Many Business To Business (B2B) marketers are struggling to get results with social media just because they’re focused on the wrong platform.
If your target audience is not strictly consumers but business-related (aka you sell to companies, agencies, and professionals) most social media platforms are ineffective
Yes, Facebook and Instagram are the most popular and mainstream platforms, but you will not find your business audience there.
LinkedIn, on the other hand, has to be your go-to marketing platform. It has tremendous value for B2Bs due to its demographic: 61 million LinkedIn users are senior level influencers and 40 million are in decision-making positions. In fact, 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn.
Want to learn how to market on LinkedIn like a pro? Follow these four steps:
Optimize your page for search
Just like you’d want your company’s website to rank high on Google, you want to be easily found by LinkedIn’s search algorithm. For example, marketing agencies will want to show up as high as possible when potential clients look up that service on LinkedIn.
But the benefits do not stop there. LinkedIn pages rank well on Google’s SEO due to its valuable domain authority. Your optimized page will show up at the top when people Google your company.
Make sure you add relevant keywords to your company profile that represents who you are and what you do. LinkedIn also recommends that you create backlinks to your profile to increase its visibility from outside websites.
Add followers and connections
The more connections and followers your page has, the more people you will be able to reach.
Start by adding your current network of friends, coworkers, and acquaintances. You can also match with second-degree connections and research for those decision-making individuals that fit your prospect target.
Building a strong LinkedIn network is a major step towards an ROI positive marketing strategy.
Create relevant content
LinkedIn allows you to publish content in two different ways: you can either write shorter, more informal posts on your feed or longer, more thoughtful articles through LinkedIn Publisher
Combining both channels will allow you to build connections with potential clients that enjoy consuming your informative and entertaining content.
Creating content is the most organic way to build an audience while positioning yourself and your brand as thought leaders in your field.
LinkedIn, like most social media platforms, is now promoting native video. Consider creating video content as it will reach a larger share of your followers.
Use Paid Ads
If you want to speed things up or you don’t have time to create content, you can always use LinkedIn paid ads to promote your content and market to potential clients.
LinkedIn Advertising lets you choose the professional audience that you want to target and offers different campaign objectives: driving traffic, generating leads, and creating awareness of your brand.
Something unique about LinkedIn ads is Sponsored InMail -you can now deliver personalized messages to prospects through its messenger app.
This is all you need to market yourself and your company with a solid LinkedIn strategy.
Marti writes about digital marketing and entrepreneurship. Find him with coffee and a laptop while traveling back and forth between Barcelona and Charlotte. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
