How to Use LinkedIn for B2B Marketing: Social Selling Via Expertise
B2B marketers now have LinkedIn, a platform where they can listen to their prospects and be listened to. For B2B business, it means sharing values and getting loyal customers. How? With social prospecting. That way, they can connect and interact with customers and do thorough research. For sure, it is not an easy task. To do B2B marketing right and get conversions, marketers need to focus on expertise, content and communication.
Digital marketing has significantly evolved, offering plenty of options for promotion and selling. That's why being ahead of the competitors requires accurate marketing strategies from companies.
One of such techniques relates to B2B LinkedIn marketing. Why? Its efficiency derives from applicability to B2B services and products due to the nature of LinkedIn. The social media designed for professionals takes social selling to a new level, offering advanced prospecting and lead generation opportunities.
Why is LinkedIn Good for B2B?
Before all, LinkedIn seems like a perfect place for talking about business, where B2B companies can easily present their services or products. Why? Their goal is to help solve the prospects' issues, while LinkedIn offers a platform to illustrate the product's functions and solutions.
Thus, it is unsurprising that more than half of all social traffic to B2B websites comes from LinkedIn. Moreover, around 40% of B2B marketers consider LinkedIn as the most effective channel for bringing leads.
Importantly, social media and influencer marketing are now prioritized for lead generation and raising brand awareness. LinkedIn B2B marketing strategy seems appropriate for these actions, as this social media favors sharing content and connecting with experts. If you are a specialist, digital marketing on Linkedin contemplates more freedom and more significant interaction.
How Does LinkedIn Marketing Work?
B2B marketing specialists have several ways to market their products on LinkedIn: ads and social prospecting. The promotion via ads contemplates advanced targeting. In particular, it may refer to the display of ads on the page or sending promo messages into the recipient's mailbox.
Social prospecting is a more sophisticated technique. You for sure know what prospecting is. Yet, on social media, it can be different. It involves listening to the target audience, finding the possible prospects and starting a conversation with them. One may think that it is easy.
However, to do it right and achieve a possible response from the prospect, the marketers should appeal to them from the position of expertise and blend in. B2B LinkedIn marketing is not about selling. The main goal is to develop relationships that will promote trust and foster the purchase of the product.
In this regard, any B2B marketer focuses on providing value to the prospect: advice, insight, or recommendation.
How to Use LinkedIn to Generate Leads
You already know that generating leads on LinkedIn is about establishing connections, gaining trust, providing value, and sharing expertise. In this regard, a marketer would need to improve their profile, apply the right communication tactics and be in the right places. Here are some of the tips on how to use Linkedin for marketing and get some quality leads.
Make an Appealing Profile
Before all, your profile reflects your brand. Thus, it should be well executed in terms of design, message and expertise. What do you need for it?
You can fill in all the sections focusing on the goal and principles of your brand. Besides, make sure to insert your relevant experience: the headline and summary matter. Similarly, adding the right keywords relevant to the industry would improve your visibility.
The same applies to the page of your company. If you work on its behalf, be sure to comply with the information provided on the main page. Notably, adding video can bring more engagement. Yet, make sure it is emotional enough as 75% of the B2B brands fail to produce appealing videos.
Starting Discussions and Sharing Insights
Starting discussions is vital for any LinkedIn B2B marketing strategy as it supports your image and attracts the attention of the prospects. In this regard, B2B LinkedIn marketing requires you to do some social activities.
1. Create groups or join ones
Groups are like forums for professional people. You can create your own and administer it. Yet, it works better when you have your audience. The followers in such groups are to show what they need.
On the other hand, joining a group and commenting there is a way to gain trust and attention. Sharing great advice and supporting it with the content would make you noticed. If a prospect visits your page after it, it is a reason to connect with them and continue developing relationships.
2. Share content on your page
The first thing that the prospects see is your page. Post there and encourage the discussion, as experts see LinkedIn as a very credible source. The more likes or other reactions your post has, the more people will likely see it and follow you after some time.
3. Creating digital events
Another way to share expertise is to organize events. They may refer to the live stream upon specific issues or a particular webinar. It is a way to attract an audience by sharing values that otherwise would not be shared. However, you will need to gain some reputation first.
Connecting and Collecting Info from Pages
The first rule on LinkedIn is to connect with other people. It grants you access to other profiles and adds to your reputation. How does LinkedIn marketing work in this case? As soon as you have people within your network, you can download information from their pages.
From the research point of view, it is better to improve your buyer persona and advanced targeting. Also, you can get their corporate emails that are great for email marketing campaigns. In this regard, you can utilize some email finder tools to get prospects via Linkedin.
Communicating: InMail, Comments, Messages
Communication is as essential as connections. Be an expert who helps and educates. Remember to develop relationships first and then provide value for your product. Besides, use InMails when the lead is qualified, and you are sure they will answer you. If you fail, it can negatively affect your possibilities in the long run.
Use comments boldly, and if people engage with your post, use it as the reason to connect with them. Lastly, write personalized messages when connecting to people. You may mention their questions or issues, posts or insights. Linkedin B2B marketing strategy is about networking. Thus, connect and engage, share and educate.