We, marketers, love data and statistics, and LinkedIn’s figures are truly astounding in this regard.
According to a Content Marketing Institute study nearly all B2B marketers use LinkedIn for content marketing reasons, and 80% of them say it’s an effective tool for lead generation.
Another study from Demand Wave, instead, claims that 38% of B2B marketers generate revenue from the professional networking site. While LinkedIn research suggests 46% of social media traffic to company websites comes from LinkedIn. Moreover, 44% of social buyers have found customers by looking at their shared connections, and almost half research clients by looking at their LinkedIn profiles.
Not convinced yet? According to a HubSpot study, LinkedIn is 277% more effective than Facebook and Twitter for lead generation. This is without considering that nearly half of LinkedIn users are in high-ranking positions, including management and supervisory roles.
LinkedIn truly is a marketing powerhouse, and it is the best tool for your B2B strategy. Period. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re sitting on a gold mine.
Here are my five top reasons to transform LinkedIn into another fantastic tool for your B2B marketing arsenal.
1. LinkedIn has become an essential tool for professionals
Did you know that about two professionals sign up on LinkedIn every couple of seconds? With this ever-growing signup rate, businesses can expand their reach and network faster and better.
Online networking strategies are realistic, time-effective, and targeted. You already know who you are dealing with. You don’t need to waste time wondering whether that person might benefit from what you have to offer as you would at a real-life event.
Plus, the world is your stage, and the nature of the platform gives you a truly global reach.
Let’s not forget that LinkedIn focuses specifically on business professionals, who flock to the platform to gain knowledge and insight about their industry.
This simple fact means that your LinkedIn audience is more likely to be interested in your B2B content than any other platform currently available.
It’s the only social media with a special focus on professional contacts, which brings me to my second, crucial point.
Key takeaway: LinkedIn is the single most important social media tool for professionals worldwide, making it a remarkable tool for networking and expanding your reach.
2. LinkedIn allows you to tap into the insights of thought leaders (and become one yourself)
LinkedIn provides B2B marketers with a wonderful opportunity: getting access to the ideas of thought leaders and influencers across a plethora of industries.
For a B2B marketer, this means having access to fresh, top-notch, and informative insight coming straight from the most brilliant minds of the professional world.
However, this is by no means an exclusive club.
The platform values the insight of intelligent and creative users who can become thought leaders in their industry by publishing quality content.
You can do the same by leveraging your expertise and creating valuable content that adds value to other people’s lives. Plus, you can establish yourself as an influential voice in your industry by being active in your communities.
Key takeaway: Through LinkedIn, you can leverage the endless knowledge of thought leaders in your industry and become an influential voice in your field yourself.
3. LinkedIn allows you to easily conduct targeted industry research
LinkedIn user profiles already include an abundance of salient information, making it easy for you to understand your target audience, and find out who you should be reaching out to.
However, Social CRM tools also allow you to analyze your LinkedIn contacts in real-time and understand possible prospective customers and other contacts.
Besides using LinkedIn’s inbuilt CRM tool, you can also integrate other solutions with LinkedIn—for example, Outlook, Google Contacts, and more. Social CRM is not the only tool at your disposal, though. You can also join groups, ask questions, create polls, and share content.
If you learn how to “read the room,” LinkedIn will give you a feel of what people are thinking.
Key takeaway: LinkedIn offers you the possibility to conduct cutting-edge research on business professionals through various tools and Social CRM integrations.
4. LinkedIn is a fantastic tool to build a great reputation and enhance credibility
All the aforementioned reasons to use LinkedIn for B2B marketing build upon each other. Think about it:
Targeted industry research creates more networking possibilities. Wider reach and more insight allow you to communicate more effectively and publish great content. This, in turn, builds a great reputation, enhancing your credibility.
It’s like a Russian Matryoshka of possibilities nesting one inside the other.
Plus, LinkedIn is not a fake-news, falsehood-ridden platform like other social media. Users know this, and they often perceive content they see on the platform as more authoritative and trustworthy.
This is also backed by a 2019 study that found that the platform ranked number 1 among social media networks in terms of legitimacy. By acting as a thought leader and influencer in the sphere you’re interested in, you build credibility and trust.
So, if people like what you post, they’ll get interested in what you have to offer and even initiate contact themselves, which brings me to the next point.
Key takeaway: If you want to build a great reputation and enhance your credibility, LinkedIn is the tool for you.
5. LinkedIn is an amazing tool for lead generation
This is the innermost part of the Matryoshka; it is the kernel of LinkedIn’s efficacy as a B2B marketing tool.
I’ll state it clearly: LinkedIn is the most effective platform to generate leads.
Wait, without “probably.” It is the best tool for lead generation when it comes to B2B marketing, and the numbers speak for themselves.
LinkedIn offers great ways of identifying potential leads. Listen, participate, analyze, share, network, and create content. If you get the previous points I shared right, lead generation will be a breeze.
A good way of finding potential leads is to look at who is posting needs and questions or those sharing and liking content. If you can answer their questions, provide good reasons to trust you, and demonstrate that you know what you’re talking about, you’ll be one step closer.
Key takeaway: LinkedIn is, by far, the most powerful and effective tool for generating leads when it comes to B2B marketing.
LinkedIn is a powerful tool for B2B marketing purposes. Its unique and trustworthy environment, the nearly endless pool of potential customers and contacts, and the unique insight that users and thought leaders can provide, make it a truly unparalleled tool.
Kate Moskalenko is a multilingual product marketing strategist and digital engagement expert with international experience at top global media companies and tech startups delivering high qualitative products and services to build brand awareness, deepen consumer engagement and drive revenue. Currently, she’s in charge of SaaS product strategy for one of the leading skills-based hiring solutions.
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