For a lot of B2B marketers, especially those within the specialty manufacturing industry, the concept of social media marketing may still seem foreign and a little out of place from the more traditional marketing efforts they’ve come to know and trust over the years. But for those looking to finally take the leap, knowing they’re already behind, where should they start to get their feet wet in the socialsphere? Look no further than LinkedIn, the proven powerhouse for B2B lead generation.
Here’s a look at The Top 3 Reasons LinkedIn Was Made for B2B Marketers:
1. LinkedIn Users Are Predominantly Business Professionals
- LinkedIn offers the highest concentration of educated professionals of any social media network and has now exceeded 150 million members in over 200 countries and territories (as of Feb 2012).
- The industries with the highest concentration worldwide on LinkedIn are High Tech (14.3%), Finance (12.4%) and Manufacturing (10.1%)
- More than 2 million companies have created their own company page (as of Feb 2012)
- Users on the network are there to connect with other professionals and are already in a business mindset, compared to Facebook or Twitter which is primarily utilized for personal use
- A survey conducted in summer 2011 found 58% of B2B marketers were using utilizing LinkedIn for their social media marketing, compared to 50% for Facebook and 43% for Twitter (Leadforce1). This is proof that B2B marketers have found a use for this growing professional network and are seeing results
2. LinkedIn Company Pages Keep Your Customers & Prospects Informed
LinkedIn continues to make advancements to their company page offering, and probably the most notable advancement was the company status update feature that was introduced in October 2011. This allows companies to post ongoing blog article links, related company news and the latest product/service advancements which then appears directly in the news feed for those who follow your company. This keeps your customers and prospects informed each time they login and see your updates, and may make the difference with touching them at just the right time as they’re looking to solve a problem.
3. LinkedIn Groups Help Attract Leads
LinkedIn is currently the host of more than 1.1 million user groups, which are very specific to users’ interests, industry and needs. A single member can join up to 50 unique LinkedIn groups which is a great way to network with fellow professionals in your industry, but more importantly, groups offer a great way to connect with your ideal prospects. By utilizing these groups to share useful content such as your blog articles, white papers, etc., as well as starting engaging discussions, you’ll gain credibility among prospective customers and some may even begin turning into leads.
These are only a handful of the reasons and features that make LinkedIn the ideal social media marketing tool for B2B marketers. If you’re convinced you need to get more proactive with your current LinkedIn activity and need some more details on how to get started, check out these other articles:
LinkedIn 101: A Critical Part of Your Inbound Marketing Strategy
A Smart LinkedIn Strategy Can Help Generate Leads
Top 3 Ways To Optimize Your LinkedIn Company Page
