Since its creation in 2003, LinkedIn marketing has long been emphasised as a driving force behind marketing success for B2B companies. LinkedIn is now the largest online professional network platform with over 900 million members, making it an incredibly powerful platform for B2B lead generation. While this number may not be in the billions in comparison to Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn’s key business focus hosts an audience worthy of your attention. In fact, LinkedIn is 277% more effective than Facebook in generating leads. With this data, it’s clear that LinkedIn is a powerful tool for B2B lead generation.
Why LinkedIn is a Powerful Platform for B2B Lead Generation
LinkedIn is a platform specifically designed for professionals and businesses, making it an ideal platform for B2B lead generation. According to LinkedIn, four out of five LinkedIn members drive business decisions, meaning the platform hosts 65+ million users in decision-making positions.
LinkedIn drives 46% of social traffic to B2B websites and is considered the most credible source of content. So, it comes as no surprise that 96% of B2B marketers used LinkedIn for B2B content marketing and lead generation.
With so many accounts vying for attention on LinkedIn, how do you cut through the noise?
It comes down to standing out and setting yourself up for succes with these LinkedIn essentials.
Optimising Your LinkedIn Profile
Your LinkedIn profile is your online resume and serves as the first impression of your business. Therefore, it’s essential to optimise your profile to showcase your expertise and attract your target audience. Statistics show that LinkedIn members with a professional profile photos receive 21 times more profile views and 9 times more connection requests. Ensure that your profile is complete, up-to-date, and reflects your brand’s message.
LinkedIn best practices for optimising your profile for B2B lead generation:
□ Use a professional headshot.
□ Optimise your headline and summary with relevant keywords.
□ Showcase your skills and expertise.
□ Claim your unique URL.
□ Ask for recommendations and endorsements from colleagues and clients.
□ Share relevant content and engage with your network.
Completing Your Company Page
Companies with a complete, active LinkedIn Page see 5x more page views. Not to mention they also get 7x more impressions per follower and 11x more clicks per follower. Keep your LinkedIn page up-to-date and active to ensure you best leverage the LinkedIn platform to achieve your marketing objectives.
LinkedIn best practices for creating your company page on LinkedIn:
□ Complete the company page basics (ie. company logo, cover image & company description).
□ Use relevant keywords in your company description to help your page rank higher in LinkedIn’s search results.
□ List your company’s specialties and areas of expertise to help people understand what you do.
□ Add your company’s website, phone number, and email address to make it easy for people to contact you.
□ Add a “Follow” button to your website and email signature to encourage people to follow your page.
Creating Engaging Content
Creating engaging content on LinkedIn is key to attracting and nurturing leads. Valuable content that educates your audience and showcases your expertise is a great way to attract attention and demonstrate thought leadership. Companies that post weekly see a 2x lift in engagement with their content. This can include blog posts, infographics, videos, and more.
LinkedIn best practices for creating engaging content on LinkedIn:
□ Share industry insights and thought leadership content.
□ Use visuals, such as images and videos, to make your content more engaging.
□ Keep your content short and to the point.
□ Use LinkedIn’s targeting options to reach your ideal audience.
□ Engage with your audience by responding to comments and messages.
Using LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn Groups are a powerful way to connect with like-minded professionals and potential leads. They are a dedicated space for professionals to share expertise, seek advice, and build meaningful relationships.
LinkedIn best practices for using LinkedIn Groups for B2B lead generation:
□ Join relevant groups in your industry or niche.
□ Share relevant content and participate in discussions (Share 80% of interesting content, and 20% self-promotion).
□ Use LinkedIn’s search function to find potential leads in your groups.
□ Build relationships by engaging with members and providing value.
□ Use LinkedIn’s messaging feature to connect with potential leads.
Utilising LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn ads are a powerful way to reach your target audience and generate leads. If you are new to paid features on LinkedIn, Hootsuite have create a whole guide to LinkedIn ads to help you get started.
LinkedIn best practices for utilising LinkedIn ads for B2B lead generation:
□ Use LinkedIn’s targeting options to reach your ideal audience.
□ Create compelling ad copy and visuals.
□ Use LinkedIn’s lead gen forms to capture leads directly from your ads.
□ Test and optimise your ads for better performance.
□ Set clear goals and track your ad performance regularly.
Measuring Success
Measuring the success of your LinkedIn lead generation efforts is essential to determine whether your marketing strategy is effective or not. Use LinkedIn’s analytics tools to track your page’s performance and adjust your strategy accordingly.
LinkedIn best practices to track your performance:
□ Define your goals. eg. Increase your network, generate more leads, or boost your brand awareness?
□ Identify your KPIs. eg. number of leads generated, the conversion rate, the engagement rate, and the cost per lead.
□ Use LinkedIn analytics to track your follower count, engagement, and reach.
□ Use the LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify potential leads.
□ Track your website analytics to determine how many leads are coming from LinkedIn and how well your website is converting those leads.
□ Regularly review your metrics.
□ Continuously optimise your strategy based on your metrics.
Conclusion
LinkedIn is a powerful platform for B2B marketing that drives leads, profits and growth. Making the most of LinkedIn depends on understanding what you should be doing. Utilised well, it is a great tool to grow your business, scale your impact and attract more of the right people.
It is your responsibility as a brand ambassador to use LinkedIn professionally and create engaging content that builds and nurtures relationships. By optimising your LinkedIn profile and company page, creating valuable content, joining relevant groups, utilising LinkedIn’s advertising features, and tracking your metrics, you can increase your visibility and successfully generate more leads for your business.
Get in touch to discuss your LinkedIn Marketing goals
At The Lead Agency, we are an experienced B2B marketing firm that has worked with various industries across the B2B sector. If you want to learn more about leveraging LinkedIn Marketing for your business, get in touch with our team of experts today.
Want to learn more? Make sure you aren’t making these 5 LinkedIn marketing mistakes.
