Linkedin B2B Marketing: Essentials

Nowadays, entrepreneurs and CMOs use various channels for marketing purposes. LinkedIn is one of them. LinkedIn offers the accumulation of business people, social media functions, and convincing instruments for message propagation. With more than 700 million people focusing on business and professional connections, the particular platform appears a perfect place for B2B marketing. 

Yet, successful B2B marketing on LinkedIn is impossible without approaching prospects with expertise. In this post, you will know more about Linkedin B2B marketing best practices and see how to apply social selling right.

How Does Marketing on LinkedIn Work

Marketing on LinkedIn is built around activities referring to career and professional development. It is no surprise that people share their insights, cases, issues and solutions. Many activities, like webinars or group discussions, aim to give insights and start a dialogue on the subject. As a result, any LinkedIn B2B marketing strategy requires some social selling and the strong expertise of the seller.

Social Selling

Social selling is the way businesses promote their goods on social media. For sure, LinkedIn has enough business people who know what marketing is. They see the marketing basics. Thus, the standard methods may not work. In this case, the development of the relationships is what matters.

Social selling contemplates connecting with LinkedIn users, sharing content, listening to the issues of the leads, and interacting with them before offering the product. A company is to establish a bond and show expertise first. Once a prospect has more trust in the brand, they would likely buy a product because of the value they see in it.

Expertise

Yet, how does a brand provide value on LinkedIn? In social media, a marketer should position themselves as an expert. The apparent reason is that LinkedIn puts professionalism in the center. The higher your expertise, the more followers you are to get and thus the more people you can reach.

In this regard, one can appeal to the audience by providing valuable insights, recommendations and solutions to the prospects’ problems. That is why content is so essential on LinkedIn. For the B2B community, it is to increase productivity, add to the sales funnel and increase revenues in the end.

How To Do LinkedIn Prospecting

Now you know that LinkedIn requires companies to build relationships and share expertise. However, like any social media, LinkedIn has its rules and principles, referring to image creation, reaching strategies, and communication. The best outcome for your business depends on how you use LinkedIn instruments. Here are some steps for B2B marketing on LinkedIn to consider:

Make a complete profile

The first element of the effective LinkedIn B2B marketing strategy is a profile. Whether it is a company’s or marketer’s page, the profile should be appealing, reflect the product or service you offer, and underline your expertise. The best way to do so is to make sure it is complete.

For a company page, you can create a Showcase page as an extension of your brand. Notably, in the description, you can insert a sounding pitch to attract the customer’s attention.

In the case of a personal profile, you should clarify who you work for and what you do. Show the user your expertise. It would add clarity and present you as representative of the product. Moreover, placing the picture referring to your company in the background is another way to add to the trust.

Lastly, do not forget about using keywords and a call to action on your page.

Connect to the network

Any LinkedIn B2B marketing strategy is likely to fail without the proper reach of the content. To spread it, a marketer needs to connect more with people. In this regard, you should use an advanced search and connect with the people that match the target audience.

As LinkedIn has the principle of networking at the very center of its operation, the new connections mean accessing more profiles and browsing them.

Interestingly, some LinkedIn prospecting tools, like Sales Navigator, can enhance your searching opportunities. Thanks to integrations, marketers combine different tools to get leads from LinkedIn and even reach them via other channels, like an email.

What are the other benefits of the large network? When you have many contacts, your posts are more likely to be seen by the LinkedIn community. If people like or comment on the posts, it is expected to add to your reputation as an expert. It requires a lot of effort to grow a LinkedIn profile. If you are struggling to manage all the necessary tasks for LinkedIn, may look for a LinkedIn automation tool.

Research your prospect

Networking opens the door for more effective research about your target audience.

How? First of all, with many connections, you can search for and browse more profiles of other people and get information for a better understanding of your buyer’s persona. It refers to skills, job positions, issues and even behavior. The posts of LinkedIn users are information that can be utilized to generate new content. It is all about listening to the prospects before providing value.

Moreover, access to profiles allows you to download the data from the pages and use it within your marketing systems. For instance, you can utilize it for personalized messages or even an outreach email campaign.

How? Some Linkedin prospecting tools facilitate in extracting other people’s corporate emails. You can check this lead generation tool to get an idea of how they work: https://getprospect.com/email-finder. That way, a person can get an email, add it to the CRM system and reach out to a prospect to offer a deal or specific content if they don’t answer on LinkedIn.

Pick the communication technique

Yet, making connections or writing an email is not the only way to propagate the message. Some of the LinkedIn B2B marketing best practices include using messages and InMails. There may be a limit for InMail use, as this function allows sending the message directly to a person’s email box. Thus, use it wisely to attract attention, comment on something or offer partnership.

When you use messages, establish the bond first and don’t sell your goods right away. The best tactic is to write a personalized message, commenting on their posts, issues, jobs or questions. The goal is to provide the value first and develop relationships. Notably, if your messages are ignored, try using InMail to enhance your chances for a response.

Also, you can use comments to start conversations. If you like somebody’s post, leave a comment. It can be the way to break the ice. Simultaneously, if someone comments on your post, use it as a reason to connect, write a message and develop relationships.

Share content in different ways

The most important thing for effective marketing on LinkedIn is how you share the content. LinkedIn tools for marketing are great for doing it.

First of all, LinkedIn has more than 2.9 million groups. There, you can discuss issues with the prospects and share your advice, expertise and insights. You can as well create your own group and build a community. In terms of brand perception, it is likely to add trust to you and form a base of loyal customers.

Secondly, you should use your page for posting the content and directing people to your website. Yes, using social media is one of the content marketing strategies to attract traffic to your blog. Nonetheless, try not to be pushy. The best way is to give excellent advice and leave a link to your blog where people can find more info. In this regard, you should post at least once a month to be active for the LinkedIn algorithms.

Besides, LinkedIn has a feature of advertising the message or the content. That way, you can also market the message, brochure to the event, the course, or a guide. You can use it as a lead magnet or attract people to your digital event, where you can share your insights. Thus, do not forget about adding the call to action to each message.

If your content brings value, you are likely to have new followers and spread your content. The insightful article is essential for offering value and, therefore, establishing a bond.

Summing up: LinkedIn B2B Marketing Best Practices Do Work

Yes, any LinkedIn B2B marketing strategy requires marketers to think about the profile, content and communication with Linkedin users in order to significantly improve B2B marketing. They are the critical factors for better engagement and more sales, while the tips above are to help you to improve your performance.

Remember that the profile is to add to the trust, while the content is to help show the value of your product. Lastly, communicating with the prospects from the position of an expert is likely to build relationships and create the ground for offering the service.

Frequently Asked Questions About B2B Marketing On LinkedIn

Why Use Linkedin for B2B Marketing

LinkedIn is a great place for marketing, allowing sharing B2B content and talking about business solutions. First of all, this social media has an enormous accumulation of business people. There, they create professional relationships, do networking, develop careers and conduct business. Secondly, on LinkedIn, marketers can start conversations with customers easily and be visible to them.

How to Use Linkedin for B2B Marketing

Using LinkedIn for B2B Marketing contemplates building relationships with prospects and offering them value or insights. It facilitates the development of trust and improvement of the brand’s perception. A marketer offers helpful content or the solution to the target audience’s problem to attract their attention. When they form a bond, the sales team can start offering their product or service.

Why Linkedin Marketing is Ideal for B2B Marketing

Many consider LinkedIn to be a network for professionals and business people. Today, it is a space for business conversation and experience sharing. For B2B companies that offer services to improve business operation, it is a perfect channel to talk about the value of their product, listen to prospects and engage with them.

How to Use Linkedin for Sales

Using LinkedIn for sales involves developing a solid brand, building relationships, and communicating effectively. The sales team should improve their company profile page and explicitly show the value of their product. Besides, the sales can offer insightful solutions to prospects, moving them within the sales funnel. Lastly, the marketers can use paid LinkedIn tools to reach more prospects or do an advanced search of the leads.