LinkedIn is without a doubt one of the most powerful social media lead generators for B2B marketers, allowing companies to express their brand story in a unique and relevant way. In fact, the social media site encourages people to share material and interact with experts. This makes it perfect for lead generation and brand exposure. Let’s look at how you can use LinkedIn for B2B marketing for both inbound and outbound marketing.

Why should you use LinkedIn for B2B marketing?

  • LinkedIn has 87 million millennials out of a total of 2 billion users worldwide. Out of these millennials, 11 million are in a position to make a business decision.
  • LinkedIn accounts for more than half of all social traffic to B2B websites.
  • LinkedIn generates 3 times more conversions than Twitter and Facebook in B2B.

That’s why 40% of B2B marketers believe LinkedIn is the most successful medium for generating leads.

Here’s a step-by-step strategy to make LinkedIn work for you:

  1. LinkedIn advanced search: Let’s first see how to build a connection with a new person for your business. LinkedIn’s advanced search feature is a fantastic way to find the exact type of person you’re looking for. Click the search icon and the advanced option from the LinkedIn header menu. With an upgraded membership (Premium or Sales), you have access to filters like position, seniority, past company, etc. But even if you don’t have an upgraded LinkedIn membership, you have some great filters to help you narrow down your search.
  2. LinkedIn messages: This is a highly personalized outreach method and works very well to connect with strangers. However, you need to keep some things in mind before reaching out to them through LinkedIn messages.
    1. Identify your MAN clearly. MAN stands for someone who has Money to pay, Authority to buy, and Need for your offerings.
    2. Connect with a short note stating clearly why you would like to connect with them.
    3. Send the first message as soon as they accept your request. That’s the time when a lead is warmest.
    4. Keep your message short and clear.
    5. Do not stretch a conversation too long on LinkedIn. Take this conversation on a meeting or phone as soon as possible.

These two steps covered the cold outreach or the outbound marketing aspect of your B2B marketing. In order for this to work, you also need to invest in inbound marketing activities that will support the outbound. Let’s look at what those are:

  • Make your company’s page a sales pipeline filling machine: Your company page acts as a source to push leads to your company website. So, it is important to design your page in such a way that it leads to a conversion action like a click-through to your website. These actions are usually placed in the company description or in your posts. Prospective clients who come across your brand on LinkedIn will almost certainly visit your company page. So the company page should have all the information that they would need. You can improve the performance of your profile by making a few simple changes:
    • A professionally created cover image and profile photo can help your page look more professional. Use a header image that catches the eye or piques the reader’s interest. Normally, the profile image is the logo of the company.
    • Write a brief summary line that summarizes the company’s work and incorporates relevant keywords. This will help in the discovery of your page.
    • Create an engaging “About us”. This description will set you apart from your competition. The first two lines of your company description are the most important because that is all that LinkedIn displays. Write it in such a way that makes them curious to read more.
    • Post updates that are directly aimed at your target audience. This is the best way to gain leads from this section. Remember, you’re looking for click-throughs from people looking for information.
  • Publish helpful content: Sharing valuable, industry-specific content is one of the most effective ways for businesses to differentiate themselves and increase sales. Always include relevant keywords and hashtags in your posts to increase the organic reach of your content and ensure it reaches the right people. Experiment with different media types in your LinkedIn posts. The platform allows you to post photos, videos, and PDFs to your feed. Publish a mix of these formats to see what your audience prefers.

It’s not about selling when it comes to using LinkedIn for B2B marketing. The fundamental purpose is to build a network of people who know about your brand and can reach out to you when they need to do business with you.

This was the last blog of this season. I’ll be back in a few weeks with a new theme in the new season.