In light of Facebook’s new pay-for-play requirements, LinkedIn is becoming more popular than ever. It’s being heralded for its perks and its stance as an ideal platform for thought leadership. Many B2B marketers have been committed to the channel for quite some time, so this will come as no surprise to them. LinkedIn’s professional demeanor makes it the perfect place for companies to target prospects, highlight products and execute content marketing initiatives in the B2B space.
While the benefits of LinkedIn are undeniable, it evolves quickly like the other channels we’ve covered this month. These changes require marketers to adapt, much like they’ve had to do for Twitter and Facebook. If you’re eager to use LinkedIn to its fullest potential for B2B but feel you don’t have the time to keep up with best practices, we’re here to help.
The benefits of LinkedIn groups for B2B are well-known, but it’s a good idea to reinvigorate your presence in your favorite ones, especially as long-form publishing is rolled out to everyone this year. Reach out to contacts, share your expertise and participate in conversations.
As with other social channels, even a small advertising budget on LinkedIn can go a long way. Target your ideal, industry-specific prospects through Sponsored Updates, and use them to share your thought leadership and long-form publishing. These should be built into your comprehensive content marketing strategy.
LinkedIn Showcase Pages are most effective for standalone products or initiatives, but they’re a great way to build a community around one facet of a company. Showcasing one product or group of products under the umbrella of your Company Page helps organize varying parts of large B2B companies while maintaining connection with the parent brand. This page has helpful hints for getting started.
LinkedIn Influencers are established thought leaders in their fields who have large followings online. It’s invitation-only, so if you aren’t on the way to becoming one, try to establish relationships with those who are related to your industry. If your content marketing is strong, they might even choose to share it with their large extended networks.
Image credit: Sheila via Flickr Creative Commons
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