When we talk about B2B marketing on social media, it is necessary to change the mindset that, although we cannot address our audience as we would a direct consumer, there will always be a person behind every decision who will receive our communications. And with more than 500 million users , LinkedIn is emerging as a great network to connect people.
So how do you get good leads using LinkedIn?
Let’s start at the beginning…
Do social media work for capturing leads in B2B?
We already mentioned in our post about the use of inbound in B2C and B2B that the biggest difference between the two is the complexity of the decision-making process in a B2B sale.
For this reason, social networks for B2B are often used to keep the company in the top of mind of its audience and create engagement .
Going one step further, let's see how social networks work to generate leads, according to the Kissmetrics blog :
sm b2b lead generation
Source: Kissmetrics
It's true that social media is in the high quadrant in terms of usage. But when it comes to lead generation… at first glance, it's not the best tactic.
But, in all this, how does LinkedIn position itself?
sm b2b marketing
Source: Kissmetrics
When it comes to B2B lead generation , LinkedIn is the #1 social network. What's more, compared to the other social networks, LinkedIn accounts for over 80% of the success rate in lead generation .
LinkedIn lead generation
Source: Kissmetrics
Not in vain do 94% of those dedicated to B2B marketing use LinkedIn in their strategy, but when consulted, 66% estimated that it was the most effective social network in B2B marketing.
So, if you work in a B2B environment and want to connect through social media, LinkedIn is your place.
3 Actions to take on LinkedIn to connect with your leads
1 Work on your company page and product pages
The goal of a company page, like all social media profiles, is not to talk about yourself. The goal is to talk about what your audience needs. To do this, you have to mention what you do, products, services… yes, but remember that the focus should always be on the customer, not yours.
Start by choosing a good profile photo that speaks to you and what you do. This photo will be the first thing that people interested in your company will see. So make sure it connects with your company and conveys its values. For example, IBM's website uses its claim , “ think .”
IBM LinkedIn Description
Next, create a text that clearly conveys your value proposition. That is, how you help solve your target audience's needs, i.e., reduce their frustrations and improve their current situation.
Your goal with this is to drive people from LinkedIn directly to your company website.
Additionally, LinkedIn offers the opportunity to create product pages. These pages are very useful for B2B companies, which unlike B2C companies, tend to specialize in a few products or services. LinkedIn allows you to create up to 10 product pages . In this case, you can direct people from LinkedIn to the specific page for each product.
LinkedIn Product Page
2 Share valuable content
It is true that this point seems monothematic in our publications, but if it were not important we would not repeat it.
Relevant content is content that adds gambling data taiwan value to the recipient. As an active company with clients, it will be very easy for you to know what content your audience is looking for. Think about the frequently asked questions your sales force is asked. What makes your buyers hesitate at the last minute? Use all this information that you know to create content.
LinkedIn allows for various forms of content. Recently, one of the best positioned is video. Although it requires the most resources for creation, it usually generates a good number of interactions that improve its dissemination.
3 Lean on your people
The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer study found that 62% of people trust a company's social media accounts more than its advertising. In addition, LinkedIn is the social media platform that generates the most trust, according to Business Insider .
However, as we have already said… people trust people. And in the particular case of LinkedIn, people trust people like them more than a CEO or authority figure. This trust generated by people also surpasses in this case, that generated by the brands themselves.
Despite this, only 3% of company employees share company-related content. Why is this happening?
There could be many reasons, including a lack of knowledge of what the company is doing in terms of content or the benefit it can gain from sharing it. But in particular, at this point we are interested in a reason closely related to the previous point: the content does not connect enough with these employees to be shared.
It is therefore the company's responsibility to make employees aware of the value of sharing content on LinkedIn to enhance their personal brand, as well as creating content that truly serves this purpose.
Now it's your turn
If you are like me, and you had that initial doubt of… am I attracting job seekers or real leads ? After writing this post and based on my personal experience on LinkedIn, I tell you: the important thing is to connect… And LinkedIn is a fantastic tool to do so.
