As each social media platform matures it establishes a niche following. Users with a common interest all gather and learn on a social platform, but for some it’s hard to see how they can be used from a marketing perspective. LinkedIn it would seem draws together business people, so excels at finding new jobs or networking for contacts in your industry, but what about content marketing – can LinkedIn be effective at content marketing?
There are quite a few options for marketing on LinkedIn, even if you’re not ready for shelling out any money for paid advertising, and it is effective. But there are a few things to consider before you even consider leveraging LinkedIn as a marketing platform.
The more you understand about LinkedIn before you start any marketing campaign, the more you understand the audience you are marketing to, so the more successful it will be. LinkedIn is a niche social media platform so unless you operate within the niche, it won’t work. Unlike Facebook or Instagram who just cater to the ‘masses’, LinkedIn focuses on professions and professionals. It can be argued that it’s a place for business people to further their business, business partnerships or those who are looking to further their career. Does that mean LinkedIn is just a resource for recruiters and ambitious interns? Not at all.
According to research performed by DMR, LinkedIn is a goldmine of opportunity for business to business (B2B) marketing. Did you know that:
With all the professional activity that goes on, LinkedIn is primed for an audience of businessmen actively looking for business. They may not be looking to buy, but they are looking to network and learn. They keep ahead of where the market is, what is coming up and where they fit in. These three principles built around networking and learning means they are already on the road to a purchase at some time in the future, which makes them a warmer lead than any of your Facebook or Twitter connections.
Another advantage of LinkedIn is the quality of users. More CEO’s and company owners have LinkedIn accounts as opposed to any other social media platform so it has the highest concentration of purchasing decision makers. With LinkedIn your digital marketing gets straight to the top, to the people you want to get in front of which increase the chance of a purchase. If you want pre-qualified leads, then LinkedIn is a great way to get them.
Content marketing is all about creating material that people want to read. The different marketing personas you create have a different optimum content pathway that they need to take for maximum effect. You have various vehicles to reach out to different segments of your target audience and LinkedIn is no exception.
It may take a series of A/B testing, a few practice posts or long hours poring over social media analytics, but the more you can segment your audience, the more you can target them with content.
When you have worked out which segment of your audience reacts to short, digestible content, you need to tailor your LinkedIn status updates to reach out to them.
Status updates are completely underrated by most users, but they are a quick way to get a message out. If you don’t have a direct marketing message, it’s a great way to remind people what your profession is, and how good you are at it.
There are four main advantages of using LinkedIn as a marketing platform:
The most important way to leverage these advantages is to set up a full and active profile, whether personally or for your company, then use all the functions within it. Reach out to connect with people, publish articles, share relevant content – in short, use it to establish yourself as a credible authority in your industry. As you do this, leads will come to you.
Anything you publish needs to be focussed and informative, with a purpose. Even if you are posting a status update, ask yourself, ‘What do I want to achieve here?’ AS long as it has a purpose, it has a place on your feed.
Remember that many people view LinkedIn as a place to network their business, but not to sell, so as you, or your company, establish a reputation for good quality information you put yourself in a prime position to draw them in as a warm lead. If you make sure that everything you post or publish is of a quality that impresses, then overtly marketing your company will be easy.
LinkedIn also has a space for providing work samples, effectively providing you with a portfolio of work. It also provides an intimate look at the structure of the company and the integrity of the people who work there. They can see personalised customer interactions, recommendations, endorsement of staff – many things that they won’t see from other social media or face to face interviews. LinkedIn can tell a prospective customer a lot about the brand they are interacting with and about the way that they interact with others. It’s the one social media platform that gives a true reflection of the quality of a company, other than how popular they are.
If you have limited time to work on your social media marketing, then LinkedIn may be the platform for you to concentrate on. It can quickly build up a loyal following that will bring it leads – if you do it right!
