One of the most powerful B2B marketing tools available today is LinkedIn. The social media site is often used for its employment opportunities, but it’s also where strong B2B networking connections are built and where you can establish your brand with the people who make buying decisions.
Thought Leadership
LinkedIn is a hub where you can gain industry insights. It’s also a site where you can ask questions and enter into a conversation with people who matter to your business. These conversations can even help cultivate your role as a thought leader.
You can go from asking simple questions and gradually growing your reputation to where you become known as an expert who is available to weigh in on complex topics. This puts you in a position of influence, which can lead to becoming a trusted advisor. Eventually, it can lead to sales growth, as people in your industry begin to think of your company first when it’s time to make a purchase.
Driving Traffic
Did you know that business content gets a lot more action on LinkedIn than on Facebook? Your chances of going viral with business content are better on LinkedIn than on any other social media site.
Just as you strive to drive more traffic to your website, you can also enhance your status by driving more traffic to your company’s LinkedIn page. Whether it involves sharing content on your homepage or becoming active in LinkedIn Groups, the more time you invest in your account, the better equipped you will be to drive traffic.
Integration with CRM
LinkedIn has an abundance of tools at your disposal that can be a key part of your B2B marketing strategy. For example, the social CRM many businesses use to manage their content can be integrated with LinkedIn. While it is not billed as a way of qualifying leads, it certainly helps you build out your list of important connections.
If you want to see what your contacts are doing on LinkedIn in real time, integrate your social CRM solution. Google Contacts and Outlook also all have basic LinkedIn integration features you should be using.
Need some tips on how to make your company’s LinkedIn account more user-friendly and an important part of your B2B marketing strategy? Contact us at SJC Marketing and we can walk you through a process to get more out of your LinkedIn activity.