B2B marketing can be a challenge – there are so many different touchpoints to consider and it can be difficult not only to keep up, but also to know where and how to distribute your time so that the most effective channels get the most attention.
To illustrate, HubSpot conducted research into B2B lead generation methods, and ranked them from most effective to least effective, with inside sales, events, trade shows, telemarketing and company websites trumping social media by some margin.
But what is noticeable, particularly in the UK, is that of the digital marketing channels, LinkedIn is by far and away the most effective tool – one that business owners cannot afford to ignore!
Some simple statistics that support this include:
- 93% of B2B marketers consider LinkedIn to the most effective tool for lead generation
- LinkedIn sends 64% of all visits from social media to corporate websites
- 50% of LinkedIn members say they are more likely to buy from a company if it has a LinkedIn profile
Adding weight to the argument that if you’re a business owner in the UK, you should absolutely have a LinkedIn strategy is this: of the top five most connected countries on LinkedIn the UK ranks fourth, with members having an average of 144 connections. Additionally, London tops the chart as the top-most connected city on earth, with the average Londoner boasting an average of 307 connections.
So what’s the best way to extract the most value from LinkedIn? Here are 5 simple steps to get you started…
- Set up your Company page. You may well already have a personal profile that details your experience and qualifications, but setting up a Company page allows you to identify the specific attributes, unique selling points, location and industry that you specialise in. Include keywords that people searching for your type of product or service are likely to use and link your website back to your LinkedIn company page to start creating referral traffic both ways.
- Set up and action a content schedule. Much like other social media networks, LinkedIn has the facility to do content posts which can include images, text and videos – this is an ideal opportunity to spread the word about who you are, what your company does and how you can deliver value to potential customers. Ideally, you should be looking to post every day, but keep the content focused, useful and relevant to ensure maximum engagement.
- Take advantage of LinkedIn’s paid advertising options. LinkedIn offers some really excellent channels for paid advertising, including sponsored content, text ads and targeted direct messaging using the InMail option. And not only does the platform’s audience matching deliver highly targeted results, their Matched Audiences tool ensures that you’re able re-target visitors who are already in your sales funnel, giving you even more opportunity to convert.
- Build your network. It may be time-consuming, but it’s absolutely worth the effort to spend a few hours a month building your network of contacts. LinkedIn makes the process simple by making suggestions for people to connect with, and you can also search for individuals and connect with them using InMail or simply sending them a ‘connect’ invitation.
- LinkedIn Groups add even more weight to your connectivity. The platform also allows you to search for curated groups to join, which are effectively digital gathering spaces for professionals with similar interests and activities. Here you’ll be able to start or join conversations and build your reputation as someone with value to offer. You can also start your own groups and develop a network that way.
Relationships remain key to business success and LinkedIn offers the right tools and platform to help you build those B2B relationships in an authentic and value-driven way.
Contact Realnet today to find out more about setting up your B2B digital marketing and content marketing strategy. Call us on 01223 550800 or email info@realnet.co.uk and one of our friendly experts will get right back to you.