LinkedIn marketing has become an increasingly popular and effective way for businesses to reach their target audience and achieve their marketing goals. There are several key reasons why LinkedIn stands out as a powerful marketing platform.
Highly targeted audience
With over 740 million members worldwide, LinkedIn has one of the largest professional networks on the internet. But beyond just having a large user base, LinkedIn’s audience is highly targeted and niche. The majority of LinkedIn members are college-educated, working professionals who are decision-makers, leaders, and influencers within their respective industries.
This targeting makes LinkedIn ideal for B2B companies who want to reach a very specific audience. With LinkedIn’s depth of member data and range of account types, marketers can target their ads and content down to individual user demographics, job roles, skills, interests, and more.
Trust and influence
LinkedIn members use the platform not just for networking but to stay up to date with industry news, insights, and opportunities. As a result, LinkedIn has become a go-to source for professional content and advice. LinkedIn members tend to have a high level of trust in the platform.
This presents a major opportunity for businesses to build their own trust and influence with LinkedIn’s audience by publishing valuable content. Whether through posts, articles, or ads, quality content allows brands to organically build awareness, relationships, and loyalty with customers.
Multiple options for engagement
LinkedIn provides a diverse range of marketing tools and options beyond just posting content or running ads. Businesses can also:
- Build an official LinkedIn Page to establish their brand presence and funnel visitors
- Join relevant LinkedIn Groups to connect with specialized niche communities
- Encourage employees to be active on LinkedIn to expand reach
- Utilize LinkedIn’s Company Page analytics to gain data and insights
- Foster engagement through likes, shares, and comments on content
- Promote content using LinkedIn’s built-in tools like hashtags, spotlighting, and Matched Audiences
- Leverage LinkedIn’s Lead Gen Forms to easily capture leads from Page visitors
This diversity of options gives marketers multiple avenues to engage their target audience and get results on LinkedIn.
Lead generation and sales
One of the key benefits of LinkedIn marketing is its power to drive leads and sales directly. According to LinkedIn, around 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn. Features like Lead Gen Forms make it easy for businesses to collect leads from LinkedIn activity.
Beyond leads, LinkedIn is increasingly becoming a platform to drive direct sales. LinkedIn now allows brands to add “Contact Us” buttons to their Company Pages and showcase products/services. The platform also lets brands tag products in their posts and ads so users can easily click to learn more and purchase.
Retargeting capabilities
LinkedIn’s sophisticated targeting also enables effective retargeting. Marketers can re-engage past visitors, leads, and existing contacts by serving them relevant ads across devices. Retargeting on LinkedIn works both on and off the platform for maximum impact.
This allows brands to continue nurturing relationships long after an initial interaction. 73% of brands using retargeting on LinkedIn saw a lift in leads and conversion rates.
Powerful advertising platform
LinkedIn advertising, whether through native Sponsored Content or more traditional ads, is considered one of the most effective social media advertising channels. Key advantages include:
- Self-service ad platform with robust targeting options
- Typically lower cost per click (CPC) and cost per impression (CPM) rates
- High relevance due to targeting of professional mindset and context
- Minimal competition vs other major ad platforms
- Powerful retargeting and remarketing capabilities
LinkedIn advertising positions brands as thought leaders and allows for messaging that aligns with the professional audience.
Seamless integration with other Microsoft products
Since being acquired by Microsoft, LinkedIn has been integrated tightly into Microsoft’s full suite of products. This integration expands LinkedIn’s capabilities and reach even further. Examples include:
- Using LinkedIn Matched Audiences to retarget website visitors in Microsoft Ads (Bing)
- Syncing Microsoft Dynamics CRM data with LinkedIn Sales Navigator to uncover sales opportunities
- Embedding LinkedIn content and profiles within Microsoft apps like WordPress and PowerPoint
- Offering users the option to easily log in and share content via LinkedIn on Microsoft services
LinkedIn’s Microsoft affiliation strengthens its utility as a marketing platform.
Measurable results and analytics
LinkedIn provides robust analytics within its marketing products that enable businesses to measure performance and ROI. Key metrics available include:
- Impressions, engagement, and demographic data on content and Company Pages
- Lead and conversion tracking for ads and Lead Gen Forms
- Website visits, followers, and page views
- Employee advocacy and Sponsored Content performance
- Audience insights and segmentation data
These analytics make it possible to continually optimize efforts based on real data. 55% of marketers say optimizing based on LinkedIn analytics is crucial for success.
Conclusion
In summary, there are a multitude of reasons why LinkedIn has become a top choice for B2B marketers:
- Targeted audience of professional decision-makers
- Environment of high user trust and influence
- Diverse options for engagement and content promotion
- Capabilities to generate leads, sales, and revenue
- Retargeting past contacts across devices
- Powerful yet cost-effective advertising tools
- Integration with Microsoft products
- Extensive analytics for continual optimization
For brands seeking to connect with the professional world, LinkedIn provides unparalleled reach and results. The platform’s focus on relationships over transactions cultivates meaningful interactions with audiences. As LinkedIn continues enhancing its marketing tools, it becomes an increasingly essential channel for forward-thinking B2B brands.