Boost Your Brand with B2B Marketing on LinkedIn

Like the older, more sophisticated brother of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, LinkedIn rounds out the Big 4 social platforms as a launch pad for a different kind of marketing. With more than 500 million members, of which 61 million are senior level influencers and 40 million are decision makers in their company, LinkedIn is the place to market to target other businesses and the executives who run them.

Pew’s 2019 Social Media Fact Sheet shows that members of LinkedIn also top out as the highest income earners and level of education between Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook. Of users, 51% are college graduates and 49% earn over $75,000 annually.

But what does it mean for marketers? Do you need to market on LinkedIn? If so, what can you do to obtain the reach you need to sell yourself to Fortune 500 companies, business executives, and entrepreneurs?

Before you decide to expand your reach, you need to figure out if marketing on LinkedIn is even worth the investment. So, when does LinkedIn marketing work?

You’re a B2B Marketer

LinkedIn is the place to do B2B marketing. While other social media platforms might work for some things sometimes, it’s not a risk that’s going to yield a high reward. In fact, compared to LinkedIn, social media sites are positively terrible at the lead generation numbers game.

LinkedIn reports that 80% of B2B leads come from their platform, and that 94% of B2B marketers are using the platform to share their content. That all adds up more than 9 billion content impressions every week.

When businesses and executives login to LinkedIn, there’s a great chance that they are looking to be marketed to. They are seeking peers, brands, and other businesses that can solve the problems any modern business deals with.

If you are distributing content in a way that a) creates a top-of-mind brand picture and b) makes its way around the block in terms of sharing and impressions, there’s a great chance you’re going to be seen by a business ready to let you sell them your solution.

Your Employees Have Some Impressive Credentials

Any business’ LinkedIn profile needs to have a foundation based firmly in the profiles of those that work there. Anyone who plans on connecting to the page as an employee, owner, or executive should spend time getting their online presence up to snuff before you start advertising your business through audience segmentation and content sharing.

When other businesses look at your profile, they are going to also take time to check out the people who they are going to be working with should they opt for your services. You’re going to want impressive accolades, credentials, and achievements posted prominently because it shows potential clients that you have the skills to do what your brand is promising to do.

Additionally, asking employees to link to the business is just one way you can massively expand your brand’s network. According to Hootsuite, employees average 10 times more connections than a company has followers, When an individual notes that they currently or have ever worked at your business, it displays a link back to the brand’s page.

You Want to Target Based on Industry

LinkedIn’s audience segmentation tools are second to none, especially when you take into account the fact that it’s already a relatively niche social media site before you add in all of the other demographic information that you can target in your advertising.

With the platform’s marketing tools, you can ensure that you are targeting the company size, industry, and even the specific decision makers in other businesses that are most likely to be interested in your product or service.

For example, let’s say that you run a small operation of digital marketers who run advertising campaigns for up-and-coming entrepreneurs. You can create filters that place your ads on feeds based on job titles, size of the company, and how long it’s been around. Furthermore, within that segment, you can specifically market to people who have “owner,” “president,” and the like listed as their job title.

You Write Killer Content

When it comes to industry-specific content marketing, no other social media platform provides a better chance of your brand being seen. In fact, an overwhelming majority (91%) of marketing executives say that LinkedIn is the #1 place to find content and 94% of B2B marketers say that it’s their best distribution channel.

When you think about the purpose of B2B marketing on LinkedIn and the industry as a whole, it’s easy to see why. When companies go searching for a brand, business, or person on this particular platform, it’s because they need a job to be performed. There are very few people who casually meander through LinkedIn looking for clickbait and celebrity gossip. They’re there for a reason!

If you can put great content in front of their face that helps them find the solutions they’re looking for, you’re halfway down the sales funnel already. Your future clients want to know what expertise, skills, and solutions you bring to the table before they even consider hiring you for the job.

Your Brand Has a Big Personality

With over 30 million company LinkedIn pages floating out in the social media ether, being seen isn’t easy. Meekness and inauthenticity aren’t going to fly when you’re competing with that many other brands who are able to present themselves better.

Every element of your profile, from the picture to the content you post, must be reflective of your thoughts, values, and goals as a business. You don’t get the luxury of humor, wit, and memes, or at least not in the same measure. This is your place to put on your Sunday best and sell yourself.

Not sure where to get started building your LinkedIn persona? Wondering if B2B marketing on LinkedIn is your next step? Not even sure what LinkedIn is? Boy, do we have work to do. Start by checking out our blog for other articles featuring marketing guides for the “Big 4” social media platforms, then drop us a line. From business coaches to card game designers, we’ve helped countless small businesses like yours find their niche in the Wild West of modern day social marketing.