A Step-by-Step Guide to Successful LinkedIn B2B Marketing

Do you know what’s going to be the next best and most rewarding platform for businesses? It’s none other than the most professional and result-oriented social platform — LinkedIn. The more than 30 million companies and 770 million people across the globe using LinkedIn are solid proof that this platform has even more room to grow.

If you are wondering about the reason behind this fame, we have the answer. LinkedIn is a social media platform that helps businesses drive traffic, make connections, establish partnerships, boost brand awareness, and generate leads.

This guide will help you get the most out of this purely professional platform. First, let’s talk about the importance of LinkedIn marketing and its benefits for B2B companies.

What is LinkedIn marketing?

LinkedIn marketing is a process that helps companies find and engage with relevant communities of professionals. It helps companies build a brand, drive engagement towards their business, and achieve much more.

LinkedIn has been innovative since its launch. When using this platform for marketing purposes, we gain access to all the useful features, including analysis tools, brand-building support, etc. The new features frequently added to LinkedIn prove it a perfect channel for B2B lead generation and driving traffic.

What’s more about this type of marketing is that it serves as a hunting ground for a lot of new career opportunities as it is the leading social network for B2B and B2C buyers, business professionals, and marketers. Some users also use it as a product discovery platform which is why LinkedIn can also be a good source for user acquisition. Hence, it’s a good platform to introduce your offer to your target audience.

With its continuously expanding features, LinkedIn allows independent organizations to participate in various groups related to their business to develop their business connections. In addition, executives and business owners can become thought-provoking leaders in their specific industries.

So, if you want to exponentially market your skills or business to professionals, boost your business, and grow your audience, it’s time to use LinkedIn marketing to its fullest potential.

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Advantages of LinkedIn marketing for B2B companies

From the day of its launch, LinkedIn has had huge success in increasing its total number of users. This is because people have started seeing real results. Jason Miller, a LinkedIn marketing specialist, revealed some interesting facts that show the power of LinkedIn B2B marketing:

• 93% of B2B marketers found LinkedIn very helpful in creating leads;
• 91% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute content;
• LinkedIn makes up more than 50% of all social traffic to B2B blogs and websites.

Here are some benefits that you can get through LinkedIn marketing:

• You can find your target audience. Professionals use LinkedIn mostly for business communication. So, if you’re looking for professional communications and networking opportunities, it means your target audience is already there, and you can easily reach out to them.
• You can collaborate with your business community. LinkedIn offers interactive features that help you create an online community of like-minded professionals with whom you can communicate and collaborate.
• You can earn credibility. LinkedIn allows you to get customer testimonials, as well as feedback from partners. It helps people consider your businesses reliable.
• You can become an influencer. Several innovative features on LinkedIn allow users to position themselves as a leader in a specific niche. Participation in communities and producing quality content can help one become an influencer.
• You can cooperate with influencers. If you are not going to become an opinion leader, it’s important that you cooperate with the right one to save time and resources. Carefully research influencers in your niche and conduct an influencer analysis to make sure they are the right fit for your brand.
• You can use it for free. Other platforms that allow business marketing and connect employers and candidates usually charge high fees. But you can use LinkedIn for free or purchase a premium account for $500 a year.

Now that you know some of the pros for LinkedIn as an essential marketing tool, let’s learn how to develop a comprehensive LinkedIn marketing strategy for B2B companies.

How to build a killer LinkedIn marketing strategy for B2B

LinkedIn has got all a business, company, or individual needs to succeed in their profession. But you need to follow a specific roadmap to harness the full potential of this platform. If you haven’t explored LinkedIn yet, it’s time to take your marketing to the next level by following some effective marketing tactics. In the meantime, consider using task management software to help you plan and schedule your marketing tasks.

Below we have presented a step-by-step guide to help you implement LinkedIn’s best marketing practices for your business. You can tailor this roadmap according to the needs of your personal LinkedIn page or business profile on this platform.

Set clear goals and state your mission

When starting anything — whether a business, job, educational plan, or business relationship — you need to specify your goals and objectives. An action without a direction is a waste of time and energy. The same goes for digital marketing.

When it comes to LinkedIn, setting clear goals is more important than ever. This is because you will be appearing on a platform with millions of professional users. It means you are in extreme competition with people, most of whom are already clear about the objectives behind their presence. So, if you try to sail without a radar, you are more likely to disappear somewhere in between.

Set up your company page

Your LinkedIn page should portray your best side to potential clients. It is a great tool to promote your services or products across borders. You get the opportunity to have instant communication with customers and convince them that your product or service is beneficial. Your LinkedIn page will also allow you to create a LinkedIn Showcase page, which extends your company page and highlights your initiative.

Your company page on LinkedIn can also help you find good talent for your company. LinkedIn Profile searches provide the best matches for your required candidacy.

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to create and layout your LinkedIn company page.

Step 1: Create your company page

There is the “Work” icon on the top right corner of your personal LinkedIn profile dashboard. On clicking it, a pop-up window appears with a section “Create a Company Page + Button.”

Then, you need to select the page type that is suitable for your company:

• Small Business, having less than 200 employees;
• Medium to Large Business, having more than 200 employees.

You could also opt for the Educational Institution option if your company is one. For an existing business profile, there is a Showcase Page that opens an extension for the LinkedIn business profile.

Step 2: Add information about your company to the profile

Now comes the time to fill out details about your company on the profile page. It will ask for specifics like your company’s name, size, type of goods and services you deliver, location and contact information, etc. At this point, it is also wise to upload your company’s logo to make your page look more professional. You can also provide your company’s tagline.

When you verify yourself as the company’s authorized representative, click the “Create Page” button, and your business profile on LinkedIn is created.

Step 3: Make your profile stand out

To impress your audience, you should now work on sprucing up your company’s LinkedIn page. The below-mentioned tips will come in handy:

• Add a cover photo. You can display your product, a picture of your company’s headquarters, a collective photo of your team, or something that illustrates your industry.
• Insert a captivating summary in the “About” section. It should be gripping, as it promotes your company and appears when any visitor comes to your company’s profile. It should be precise, with relevant keywords so that search engines can pick it up quickly.

Now that your company page is set up, you have a chance to share news, events, and updates about your business.

Get members and employees engaged

The key to a flourishing workplace and a booming business is employee solidarity and interaction. Often, this solidarity is led off directly towards social media, which is an ambiguous platform exploring expansive subjects.

Customer feedback or testimonials can lead to extensive brand recognition, interaction, and follower growth. Likewise, unwavering employee support can also result in far-reaching appeal. So, in an ideal situation, a substantial social media presence can initiate business growth and revenue.

Deliver great content

As often as not, marketers fail to consider a multichannel approach when it comes to marketing content. The spotlight almost always lands on a single medium. Be that as it may, these days, LinkedIn is the essence of content marketing. Some may go as far as to say that this platform alone yields more results than either Facebook or Instagram. Just like you need Instagram story ideas, you need strong and captivating content for LinkedIn.

Nowadays, podcasts are becoming really popular among different users, including the B2B sector, where online educational podcasts are offered. Consider sharing those on your LinkedIn company profile as well to make your social content interactive and engaging.

Find your audience and connect with them

A large LinkedIn following can make it possible to expand your company’s horizons. Finding and connecting with the right audience will enable you to achieve your company’s marketing objectives. Every piece of quality content you publish on your page is sure to reach the right people at large.

There are several ways you can grow your LinkedIn company page:

• engage employees and make sure they successfully represent your brand;
• post relevant content regularly to be in your follower’s sight;
• be active and join topical conversations using hashtags;
• mention other companies in your niche;
• work with influencers and business mentors in your industry;
• launch Ad campaigns.

The larger your following, the stronger is the presence of your company on LinkedIn. Acquiring followers through multiple streams can build your strength and prove a beneficial long-term investment that shows results over time. It may also prove to be one of the best customer retention strategies.

Consider LinkedIn ads

LinkedIn advertising is a great tool for directing your voice to the right people. If you get through to the right audience, you can guarantee the success of your marketing strategies because they will influence decision-makers.

On LinkedIn, there are many types of ads to choose from. The key is to select the right kind that will help you achieve your goal. Below are the most popular LinkedIn ad types you can use to grow your business.

Sponsored content

Sponsored content, also known as native ads, is probably one of the most popular and versatile LinkedIn ad formats. It shows up on the feed of your target audience and integrates around their everyday content so well that you only know that the post is sponsored because of the “Promoted” tag below the company’s name.

When you are marketing with the help of sponsored content, you can choose whichever ad you prefer — be it a carousel ad, video ad, or single image ad.

Sponsored messaging

A little while back, sponsored messaging was widely known as Sponsored InMail. This type of LinkedIn ad allows you to advertise your products with LinkedIn users directly to their inbox.

However, there is a limit to how many members can get a sponsored message ad each month. In other words, a member of your audience may only receive one or two of your ads within a specific time limit.

This type of LinkedIn ad format includes message ads and conversation ads, both charged on a cost-per-send/cost-per-display basis.

Text ads

This LinkedIn ad appears in two places, namely the top and right-hand corner on the LinkedIn desktop feed page. Text ads are a good choice for somebody looking into constructing sturdy leads within a specific demographic. On top of that, marketing through text ads is a great plan to make a big profit on a limited budget.

Dynamic ads

Dynamic ads are shown to your followers while taking into account some details about them. When a dynamic ad shows up in a member’s feed, their personal information — their job title, photo, their boss or manager name, etc. — is cast back to them.

Whatever ad type you choose, you need to select a marketing objective — the action you want your audience to take after seeing your ad.

LinkedIn supports full-funnel objectives for your ads grouped into three categories:

• Awareness ads. Businesses always start with Awareness ads, as they help an audience identify your company and talk about it. They aim to increase your page following, direct more traffic, and build audience engagement and interest regarding your company’s products and services.
• Consideration ads. When the audience is familiar with your company, your ad campaigns shift from awareness-based to consideration-based. Consideration ads can be optimized to direct users to your website or landing page through the “Website visits” ad objective. Through the “Engagement” objective, they can also foster social actions like likes, comments, shares, page follows, or clicks to your pages. Besides, choosing the “Video views” objective, you can encourage customers to learn more about your business by watching your videos.
• Conversion ads. By selecting the “Lead generation” objective, you gain more leads. With the “Website conversions” objective, you can inspire your website visitors to make valuable actions, like an eBook download, email subscription, purchase, etc. Lastly, you can promote your job opportunities with the help of the “Job applicants” ad objective.

Use email marketing

LinkedIn can be extremely helpful when it comes to email marketing campaigns, as it gives you access to contact details of your connections. Using this wisely can help you improve both your LinkedIn engagement and ensure high email deliverability. It would also be a great addition to use an SPF checker for email security and more professionalism.

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Here’s how you can use LinkedIn as part of your email marketing strategy:

• make a post on your page redirecting users to your landing page where they can subscribe to your emails;
• announce the opportunity to join your mailing list in your business group on LinkedIn;
• share the link in the related LinkedIn groups as an announcement.

This activity will help you expose yourself to new communities and generate email leads you can then utilize. With the right SaaS welcome email templates, great subject lines, and LinkedIn support, your email marketing will achieve success.

Set your LinkedIn marketing budget

LinkedIn B2B marketing comes with its expenses, costs, and sometimes unexpected B2B payment processing fees. Budgeting is an important component of your overall business success. Especially when it comes to marketing your company on digital platforms, it’s best to plan and set a clear budget for smart allocation.

Here are some fundamental steps to get started with LinkedIn budgeting.

Set a campaign group budget

Setting a campaign group budget is optional, but it will enable you to categorize related campaigns into groups. This categorization makes it simpler for you to manage and schedule multiple campaigns. Setting a campaign group budget also allows you to create a limit within the group that cannot exceed.

Cooperate with LinkedIn influencers

Influencer marketing is one of the most effective forms brands can use, allowing them to reach new audiences through people whose opinion carries weight. So, when developing a LinkedIn marketing strategy for your B2B brand, make sure also to include funds for cooperating with influencers.

The resources you’ll need will vary for each influencer. While some of the largest ones may charge higher prices, newer influencers often collaborate in exchange for subscriptions to build their portfolios. In case you can’t afford to pay cash, offering stock options in the company is also a common practice.

Consider various payment options

As the world is becoming increasingly digital and moving from cash to touch-free payments, many digital payment methods have emerged during the last few years. Some of the more popular options are PayPal, GooglePay, Braintree, WePay, and many others, making invoicing and business transactions more professional.

However, the rise of digital payment has also resulted in data and security breaches. Therefore, it’s also important that you consider the safety and security of your payment methods, especially if you are going to make them repeatedly. Considering blockchain-based cryptocurrency solutions is one of the solutions to this problem. Ethereum cryptocurrency, for example, allows encrypted transactions that are fast and secure. One of the key benefits of this method is that if you are regularly paying for your website hosting, you don’t have to store your bank card data anywhere.

Conclusion

In this era of massive competition, it is crucial to stay updated about all the methods and tactics that can prove to be helpful and effective in being successful. One such useful practice is LinkedIn marketing. Utilizing this platform in a way that provides you with positive results can help you boost your business. All you need is a thorough understanding of how this platform works and what are the best tips and tactics to make full use of it.

If you have come this far, you must have a clear view of the best LinkedIn marketing strategy and how to implement it to improve your success rate. If you follow these tips, you will start observing results of LinkedIn marketing in no time.