3 min read
If LinkedIn isn’t already a part of your marketing strategy, you’re missing out on a big opportunity. LinkedIn is a match made in heaven between B2B marketers and effective lead generation. That’s because it has such rapid and continuous audience expansion, as well as a healthy appeal to niche audiences.
For example, did you know that LinkedIn has more than 700 million members worldwide in 2020? Experts say someone creates a new LinkedIn account every two seconds. You can use this growth to expand your business to business marketing efforts in these four ways:
Targeted Content
Unlike other social platforms, LinkedIn consists of professionals who connect with their colleagues and other professionals in their industry. When you produce and promote content relevant to your LinkedIn followers, they are far more likely to engage with your content and share your ideas with their own followers. This creates a domino effect, which not only increases your reach on LinkedIn, but your influence as well. And that results in new connections and opportunities.
Bylined Articles
More than one million members have published long-form content on LinkedIn. Those who have taken advantage of the long-form publishing tool have discovered a new avenue to showcase their industry expertise and thought leadership.
Currently, company pages on LinkedIn don’t allow you to write and publish long-form articles. However, members can use the publishing platform to communicate their organization’s industry knowledge as well as demonstrate their thought leadership.
So, how can you take advantage of this within your organization? First, identify a subject matter expert (SME) who can share their expertise and assist in reaching high-value audiences. If the SME doesn't have time to draft bylined articles, interview the SME and ghostwrite the content for them. Then simply promote your SME’s articles on your company page.
PR Amplification
LinkedIn's "Mentioned in the News" (MITN) feature highlights companies and individual members when they are featured in news stories. It's a great way to get your news coverage in front of the right people.
So, how do you get highlighted in MITN? LinkedIn users cannot submit news items featuring themselves or others, so you are dependent on LinkedIn's algorithm to find your mentions. One effective way to secure an MITN mention is to distribute a press release over a major wire service like Business Wire. Another is to join and be an active participant in Forbes Councils. This is a membership organization that enables professionals to write articles and contribute opinions to Forbes articles that often appear in Google News and LinkedIn feeds.
Lead Generation
LinkedIn is an ideal network for generating customer leads, if you focus on relationships first. LinkedIn is a relationship platform, not a sales platform. Apart from generating new leads organically, LinkedIn now offers a much more personalized way of identifying new leads, engaging with those leads and transforming them into customers.
By listening, networking and responding on LinkedIn, the possibility of attracting new leads becomes more tangible than ever before. By providing the right content and message at the right time, a potential customer lead will follow you and engage with your brand, more often and in more meaningful ways.
The potential for using LinkedIn as a marketing tool continues growing with no end in sight. LinkedIn has become a effective place for B2B marketers to engage with influencers and decision-makers. Through LinkedIn, organizations can create and foster relationships, establish thought leadership, generate leads and gain valuable insights to improve their marketing return on investment.
14 min read
