers are creating content for LinkedIn. HubSpot also reported that traffic from LinkedIn generated the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate, even more than Twitter and Facebook. This goes to show that you can capture quality leads on LinkedIn. A great way to attract these leads is through your content. If you are publishing blogs, then ensure that you share them on LinkedIn. You can also share industry news, updates, helpful videos, company updates, and more. The aim should be to educate your audience. Content should be shared regularly to keep your audience interested and engaged.
Add a LinkedIn Page Follow Button to your website
If you have a LinkedIn page for your business, ensure that you add a Follow button to your website. This will help you make your LinkedIn page visible to the users on your website. The traffic from your website can be directed to your LinkedIn profile. The users visiting your website can be constantly connected to your business through LinkedIn. This is a good way to build more connections on your LinkedIn profile.
Analyze your LinkedIn marketing efforts
It is very important to keep track of the progress you make in your LinkedIn marketing. LinkedIn has page analytics and several other reporting tools that can help you measure your performance. You can see data about the number of followers, content, engagement, and more. If you are advertising on LinkedIn, you can also find an in-depth report on your ads. Monitor these reports frequently to keep track of your performance. Data analysis is important for any marketing efforts. Don’t avoid measuring your marketing performance.
There are many features you will discover once you start with your LinkedIn marketing. The list above can help you kick-start your LinkedIn marketing. If you are a B2B company then these tips are important and should be incorporated into your marketing efforts. LinkedIn reported that their Marketing Solutions are growing by 40% every year in 2020. Many companies are utilizing this platform. Any B2B company needs to utilize LinkedIn to build connections, create brand awareness, and stay ahead of the competition.
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