LinkedIn can be a powerful tool for individuals and companies looking to make new connections, generate leads, and build their brand. While it’s an important platform for all businesses, LinkedIn can be a true game changer for B2B (business to business) companies.
This article will show you why your business – especially if you’re in the B2B space – shouldn’t wait another day to incorporate LinkedIn into your social marketing strategy.
1. LinkedIn is even more important to B2B marketers than Facebook.
According to the 2015 Social Media Marketing Industry report, LinkedIn has now surpassed Facebook as the #1 most important social platform for B2B marketers. While only 21% of B2C marketers cited LinkedIn as their #1 platform, 41% of B2B marketers put it at the of their list (compared to just 30% who said Facebook was the most important).
2. LinkedIn is the third most used social platform among business owners.
According to the Salesforce 2015 State of Marketing report, LinkedIn is the third most commonly used social network for business owners. With 62% of business owners reporting that they use the platform, and an additional 22% saying they intend to use it in the next year, the use of LinkedIn as a valuable business tool shows no signs of slowing down.
3. Statistics suggest LinkedIn may be most effective platform for product launches.
Are you still relying on traditional press releases to get the word out about new products? Social media – and LinkedIn in particular – has had an enormous impact on how we distribute product news and information to media, bloggers and consumers. According to polling done by Regalix, LinkedIn is now the #1 platform used for product launches among B2B businesses. A whopping 81% of B2B businesses say they use LinkedIn for launches, compared to 71% who use Twitter and just 54% who use Facebook.
4. LinkedIn is one of the most effective ways to recruit new talent.
While job boards and career websites have typically been among the top channels for finding qualified job applicants, the use of social professional networking sites for recruiting has exploded over the past 4 years. According to LinkedIn’s own research, these sites (one of which is LinkedIn) have seen a 73% increase in job recruitment usage, compared to a 15% increase for internet job boards and a 16% decrease for staffing agencies.
5. Some research suggests LinkedIn may be the most effective platform for lead generation.
2012 research by Hubspot found that LinkedIn referral traffic had the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate among social networking sites; higher even than Facebook or Twitter. They found that LinkedIn had average conversion rates of 2.74%, compared to Facebook’s .77% and Twitter’s .69.
While these numbers are likely to have changed over the past 3 years, there’s no doubt that LinkedIn continues to drive a significant number of leads for business – particularly in the B2B space.
6. LinkedIn is the ideal network for establishing thought leadership.
As a key channel for professional content distribution, there’s no more effective network for establishing yourself or your brand as a leader in your industry. LinkedIn groups allow you to position yourself as a trusted influencer in your niche, and recommendations and endorsements can go a long way to solidifying your reputation as a trusted entity in your field.
7. LinkedIn can improve professional face-to-face relationships.
We know that LinkedIn helps businesses establish and nurture important online relationships. However, research suggests it can also help solidify in-person connections. According to this infographic from Wishpond, 44% of LinkedIn users establish better face-to-face relationships through their use of the platform.
8. LinkedIn gives your brand increased search visibility.
A properly optimized LinkedIn profile and company page increases your chances of ranking in Google search, giving you more valuable real estate in the search engine results. To ensure you’re ranking in search, make sure you:
- Are using relevant keywords in your personal bio and page description
- Use descriptive wording in your job title and company name
- Complete all fields in your profile and company description
- Include links to your website and blog in your profile, description and posts
9. LinkedIn posts have the potential to reach all your page followers.
Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn has no filtered feed. When you post an update to your LinkedIn company page, it appears in your followers’ feeds, regardless of how often they have interacted with your posts in the past.
This means that all your efforts to build your page are rewarded with a captive audience; and aren’t hindered or filtered by an algorithm.
This doesn’t mean, however, that all of your followers will actually be on the platform when you post. For this reason, it’s important that you post regularly to maximize your reach. According to LinkedIn, businesses should expect to post 20x per month in order to reach approximately 60% of their audience.
10. LinkedIn is the most effective social media platform for content distribution.
A 2014 study by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs found that 94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute their content. The study also revealed that marketers cited LinkedIn as being the most effective channel for content distribution, ranking ahead of Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
Sharing your content on LinkedIn gets it in front of your current connections and followers; and using LinkedIn advertising extends its reach even further by allowing you to target your distribution to industry influencers and potential clients. For more on this, see “How to Make LinkedIn Your Content Marketing Secret Weapon.”
I hope this article has convinced you that LinkedIn is a worthwhile investment for your business. Using it to make new connections, attract clients and employees and to distribute your valuable content all make LinkedIn an invaluable addition to your marketing strategy.
Are you active on LinkedIn? Why or why not? Share in the comments below!
This article was written by Jayson DeMers from Forbes and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. SmartRecruiters is the hiring success platform to find and hire great people.
