LinkedIn has proven to be a very effective channel for promotion and advertising when engaging in social media marketing for B2B businesses, . Haven’t thought of LinkedIn as being an advertising platform for your company? It has a number of very unique advantages.
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions might just be the perfect channel for you to reach new customers or existing clients to achieve your business and marketing goals.
LinkedIn and Advertising
The advantages of advertising and marketing on LinkedIn include the ability to reach millions of members in specific niche industries who are senior-level decision-makers, and people who wield great influence in their companies. Your products or services can be targeted to be seen by the eyes and promoted to the people who actually purchase your products and services. B2B advertising on LinkedIn is no small matter. The number of people you can reach is just one small part of all of the benefits.
Who Needs to Advertise on LinkedIn?
The first question you should ask when determining whether or not you should focus your advertising and marketing efforts on LinkedIn is: “Will I be able to target buyers of my products or services in the specific industries and professional positions that need or want my product or service?” If you are selling B2B, the answer will probably be “yes” but it is important to consider whether or not the product or service will benefit them directly.
Buyer Personas – The Key To Effective LinkedIn Marketing and Advertising
Most of us already have an idea of the people who purchase our products and services. In B2B advertising and marketing on LinkedIn, this is more important than ever because the potential customer targeting can be customized for B2B better than in almost any other platform.
The more you know about the people who buy from you, the more successful you will be on LinkedIn. If you haven’t already created a buyer persona for your potential customers, you should. A buyer persona is a compilation of information about your ideal customer based on your research and data about your existing customers. Combine this information to create a profile (persona) that gives you the type of individual you want to target with your marketing efforts.
Information you should include in your buyer persona definition include demographics – including seniority, job titles, company size, industry, etc. You should also try to identify buy cycle patterns, goals, and their reasons to buy from you. The more detailed information you have, the better you will be able to efficiently and effectively market on LinkedIn.
Imagine being able to market to only those people who you know need your products and have the ability to make the decision to purchase. You won’t have to waste money on broad reach advertising campaigns that touch lots of people but very few potential buyers.
There are three types of business offers that work best on LinkedIn:
- High-value B2B services or products
- Recruitment
- Higher education
By high-value, we mean looking at the value of your sale in relation to the cost of the LinkedIn ad. LinkedIn ads can seem expensive compared to some other forms of advertising and marketing so this has to be taken into account.
The cost of Linkedin advertising must be put into the context of return on ad spend and return on investment. For example, which is better? Spend $15 per click for very few clicks on LinkedIn to get a real lead from an ideal customer or spend $1 per click to get a lot of clicks from people who may only have a casual interest.
If your focus is on recruiting, LinkedIn ads are much less expensive than recruiting companies and you can save a bundle. Advertising an exciting new position on LinkedIn is sure to catch the eye of those looking to advance their specific career goals in a specific profession or industry.
When you are advertising education, the targeting option of LinkedIn is extremely useful. Members of LinkedIn generally have a high interest in self-improvement, so opportunities for higher education are very attractive.
Who Should Probably Not Advertise on LinkedIn?
The above businesses have success advertising on LinkedIn but there are some that don’t have the success they hope for. These would be companies who have a broad target area for their products or services, those with small sales prices, those marketing to consumers and those selling commodities, such as loans, insurance or real estate. There are always exceptions and with testing, it could be that one of these could succeed with LinkedIn advertising.
Benefits of Advertising on LinkedIn
There are specific and diverse benefits to advertising on LinkedIn. Here are some.
- You have access to a huge audience
There are over a half a billion users on LinkedIn. That figure is far smaller than Facebook and Instagram, but within the LinkedIn audience you have pre-qualified prospects. For example, users share things such as their location, past work experience, skills, and current position. The demographics of users on this platform also are older, with a higher education and higher income than other platforms. If these types of professionals are who you want to reach, LinkedIn is the network to use.
- You can target an ultra-specific audience
This is the real LinkedIn benefit. The platform has advanced targeting options which allow you to choose your audience with care and accuracy. Your ads can be shown to certain titles, different geographic locations, and specific company sizes. You can target users by their job title, company name, industry, skill or professional interests. This makes effective, efficient advertising much easier.
- Connect with your targeted individuals directly
LinkedIn has what is known as Sponsored Messaging, which is a way you can send personalized messages to and share content with specific individuals that mean a lot to your business. This personalization has a high impact. Messages you can send include invitations to download exclusive content such as an eBook, getting people to sign up for an online event, or motivating a user to purchase a service or a product. LinkedIn determines if the people you are sending to are still active to prevent your message from reaching inactive users.
- Create a variety of ads, from video to text
There are many different ad types that can be utilized in an advertising campaign on LinkedIn. You can use images, text, and video in many formats. You can also try email ads, display ads or carousel ads. Marketers can take advantage of all the options that LinkedIn offers, such as the ability to leverage sidebar ads and sponsored posts. These generate targeted leads, traffic, build and nurture relationships, and help build remarketing lists.
How to Maximize the Benefits of Effective LinkedIn Marketing
Having a marketer with experience promoting on LinkedIn can provide a marketing strategy that will improve your company’s position compared to the competition. There are many marketing and advertising opportunities available on LinkedIn. It takes knowledge and expertise to put them together so everything works effectively. Ideally, you will work with a marketing company that has the experience and expertise to make things happen. As things change in your industry and marketing technology, it’s vital to stay on top of the latest opportunities.
Marketing Strategy for B2B LinkedIn Marketing and Advertising
Defining a LinkedIn marketing strategy will come first. You need to know your budget, your audience, and what you want to achieve with your ads and efforts. You should create specific marketing goals, schedules, and timelines. You need the right message, and you need to know that that message will get to the right people. Once you have your strategy in place you need to create and implement your LinkedIn marketing plan. The right marketing company will help you put the strategy together and handle the implementation. Your B2B LinkedIn marketing success can be just a few clicks away.