Marketing on LinkedIn is a powerful tool for businesses looking to expand their professional presence and drive growth. In this article, we will explore the strategies for mastering marketing on LinkedIn and achieving success in the competitive business landscape.
Key Takeaways:
- Creating a B2B content marketing strategy on LinkedIn is crucial for business success.
- Understanding your audience, and competitors, and setting clear objectives are key components of a successful strategy.
- Implementing your strategy involves optimising your profile, engaging with your network, and measuring success.
- Best practices for marketing on LinkedIn include being selective with connections, optimising your headline, and engaging with others’ content.
- Distributing your content on LinkedIn can be done through status updates, sharing articles and links, and using hashtags.
- Creating compelling content on LinkedIn requires considering your target audience, being genuine, and observing and adjusting your strategy.
The Basics of B2B Content Marketing Strategy (and the Free LinkedIn Tools That Can Help)
Before diving into the specifics of marketing on LinkedIn, it’s important to understand the basics of B2B content marketing strategy and how it can drive success on this platform. B2B content marketing is a practice that involves planning, creating, and distributing materials that are interesting and useful to your specific audience, without directly promoting your product or service.
On LinkedIn, B2B content marketing refers to the creation and distribution of professionally oriented content for the purpose of helping people solve business problems and do their jobs better, while subtly guiding them toward your brand and solution.
Having a well-documented B2B content marketing strategy is crucial for success, as it has been proven to be highly effective. According to the latest research from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 71% of respondents say B2B content marketing has grown more important to their organisations over the past year. Additionally, the study shows that top performers are more likely to have a documented strategy compared to the least successful.
Thinking Through Your B2B Content Marketing Strategy
To ensure success, your B2B content marketing strategy should be deliberate, coordinated, and comprehensive. It should consist of six key components that you need to nail down:
- Know your audience: Detailed and holistic audience research will help you align every piece of your content strategy accordingly. LinkedIn provides marketers with a wide variety of professional targeting parameters to get specific and segmented with their campaigns.
- Understand your competitors: By understanding what your competitors are doing from a content marketing standpoint, you can identify gaps and differentiate yourself.
- Set objectives/goals: Clearly defined objectives should be at the heart of your strategy, as they ladder up to your ultimate mission of driving sales and revenue.
- Measure success: Close monitoring of results and metrics is crucial for ensuring your strategy is moving in the right direction. LinkedIn offers a robust suite of analytics to measure every aspect of your program.
- Map out the customer journey: Identifying your customer’s journey and understanding the steps they take en route to purchasing solutions in your category is essential for delivering content in the right context.
- Create relationships and build trust: Building trust and meaningful relationships with your audience should always be an overarching objective of your B2B content marketing strategy.
Implementing Your B2B Content Marketing Strategy
Now that you have a clear understanding of the key components of a B2B content marketing strategy, it’s time to implement it effectively on LinkedIn. Here are some best practices to follow:
- Consider your target audience and tailor your messaging accordingly.
- Engage with your audience by responding to questions, and comments, and sparking discussions.
- Be genuine in your approach and avoid being too salesy.
- Use hashtags to categorise your content and reach a wider audience.
- Be consistent with your content creation and distribution to build trust with your audience.
- Offer exclusive content on LinkedIn to provide added value to your audience.
- Observe and adjust your strategy based on engagement data and feedback.
How to Distribute Your Content on LinkedIn
Once you have created compelling content, it’s important to effectively distribute it on LinkedIn. Here are some methods you can utilise:
- Publish quick status updates to share thoughts, links, and documents.
- Share interesting articles, websites, and videos.
- Attach documents to your status updates to provide valuable resources.
- Mention relevant individuals or companies to expand your reach.
- Talk about events you are attending or have attended to engage your audience.
- Publish and share articles on LinkedIn’s publishing platform to expand your reach.
LinkedIn Content Creation Best Practices
When creating content for LinkedIn, there are some best practices to keep in mind:
- Consider your target audience and tailor your content to their needs.
- Engage with your audience by responding to comments and sparking discussions.
- Be genuine in your approach and avoid using a salesy tone.
- Use hashtags to categorise your content and increase visibility.
- Be consistent with your content creation to build trust and establish yourself as an expert.
- Offer exclusive content on LinkedIn to provide added value to your audience.
- Observe and adjust your content strategy based on engagement data.
By following these guidelines and leveraging the free tools provided by LinkedIn, you can master content marketing on this platform and drive success for your B2B business.
Why is a B2B Content Marketing Strategy Important?
A well-defined B2B content marketing strategy is essential for businesses that want to thrive and stay ahead in today’s competitive marketplace. Let’s explore why having a documented strategy is crucial for marketing on LinkedIn.
The Latest Research
According to the latest B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends research from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 71% of respondents say B2B content marketing has grown more important to their organisations over the past year. This data supports the idea that a well-executed B2B content marketing strategy can have a significant impact on business success.
Documenting Your Strategy
One key finding from the research is that top performers are more likely to have a documented B2B content marketing strategy. In fact, 64% of top performers have a documented strategy, compared to only 19% of the least successful. Having a documented strategy ensures that everyone in the organisation is on the same page and working towards the same goals.
A Holistic Approach
A B2B content marketing strategy should be integrated with a full digital marketing strategy. It should encompass every element of your brand’s digital presence and align with your overall business objectives. This holistic approach allows for a coordinated and consistent message across all platforms, including LinkedIn.
Understanding the Lay of the Land
The word “strategy” originated from the Greek term for “general.” Just like general plans for battle, a B2B content marketing strategy requires understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your target audience, anticipating competitors’ actions, and fully comprehending the landscape of the market you operate in. This level of understanding is crucial for developing a successful strategy on LinkedIn.
The Value of Data
Measuring and analysing your B2B content marketing efforts is essential for success. With LinkedIn’s robust suite of analytics, you can gather valuable data to inform your decisions and see how your content is resonating with your audience. By closely monitoring your results and adjusting your strategy accordingly, you can ensure that your B2B content marketing efforts on LinkedIn are moving in the right direction.
In conclusion, a well-defined B2B content marketing strategy is essential for marketing on LinkedIn. By documenting your strategy, taking a holistic approach, understanding the market landscape, and leveraging data, you can effectively reach and engage your target audience on LinkedIn, driving business success.
Thinking Through Your B2B Content Marketing Strategy
Developing a successful B2B content marketing strategy requires careful consideration of several key components. Let’s explore each of these components in detail to ensure your marketing efforts on LinkedIn are strategic and effective.
Know your audience
This insight will become the basis for everything you do. The more detailed and holistic your audience research – who they are, what are their needs and aspirations, and what makes them tick – the better you will be able to align every piece of your content strategy accordingly.
On LinkedIn, marketers have access to a wide variety of professional targeting parameters, whether posting content organically or via paid. This enables you to get specific and segmented with your campaigns.
Understand your competitors
Presumably, you have already identified who they are as part of your general business strategy, but understanding what your competitors are doing from a content marketing standpoint is key. What do they do that you can do differently, or better? Where is the “white space” – those unaddressed gaps that you have a chance to fill in for your audience?
Set objectives/goals
Clearly defined objectives should be at the heart of any B2B content marketing strategy. These are the incremental goals that ladder up to your ultimate mission: driving sales and revenue. Common B2B content marketing objectives on LinkedIn include:
- Increasing LinkedIn Page following
- Expanding branded content reach
- Driving qualified leads
- Growing awareness/connections within targeted buying committees
- Driving traffic to your organisation’s website
Measure success
“That which you cannot measure, you cannot improve.” It’s a hackneyed phrase at this point, but the reason it’s repeated so often is that it is eternally true. The only way you can be confident your B2B content marketing strategy is moving in the right direction is if you closely monitor results and metrics, and adapt based on what your audience’s engagement is telling you.
You can inform your decisions through careful research and planning, but ultimately it’s all guesswork until you have actual data to consult. Luckily, LinkedIn offers a robust suite of analytics to measure every aspect of your program. More on that in the implementation section below.
Map out the customer journey
Context matters. As strategies evolve and become more sophisticated, the focus becomes less on what you’re creating, and more on how you’re delivering it. For maximum impact, B2B content needs to reach the right people in the proper context – at the right time and right place. Mapping out your customer’s journey, and identifying which steps they tend to take en route to purchasing solutions in your category, makes this possible. You’ll want to learn:
- Which terms and topics do they run searches on?
- Which influencers do they pay attention to?
- Which content formats do they prefer at various stages?
- Which social media channels do they use, and how?
- Which actions and behaviour tend to correlate with buying intent?
Create relationships and build trust
There is no greater imperative in the modern marketing landscape. Despite some misconceptions to the contrary, emotion plays a major role in B2B decision-making, and trust gets to our deepest and rawest emotions. Missteps here can be costly. In the words of Kevin Cochrane, former chief marketing officer for SAP: “Once trust has been lost, it’s nearly impossible for brands to rebuild sustainable, honest relationships with their customers.”
So as you devise your B2B content marketing strategy, the overarching objective of building trust and meaningful relationships should always be a factor.
Implementing Your B2B Content Marketing Strategy
Now that you have a solid understanding of the key components of a B2B content marketing strategy, it’s time to put that knowledge into action and implement your strategy on LinkedIn. By following these marketing on LinkedIn tips, you can effectively promote your business and achieve your objectives on the platform.
Best Practices for Marketing on LinkedIn
When it comes to marketing on LinkedIn, there are several best practices that can help you maximise your efforts:
- Be selective with connections: Build your network slowly and purposefully, connecting with individuals who add value to your feed and have the potential to benefit your business.
- Optimise your headline: Make sure your headline clearly reflects your job title or the services you offer, and keep it within the first 70 characters to ensure visibility on mobile devices.
- Avoid a salesy approach: While you want to promote your products or services, it’s important to strike a balance and avoid coming across as overly pushy. Focus on providing valuable content and building genuine relationships.
- Engage with others’ content: Take the time to react, comment, and share posts that are relevant to your business and audience. This not only helps to establish your expertise but also encourages reciprocity and engagement with your own content.
How to Distribute Your Content on LinkedIn
Once you have created compelling content, it’s crucial to distribute it effectively on LinkedIn. Here are some methods you can use:
- Publish quick status updates: Share interesting articles, websites, or videos and use captivating copy to encourage engagement and clicks on the shared links.
- Share articles and links: Attach documents or articles to your status updates to provide more in-depth information and value to your audience.
- Mention relevant individuals: Use the “@” symbol to mention and tag people who are relevant to your content, encouraging them to engage and share your posts.
- Attach documents: If you have valuable resources, such as checklists or case studies, attach them to your status updates to provide additional value to your audience.
- Publish and share articles on LinkedIn: Take advantage of LinkedIn’s publishing platform to share longer-form content, such as thought leadership articles or industry insights.
LinkedIn Content Creation Best Practices
When creating content for LinkedIn, keep these best practices in mind to ensure maximum impact:
- Consider your target audience: Tailor your content to address the needs and interests of your specific audience. Understand their challenges and provide valuable insights and solutions.
- Engage with your audience: Actively respond to comments, questions, and feedback on your posts to foster meaningful connections and encourage further engagement.
- Be genuine in your approach: Focus on providing authentic and valuable content rather than a sales pitch. Build trust and credibility with your audience.
- Use hashtags: Incorporate relevant hashtags into your posts to increase visibility and reach a wider audience interested in the topics you are discussing.
- Be consistent: Maintain a regular posting schedule to stay top of mind with your audience and establish your presence as a reliable source of industry insights.
- Offer exclusive content: Provide unique and valuable content on LinkedIn that cannot be found elsewhere, giving your audience a reason to follow and engage with your brand specifically on the platform.
- Observe and adjust: Monitor the performance of your content using LinkedIn’s robust analytics tools. Pay attention to engagement metrics and adjust your strategy accordingly to continuously improve your results.
By implementing these strategies, you can effectively market your business on LinkedIn and leverage the platform’s features to reach your target audience, build relationships, and achieve your marketing objectives. LinkedIn offers a unique opportunity to connect with professionals and industry leaders, so make the most of it by following these tips and best practices.
Best Practices for Marketing on LinkedIn
To maximise your marketing efforts on LinkedIn, it’s important to follow some best practices that can help you build a strong professional presence and connect with your target audience effectively. Here are some tips to help you make the most out of your LinkedIn marketing strategy:
- Be selective with connections: When connecting with professionals on LinkedIn, be strategic and only connect with individuals who can add value to your network. Building a quality network will help you establish meaningful relationships and expand your reach within your industry.
- Optimise your headline: Your LinkedIn headline is a prime opportunity to showcase your expertise and attract attention. Use keywords that are relevant to your industry and highlight your unique value proposition.
- Avoid a salesy approach: Remember that LinkedIn is a professional platform, so focus on providing valuable content and insights rather than being overly promotional. Build trust with your audience by offering valuable information and engaging in meaningful conversations.
- Engage with others’ content: Actively engage with other professionals’ content by liking, commenting, and sharing. This will help you build relationships, increase your visibility, and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
It’s important to note that LinkedIn is not just a platform for self-promotion; it’s a place to network, share knowledge, and contribute to industry conversations. By following these best practices, you can create a strong presence on LinkedIn and maximise the impact of your marketing efforts.
| Best Practices for Marketing on LinkedIn: |
|---|
| Be selective with connections |
| Optimise your headline |
| Avoid a salesy approach |
| Engage with others’ content |
Be Selective with Connections
When it comes to connecting with professionals on LinkedIn, quality is more important than quantity. Instead of blindly accepting connection requests, take the time to evaluate whether the individual can bring value to your network. Connect with professionals who are relevant to your industry, share similar interests, or have the potential to collaborate on future opportunities.
Optimise Your Headline
Your LinkedIn headline is one of the first things people see when they visit your profile, so make it count. Use relevant keywords that accurately describe your expertise and highlight your unique selling points. This will help you stand out in search results and attract the attention of your target audience.
Avoid a Salesy Approach
LinkedIn is not a platform for aggressive sales pitches. Instead, focus on providing valuable content and insights that showcase your expertise and establish you as a trusted authority in your field. Engage in meaningful conversations, share valuable resources, and offer insights that can help your connections solve their problems.
Engage with Others’ Content
Building meaningful relationships on LinkedIn goes beyond simply connecting with others. Actively engage with the content shared by your connections by liking, commenting, and sharing. Show genuine interest in their posts, ask thoughtful questions, and contribute valuable insights. By engaging with others’ content, you not only strengthen your network but also increase your visibility within your industry.
By following these best practices, you can make the most out of your LinkedIn marketing strategy and establish a strong professional presence that resonates with your target audience. Remember to be selective with connections, optimise your headline, avoid a salesy approach, and actively engage with others’ content. These tactics will help you build meaningful relationships, establish trust, and position yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
Distributing Your Content on LinkedIn
Distributing your content effectively on LinkedIn can greatly enhance your reach and engagement. Let’s explore the different methods and features LinkedIn offers for content distribution.
Publish Quick Status Updates
One of LinkedIn’s most underutilised features is the “LinkedIn Status Update” in your LinkedIn profile. This is an excellent way to stay in front of your target audience on a consistent basis. You can share links to interesting articles, websites, or videos that provide valuable insights. Make sure to use captivating words that encourage readers to click the link.
You can also attach a document to your status updates, such as checklists, white papers, or case studies. This provides an even richer source of information for your audience.
Mentioning a person or situation that might be helpful to some of your connections can also generate engagement. Using the “@” symbol before an individual or company name allows readers to click through to their LinkedIn profile or company page.
Talking about an event you are attending or have attended can also spark involvement and generate questions about what you learned there.
It’s important to avoid irrelevant or spammy content, such as talking about what you had for breakfast or continuously pitching products and services. LinkedIn is a professional network, so make sure your updates provide value and are relevant to your audience.
Publish and Share an Article on LinkedIn
LinkedIn’s publishing platform is a powerful way to distribute longer-form content. It allows you to expand your reach and showcase your expertise to a wider audience. With the ability to include images and even video, you can create engaging and informative articles that resonate with your target audience.
When publishing an article on LinkedIn, consider your target audience and tailor your messaging to their needs. Engage with your audience by responding to comments and questions, and be genuine in your approach. Use hashtags to categorise your content and make it easier for users to find.
Consistency is key when using the publishing platform. Develop a regular cadence for publishing and provide exclusive content that can’t be found elsewhere. Observe your metrics and adjust your strategy based on audience engagement and feedback.
Remember to share your articles with your network by sharing the link to your article in a status update. This will further amplify the reach and visibility of your content.
Other Methods of Distribution
In addition to status updates and publishing articles, LinkedIn offers other features for content distribution. You can share links to interesting articles, websites, or videos directly in your status updates. Attaching a document to your status update, such as a checklist or white paper, can also provide valuable resources to your audience.
Mentioning people of interest to your connections can help generate engagement and spark conversations. Sharing insights about events you are attending or have attended can also create opportunities for interaction.
LinkedIn also provides options for video content. Publishing videos allows you to engage with your audience in a more dynamic and visual way.
Conclusion
By leveraging the different methods and features LinkedIn offers for content distribution, you can effectively reach and engage your target audience. Whether through quick status updates, publishing articles, or utilising other distribution options, LinkedIn provides a platform for showcasing your expertise and expanding your reach in the professional sphere.
LinkedIn Content Creation Best Practices
Creating high-quality, engaging content is key to a successful marketing strategy on LinkedIn. Let’s dive into some best practices for creating and sharing content that resonates with your audience on this platform.
- Consider your target audience. Before you post anything, think about who the content is for and tailor your messaging to that particular audience. For example, if your target audience is sales professionals, choose industry topics they care about to hook them in. What problems or obstacles are they trying to solve? Create content that speaks to their needs.
- Engage with your audience. It’s easy to create a post and then move on to the next project, but using LinkedIn for marketing shouldn’t be a one-way street. If you’re fortunate to have users commenting on your post, interact with them. Respond to questions and comments, ask for feedback, or ask questions that spark discussion.
- Be genuine, not salesy. Yes, social media marketing is about promotion, but you can promote yourself and your brand without taking a hard sell angle. Producing good content with an authentic voice will perform better than a hollow sales pitch. People are smart and can spot dishonesty quickly.
- Use hashtags. Just like other social media sites, LinkedIn hashtags are used to categorise content. You can use them to help you reach your target audience and those with shared interests. Hashtags are also a great way to reach those outside of your network who may be interested in your content based on the hashtags you use. Two to three relevant tags should do the job.
- Be consistent. A successful LinkedIn campaign requires consistency. This may be hard at first, but it’s important to develop a regular cadence for publishing. This builds trust with your audience and will help establish yourself as an expert in your field.
- Be exclusive. It can be tempting to publish the same content across multiple platforms, but that would be a mistake. Provide your LinkedIn audience with exclusive content that they can’t find elsewhere. It’s not uncommon to have the same followers on several platforms, so you don’t want to bombard them with duplicate content.
- Observe and adjust. Don’t get discouraged if your posts don’t initially get the level of response you hoped for. Make adjustments and continue to improve with each new post you share.
LinkedIn Content Distribution Best Practices
When it comes to distributing your content on LinkedIn, there are several strategies you can employ:
- Publish quick status updates. One of LinkedIn’s most underutilised features is the “LinkedIn Status Update” in your LinkedIn Profile. This is one of the best ways to stay in front of your target audience on a consistent basis. Share links to interesting articles, websites, or videos, and use words that grab readers and encourage them to click the link.
- Share links to articles and websites. You can also share links to articles and websites that are relevant to your target audience. This is a great way to provide additional value and position yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
- Attach a document to your status update. Consider attaching a document to your status update to provide additional resources or information to your audience. This could be a checklist, white paper, or case study that is relevant to your target audience.
- Mention people of interest. When sharing content, mention people of interest to your connections. This can help increase engagement and visibility, as well as foster connections and networking opportunities.
- Talk about events. Share updates about events you are attending or have attended. This can help generate interest and discussion among your connections, as well as provide insights and networking opportunities.
- Publish and share articles on LinkedIn. LinkedIn’s publishing platform offers a great opportunity to expand your reach and showcase your expertise. Write articles on topics that are relevant to your target audience and share them on LinkedIn. This can help establish you as a thought leader and attract more followers.
Remember, creating high-quality content and distributing it effectively on LinkedIn is essential for achieving marketing success on the platform. Use these best practices to optimise your LinkedIn content strategy and engage with your target audience effectively.
Conclusion
Mastering marketing on LinkedIn requires a well-defined strategy, thoughtful content creation, and consistent engagement. By following the strategies and best practices outlined in this article, you’ll be on your way to elevating your professional presence and maximising business growth on LinkedIn.
One of the key components of a successful marketing strategy on LinkedIn is having a strong B2B content marketing strategy. This involves planning, creating, and distributing materials that are interesting and useful to your specific audience, without directly promoting your product or service. By focusing on helping people solve business problems and do their jobs better, you can develop brand awareness, trust, and affinity with your target customers.
It’s important to have a documented B2B content marketing strategy, as research has shown that organisations with a documented strategy are more likely to succeed in their marketing efforts. This strategy should encompass various elements, including audience research, competitor analysis, setting objectives, measurement, understanding the customer journey, and building relationships.
Implementing your B2B content marketing strategy on LinkedIn requires practical tips and best practices. Optimising your profile, engaging with your network, measuring success, and mapping out the customer journey are all important considerations. Additionally, you should be selective with your connections, optimise your headline, avoid a salesy approach, and actively engage with others’ content.
When it comes to distributing your content on LinkedIn, there are several options to consider. You can publish quick status updates, share articles and links, attach documents, mention relevant individuals, and publish and share articles on the platform. Utilising these distribution methods can help you reach your target audience effectively.
To create compelling content on LinkedIn, consider your target audience and tailor your messaging accordingly. Engage with your audience, be genuine in your approach, use relevant hashtags, and be consistent with your content creation. Observing and adjusting your strategy based on audience engagement is crucial for ongoing success.
In conclusion, marketing on LinkedIn can be a powerful tool for business growth. By developing and implementing a strong B2B content marketing strategy, optimising your profile, engaging with your network, and distributing valuable content, you can establish yourself as an industry expert and attract a relevant audience. Remember to continuously observe and adjust your strategy based on the data and feedback you receive, and never underestimate the importance of building trust and relationships with your audience. With these strategies and best practices in place, you’ll be well on your way to mastering marketing on LinkedIn.
FAQ
Q: What is a B2B content marketing strategy?
A: A B2B content marketing strategy refers to the creation and distribution of professionally oriented content for the purpose of developing brand awareness, trust, and affinity with potential customers in the B2B space. It involves planning, creating, and distributing materials that are interesting and useful to a specific audience but do not directly promote a product or service.
Q: Why is a B2B content marketing strategy important?
A: A B2B content marketing strategy is important because it has been increasingly recognised as a highly effective approach. According to research, 71% of respondents say B2B content marketing has grown more important to their organisations over the past year. Additionally, top performers are more likely to have a documented strategy, which suggests the importance of having a deliberate and comprehensive approach to content marketing.
Q: How can I implement a B2B content marketing strategy on LinkedIn?
A: To implement a B2B content marketing strategy on LinkedIn, it is important to consider your target audience, engage with your network, be genuine in your approach, use hashtags, be consistent in your posting, offer exclusive content, and observe and adjust your strategy based on results. Additionally, distributing content through quick status updates, sharing articles and links, attaching documents, mentioning relevant individuals, and publishing and sharing articles on LinkedIn can help reach your audience effectively.
Q: What are the best practices for marketing on LinkedIn?
A: Some best practices for marketing on LinkedIn include being selective with your connections, optimising your headline, avoiding a salesy approach, engaging with others’ content, and using hashtags strategically. It is also important to create compelling content that meets the needs of your target audience, be consistent in your posting, and observe and adjust your strategy based on results.
Q: How can I measure the success of my B2B content marketing strategy on LinkedIn?
A: To measure the success of your B2B content marketing strategy on LinkedIn, it is important to closely monitor results and metrics. LinkedIn offers a robust suite of analytics that can help measure various aspects of your program. By analysing engagement and audience behaviour, you can make informed decisions and adapt your strategy accordingly.
Q: How can I optimise my LinkedIn profile for marketing purposes?
A: To optimise your LinkedIn profile for marketing purposes, it is important to use a professional headshot, fill out your headline with relevant keywords, and provide a compelling summary that highlights your expertise. You can also showcase your skills and talents by uploading documents, images, videos, and presentations to your profile. Endorsements and recommendations from colleagues can also help strengthen your professional image.
