Why you can’t afford to overlook LinkedIn for B2B marketing

For businesses that market themselves to other businesses, LinkedIn is the perfect social media platform. It consists of over a billion users all there to grow their professional network and interact with others in their industry.

Once you get started, LinkedIn business-to-business (B2B) marketing is fairly intuitive. The platform’s features and advertising tools are designed to make reaching out to your target audience simple and effective.

What sets LinkedIn apart?

While the other social networks have become homogenous in recent years, LinkedIn has kept its distinct identity. That’s because it’s aimed at the professional world, as opposed to the purely social one.

This can be seen in the distinct tone of content shared on LinkedIn. Even posts with an element of humour sit on one side of a line that means anything not safe for work (NSFW) should be avoided at all costs, and this extends to paid social media advertising as well as organic posting.

The benefits of LinkedIn B2B marketing

Using LinkedIn for your company affords many of the benefits of marketing on other social media platforms, including:

• Increasing brand awareness
• Interacting with your target audience
• Creating meaningful connections
• Promoting products and services

What’s different about LinkedIn marketing is that it’s more like an online meeting room than a digital pub or cafe. You’re not chatting with general consumers but the decision makers in organisations you’d like to work with. It therefore pays to work with an experienced LinkedIn advertising agency that understands the nuances of this platform.

Strategic connections

All social media marketing should be undertaken as part of a comprehensive strategy. Otherwise you’ll find yourself posting disjointed content that doesn’t work together cohesively to achieve your goals.

Every action on LinkedIn – from the members you connect with to the content you post – should be part of your digital marketing strategy. This way, you’ll build a strong B2B community with active users who are receptive to your messaging and more likely to convert into quality leads.

Marketing success takes time

It’s true that paid advertising on platforms like LinkedIn can be successful, especially if you’re looking for quick wins and to get your brand in front of your target audience, though this does come with additional costs. Organic LinkedIn B2B marketing over time will instead nurture a more lasting relationship with your connections.

Developing a synergy on LinkedIn between the company page and profiles of employees will help the brand achieve success on the social network. Staff who are listed as employees can boost the organisation by sharing content and establishing themselves as thought leaders within your industry.

Engagement is key

In the same way that nobody wants to keep talking to a person at a party if they just speak about themselves, it’s important your LinkedIn social media use isn’t a one-way street. Ask questions, take part in discussions and share content from others in your industry.

LinkedIn groups are a particularly effective way to build more meaningful connections with social media users. By definition, they are a receptive audience as they’re set up to represent industries or specific topics. A recent study showed that asking for help is an effective way to make friends as it makes them feel valued. Apply this to your LinkedIn interactions and ask for advice instead of broadcasting your merits. It may just lead to a deeper connection…