How to Start Using Linkedin for B2B Marketing Like a Pro

In direct-to-consumer businesses, marketers have opted to use social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to reach new and existing customers. These platforms overshadow LinkedIn when it comes to engaged daily users, but for companies who need to reach business decision makers, LinkedIn offers targeting options that can't be matched by these other platforms, making it the go-to platform for B2B marketers.

If used correctly, LinkedIn is the number one most effective marketing tool for B2B marketers. The platform has been evolving as an advertising network as well, with new features and ad units added each month. Mastering the performance of LinkedIn ads is the secret to generating quality leads, and in turn, increased sales.

However, just like any other marketing tactic, it takes time and effort before seeing actual results from LinkedIn marketing. It requires patience, testing and learning before you see results. Here is a comprehensive guide on what to expect in the first month of marketing your company on LinkedIn.

Why Is the First Month Critical?

The first month of LinkedIn marketing is the most important because this is where you build a foundation. This is the time when you introduce your brands and products to the market. The results from our first month of tests will give us a baseline to start optimizing and improving results for our ad campaigns.

This is the period when you gauge the progress and get an accurate idea of how the campaign is likely to perform. For example, if certain ad variations are not seeing any clicks, or if our remarketing audience isn't large enough to serve ads, it could be a sign that we need to adjust the strategy to remove certain low performing ads, or shift budget to prospecting audiences before running remarketing campaigns.

What Should You Do First?

Create a Strong Company and Individual Profile Profile

A compelling LinkedIn Company profile for your brand will not only help you create awareness, but it also builds your reputation and confers legitimacy when a prospect visits your page. 

Your first week is all about effort rather than results. You should take advantage of this period to polish your Company and Individual profiles and ensure that it meets the standards of your target audience. Unlike direct-to-consumer marketing, business-to-business is a bit complex, and it takes more than a simple profile to impress the audience. The goal is to create a strong reputation and show your targets that you are a reputable business with an executive leadership team that is experienced and trustworthy. You also need to demonstrate your value to prospects so that they consider you over your competitors. You should update your Company and Individual profile frequently based on visitor engagement and impressions:

• Add professional photos
• Add links to recently published articles or thought leadership
• Update your description to include your value propositions
• Create a professional background image behind your logo (for your company page)
• Ensure all your employees are linked to the correct company page and have accurate job titles
• Update your profile URL to be a reflection of your company name or your full name
• For your Individual profile, write a compelling headline for your profile that describes what you do
• Add skills to your individual profile, add certifications and ask others to provide recommendations or endorsements

Be Consistent with Engagement

The first month is all about setting up a routine to check your profile and keep things updated. This is only achievable if you are active on LinkedIn. This does not imply that you should spam your contacts on LinkedIn with your promotional posts. You must be smart not to appear too sales-y, but at the same time, convincingly promote your brand. On your posts, let your audience know what value you can offer them or why they should consider your company or product. Be genuinely helpful.

Follow Your Target Prospects

Identify your target prospects on LinkedIn and follow them. This is another easy way to make them notice you. If you are lucky enough, some of them will click on your profile to find out what services you are offering, and if your profile is professional and attractive enough, they might follow back.

Reach Out to Your Target Prospects and Current Customers

Do not sit and wait for prospects to find you. You must take that extra step and write to them to introduce your business and the services or products you have to offer. Some marketers shy away from pitching because of the fear of getting rejections. The fact is, not everyone will be interested in your services. Out of the 100 pitches that you send, you might get only ten replies with only two interested businesses. That is better than none. Rejections should not put you down or make you feel like you are on the wrong path. Getting a few replies should motivate you to keep going and help you come up with a more persuasive pitch.

• Invite existing Customers to follow you and your Company page
• Invite Prospects to follow you and your Company page
• Use a service like Sales Navigator to find new prospects to send connection requests to.
• Set up a Paid Linkedin Ad to get in front of your target customers with a content offer that will be of interest and of value. This could be in the form of a template, a case study, a guide, or an article.

What Should You Expect in the First Month?

The performance of a LinkedIn marketing campaign varies from one company to the next. While some businesses may hit the mark within the first few days, others will take a month or more. Remember that if you have just introduced your brand to the market, very few people on LinkedIn know about it, and it will take time before you capture their attention.

Generally, you can look forward to increased profile visits and engagements during your first week. A few of your targeted businesses might follow you, and you might get a few replies from your pitches. If you go the extra mile, you could make several sales. That's how you know you are making progress, and if this goes on, you could be very far in a month.

Luckily, you can incorporate B2B-focused LinkedIn tools to streamline the process. Some of the recommendable tools include:

LinkedIn Sales Navigator: This tool is primarily geared toward helping marketers connect with potential buyers. It uses a unique algorithm to locate prospects based on your line of business. It will also guide you on making the best decisions and building a healthy relationship with the prospects.

Crystal: This tool can review your targets' profiles and give you insight into what they need or what their personality is like. With such information, you can customize a message that fits each profile.

Dux-Soup, Octopus, Zopto or another Automated Prospecting system: These tools help you to discover quality leads both in and outside your network by automating the process of connecting to users and sending them a sequence of messages. This saves you time as you no longer have to do manual searches looking for premium profiles in your line of business. They use your firmographic and persona information to find matches instantly, thus connecting you with quality leads and booking meetings.

Final Thoughts

LinkedIn is currently the leading marketing channel for B2B. Nonetheless, you should know that it takes time to create a strong presence on this platform and for other companies to trust you. You should be ready to put in work before seeing any results. We are expert marketers, and you can entrust your LinkedIn marketing to us for fast results. Contact us for more information, and let's take your business to the next level.