LinkedIn is a social platform built for business networking and works exceptionally well for generating B2B leads. So, how can you cut through all the millions of professionals and find qualified people to do business with? We will show you seven tips to help you use LinkedIn to achieve your B2B marketing goals. Welcome to Marketing and a Mic. We’re here to give you various digital marketing tips, trends, and valuable guides to help your business get results.
LinkedIn for B2B Marketing Tip #1
Turn Your Company Page into A Conversion Page
While it’s helpful to provide a giant description about your company, what it represents, and all your accomplishments, it’s not going to generate leads as you may think. Your company page should be your pipeline funnel, with click-through opportunities to your website. The most important part of your company description is the first two lines because that’s what LinkedIn displays until you decide to click through to view more. Instead of beginning with your office location, years in business, and so on, these first two sentences should be about what you can do for your clients. For example, “Save time and money with…” or “building profitable security for…”. That’s the hook to lead the prospect down the path into finding out more about your company.
In addition to those intriguing first two sentences, make sure to include the keywords within your page that you want to rank for. This requires understanding the search queries and phrases your target audience is likely to use. Just like SEO, you can optimize your profile for long-tail keywords to target more specific leads. For example, let’s say you are a real estate agent out of Birmingham. You would want your profile to pop up when someone searches for a “real estate agent in Birmingham. Incorporate your keywords into your profile, your skills, your description section, and other areas prospects might look.
Do not neglect your profile and cover image. Your company page needs to have a profile image and a cover. Please don’t leave this blank: it looks lazy and unprofessional. Your profile image should be 400 x 400 pixels, and the LinkedIn cover size should be 1128 x 191pixels. Your cover should be clean with a quality image and minimal text. Make sure to fill out every area of your Company Page. Include your office location(s), website, phone number, your specialties, and so on. Publish engaging and consistent content. We say this a lot. But it matters a lot.
Reminder
The majority of professionals on LinkedIn are looking for content that will educate them. So strive to publish content on industry trends and the latest developments to keep your connections informed. It also helps to accompany these posts with appropriate conversational text to drive up engagement.
LinkedIn for B2B Marketing Tip #2
Create Showcase Pages for Highlighted Products
These are pages that you can create in addition to your LinkedIn company page. They are essentially niche pages that separate out specific products or services designed for specific target audiences These are great if you have different elements of your company that speak to different people.
Not every buyer is looking for the same thing or has the same pain points. By creating showcase pages, you can engage with different audiences on different levels. It’s like walking into a library divided up the novels by drama, non-fiction, romance, and other genres LinkedIn showcase pages will allow you to host up to 10 pages. If you have created a LinkedIn Company Page, the process is nearly identical when creating your showcase page. Your showcase page will need a name, title, website URL, logo, image (974 x 330 pixels), and so on like your company page. Showcase pages are SEO-friendly, so don’t ignore plugging your keywords into your title and description. The key with showcase pages is creating quality content that is specific to each page. It’s important to note that showcase pages are not necessary if you have products or services that speak to one buyer persona.
LinkedIn for B2B Marketing Tip #3
Identify Your Key Decision Makers
Connecting with key prospects can be a little daunting if you don’t have specific names or contacts. However, LinkedIn has some great workarounds to find your specific decision-makers. Start by typing in the name of a specific role in quotes and/or the company name in quotes. A list of people will populate, and you can click on each one to check out their profile. Now let’s say you are trying to find someone in a particular role, but you don’t know the exact name of who you are looking for. Simply go to the people tab of any given company page. You will then be presented with a list of potential contacts with job titles and relevant connections. Consider connecting first with these new contacts to help build a natural rapport. You’ll likely want to follow a profile first before connecting outright.
Following someone will send a notification out to the new contact minus having to accept it. This is a less “in your face” approach and a more subtle way to introduce yourself without coming across as “spammy.” Another suggestion would be to start commenting on posts or articles they share first before sending an invitation to connect. This level of engagement will eventually warm up your lead. They will then be more likely to answer a personalized message that you finally send their way.
Reminder
LinkedIn has very enhanced filter capabilities to help search for key prospects. You can search contacts by name, company name, industry, gender, interests, and so on.
LinkedIn for B2B Marketing Tip #4
Refrain from the Cold Lead Approach
Unfortunately, a few bad apples have spoiled the bunch when it comes to generating cold leads on LinkedIn. If your message inbox has become saturated with sales pitches and/or messages that begin with “I came across your profile,” followed by a strong pitch about their company and why you need their product or services, we feel your pain. Cold messages rarely work. You need to lay the groundwork first for a successful sales funnel.
If possible, get an introduction from a mutual connection. Look to see if you have any common connections and consider sending them a message to introduce you. Know the reason you are messaging those specific people. Start by sharing engaging and conversational content, this shows that you’ve researched your prospects and understand what they are looking for. Avoid apologizing, too much jargon, and lengthy messages. Starting your message with “sorry to bother you,” or “apologies for this message,” makes you sound unsure of yourself. Additionally, structure your message in a brief, clear, and focused manner and get straight to the point.
LinkedIn for B2B Marketing Tip #5
Engage with Your Connections and Colleagues
A small action that can have a big impact is interacting with your connections. Even something as simple as saying “congrats” on someone’s achievement will help boost your visibility. Like or comment on their content regularly. It will help you appear more authentic and shows you engaged in their world, and make sure you’re posting during peak hours on LinkedIn (weekdays during the morning and early afternoons). Seek help from your friends and colleagues. Your own company can be your biggest brand advocate on LinkedIn. You should encourage employees to share your content on their personal pages. This will help expand your reach with your own network of connections. Additionally, tag your colleagues in particular posts and congratulate them regularly on accomplishments. This helps to give prospects a visual of the dynamic of your company culture. People love to see company camaraderie.
LinkedIn for B2B Marketing Tip #6
Participate in LinkedIn Groups
A great way to grow your contacts organically is by being an active participant in the LinkedIn community. Groups are a great way to connect with others in a like-minded space and help you build your own expertise within niche communities. While joining groups within your industry is helpful, that is most likely not where you will find your key prospects. The easiest way to search for groups is by typing in various search terms followed by the word “groups” in the search bar or clicking on the Groups filter option. You can find your groups on LinkedIn in the dropdown menu under “Work.” By default, LinkedIn will suggest group affiliations based on your interests or professional brand. However, you can filter your groups into other categories that are more aligned with your prospects.
Additionally, you can edit the visibility for specific groups by simply toggling the “Display group on profile” button to “no” in the Interest section of your profile. Finally, connect your CRM: If you want to capitalize on the time you spend, consider gathering leads, consider integrating your CRM with LinkedIn. One option is Leadjet which integrates with Salesforce, Hubspot, Copper, and Pipeline, and you can also integrate other CRMs through Zapier.
LinkedIn for B2B Marketing Tip #7
Follow Suggested Content and Create Your Own
Formally called LinkedIn Pulse, LinkedIn has created a “Follow Fresh Perspective” section that offers a variety of categories and individuals that you can follow for insight or connect with. Go to your home page feed and click on the three horizontal dots in the far right corner to locate this area. Click on “Improve my feed: get recommended sources to follow,” and you will then be brought to the space “Follow Fresh Perspectives.” How does the “Follow Fresh Perspectives” area help generate leads? Not only can you connect to individuals and influencers within your network, but you can post articles on LinkedIn that can potentially get discovered by a much larger audience.
Posting articles on LinkedIn can help you reach a massive audience and establish you as an industry expert. You post articles directly from your home page. Make sure you optimize your article for search with a compelling title and appropriate keywords. Be sure to cross-promote your articles on other platforms. Your audiences on such platforms as Facebook and Twitter might enjoy the content too.
Conclusion
Those are our seven tips that can help you use LinkedIn for B2B Marketing and generate more quality leads. If you need help with your social media or any other area of your marketing plan, we’d love to talk with you and see how we can help. Don’t forget that our podcast also goes live on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and you can catch the replay on Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more resources to help your digital marketing plan.
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