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Introduction to B2B LinkedIn marketing

LinkedIn is the business social network. And while mainstream platforms like Instagram have gained a strong footing with businesses, LinkedIn still reigns supreme.

It’s been around since 2003, and it’s just a part of doing business now. Your B2B customers might not be scrolling Instagram or TikTok daily for work, but they’re definitely on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn’s got a billion users. That’s not far off Instagram’s 1.4 billion. But the difference is that everyone on LinkedIn is there for work. This isn’t to say that other platforms are rubbish for B2B marketing – they can work (check out our series of B2B guides on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.) But if you’ve only got time for one, make it LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is ideal for B2B marketing because, across industries, business decision makers can’t get enough of it. According to Hootsuite, four in five LinkedIn users say that they “drive business decisions,” and 77% of content marketers reckon the platform produces the best organic results of any social network.

On top of organic reach, LinkedIn offers powerful targeting tools for its paid ads, letting marketers zero in on their ideal clients. Hootsuite’s data shows that 70% of marketers say they’re getting a good return on their investment.

There’s also an SEO case for using LinkedIn as a marketing tool. Google doesn’t directly use it in its ranking algorithm. But it’s great for building experience, expertise, authority and trust signals, and Google does pay attention to these.

If you’re after results from B2B social media marketing, LinkedIn is where it’s at. And we’ll be covering everything you need to know to get started.

Talk to our social media team to discuss a B2B LinkedIn strategy for your business.

B2B LinkedIn strategy

The first step to B2B LinkedIn strategy success is knowing what you want from the platform. Are you after leads? Looking to boost your business’s profile? Promoting a new product or service? Shares, follows and reacts are great, but they’re not the be-all and end-all. Your social strategy needs to link up with your bigger marketing – and business – goals.

The clearer your goals, the better chance it has of meeting them. That’s where ‘SMART’ objectives come in. They help businesses create specific, actionable objectives.

It calls for them to be:

  • Specific – exact and straightforward.
  • Measurable – in one or more qualitative or quantitative metrics.
  • Achievable – ambitious but possible with your current resources.
  • Relevant – it should be possible to draw a clear line from the objective itself to the business’s success.
  • Timely – taking place within a defined timeframe.

LinkedIn’s dashboard makes measuring easy. It gives the lowdown on your Company Page, new followers, competitor activity, leads generated through the Company Page, employee advocacy (more on this later), and insights on how your updates are performing.

On LinkedIn, it’s all about your network. A like or comment from someone outside of your usual crowd pushes your content to their network too. That means more eyes on your stuff. Employees, business advocates, influencers in your space – they’re the ones that are important to engage with.

Don’t get lost in the data. Remember that your LinkedIn strategy is part of a bigger picture. More followers or engagement are great but keep things ‘relevant’ by tying your efforts back to metrics that matter to your business. It’s not easy to do with social media activity alone, so don’t look at your data in silos. And remember, return on investment isn’t just about sales or new business. More on that in our guide to social media ROI.

Talk to our social media team to discuss a B2B LinkedIn strategy for your business.

LinkedIn statistics

Before we continue talking about how to create a winning B2B LinkedIn strategy, we’ve dug into LinkedIn stats to give you the big picture. Here’s what we’ve found:

  • Globally, more than half of LinkedIn users are 25-34 years old. (Statista)
  • The UK’s got 37 million users – more than any other European country. But the US is miles ahead with 211 million US users (LinkedIn)
  • There are more than 67 million businesses on LinkedIn (LinkedIn)
  • 65 million decision makers use LinkedIn. In the world of B2B LinkedIn marketing, these are the people you’re after. (LinkedIn)
  • Thought leadership’s a big deal. Over half (52%) of decision-makers and C-suite execs (54%) spend an hour or more reading it each week. Three-quarter of them have researched a new product or service because of thought leadership content. And nine in ten are more receptive to sales emails from companies doing great thought leadership. That’s why content is so crucial (more on that later) (LinkedIn)
  • Users only spend about eight minutes on the site. That’s not a lot of time, so you’ve got to grab their attention fast. (Skillademia)
  • B2B marketers say LinkedIn delivers the best value. 84% think it’s the best platform for their business (Content Marketing Institute)
  • 72% upped their LinkedIn use in the last year, while only 32% boosted their YouTube presence, 31% increased Instagram use, 22% grew their Facebook presence, and 10% increased X and TikTok use (Content Marketing Institute)
  • LinkedIn is the top platform for B2B paid campaigns. 80% of marketers have bought LinkedIn ads in the past year (LinkedIn)
  • But it’s not cheap. The average cost per click (CPC) on Google Ads is about US$0.67, compared to LinkedIn ads average of US$5.26 (Business of Apps)
  • The upside? LinkedIn’s great for high-quality lead generation (LinkedIn)
  • Over half of sponsored InMail (Message Ads) get opened (LinkedIn)
  • And here’s a tip: send your Message Ads on a Tuesday or Wednesday for best results (LinkedIn)

LinkedIn content strategy

A social platform is all about content. And each one demands a unique approach. You shouldn’t be posting the same stuff on LinkedIn that you are on Instagram.

That said, there are some rules that apply across all social channels. For one, mobile’s king, even for employees. Your LinkedIn content strategy needs to include more mobile-friendly formats like images and videos. Video’s big in the B2B sales funnel – 70% of buyers watch at least one video before buying a product or service. And keep your text posts short and sweet. Studies have found that lower character lengths see an 18% boost in organic engagement.

A lot of LinkedIn users are still browsing from their work computers. So don’t throw out those in-depth posts.

But variety is key. A feed needs both in depth posts to show off expertise and quick, ‘snackable’ videos to serve a broad audience on the move.

Here are four pillars that businesses should build on when executing a LinkedIn strategy:

  • Long newsfeed lifespans. Unlike the X and Facebook algorithms, which focuses on recency in filling the newsfeed, LinkedIn is all about engagement. Create interesting, shareable, valuable content and it’ll stick around for days, even weeks.
  • Community mentality. Other social platforms are prone to mean comments and replies. But LinkedIn’s a friendlier place. We’re all looking for business or networking opportunities. And while some users may be competitors, everyone wants to keep things professional. Use question posts to get people talking and build relationships.
  • Audience insights. LinkedIn lets all business accounts define their target audience and then serves up content suggestions based on that. This can help highlight trending topics in certain areas, so you can be agile – creating posts on the same subjects to gain share of voice and brand awareness if you’ve got the resource.
  • Adding value. According to LinkedIn, inwardly focused content won’t perform as well as stuff with broader appeal to others in the sector. So, they suggest that directly promotional posts make up max, 25% of what a business shares.

When it comes to a LinkedIn content plan, being reactive and getting involved is key. While you could plan out every single post for the year, LinkedIn’s algorithm rewards active engagement with others on the platform.

Rather than planning these specific posts, businesses can plan the types of posts and who’s responsible for them, then nail down the specifics closer to the posting date.

It’s also worth knowing what you shouldn’t post. In May 2022 LinkedIn gave users the option to see less political content for example (so avoid this). They’re also cracking down on low quality posts that encourage like/reaction baiting just to boost reach. LinkedIn isn’t removing polls altogether but don’t overuse them.

LinkedIn newsletters

On top of regular posts, LinkedIn also offers another valuable content opportunity: the LinkedIn newsletter. They’re a growing way to build a community on the platform. In the last year, 59% more people started publishing newsletters and engagement went up by 47%. There are now more than 184,000 newsletters on LinkedIn. It’s a direct, consistent way to reach potential customers without spending a penny.

LinkedIn newsletters work like traditional ones. They go directly to a list of subscribers who can opt to receive it in their email inbox or on LinkedIn directly. But unlike a traditional newsletter, non-subscribers can see them too. This makes them easier to share and discover.

The most effective LinkedIn newsletters address a specific, business topic regularly. You’ve probably got the know-how in-house already. It’s just a matter of getting your experts to write down their thoughts.

This ties in with another core element: consistency. Make your newsletter a part of your reader’s routine by sticking to a schedule. It’s a valuable chance to connect with potential customers. Thought leaders: pop a recurring event in your schedule to make sure you’ve got time write content regularly.

When the newsletter goes live, subscribers get an alert. To reach more people, post about each edition of the newsletter with a post. LinkedIn recommends adding a comment or asking questions to get people talking. It keeps your company’s feed fresh and helps people find your newsletter. LinkedIn says you should share it on other social platforms too.

And LinkedIn’s been busy adding more features to its newsletters:

  • Comments appear on the right side of your article. Great for sparking conversations and building community.
  • Better subscriber emails and notifications. Your subscribers get pinged when you publish. And your followers who aren’t subscribed yet get prompted to sign up.
  • Member and page embedding in articles. Want to mention someone? Now you can embed their profile directly in your newsletter. Now readers can click through to see who you’re talking about.

To get started, check out LinkedIn’s guide to using the newsletter feature.

The LinkedIn company page (aka your LinkedIn business page)

A company’s home on LinkedIn is called, appropriately enough, the Company Page. Everyone can see them – from your team, potential hires, suppliers, competitors, and members of the public. It’s your online storefront and an important marketing tool. So you need to make the most of it.

For a start, fill it out properly. It costs nothing, but many businesses miss out here by not giving enough detail on their LinkedIn Company Page. Hootsuite’s found that businesses with completed Company Pages get five times more page views, seven times more impressions per follower, and 11 times more clicks per follower.

Next, tailor your images and copy for your target audience. Your company’s banner image, name and logo are front and centre, and the ‘headline’ is a close second. It’s your chance to introduce your business – but you’ve only got 120 characters. Tricky.

An ideal headline explains what you do, your unique selling point and how you come across. Often, a fun adjective is all it takes to turn a cold, dull description into something eye-catching. We’ll show you examples later in this guide

Other key bits at the top of the Company Page are location (a must for local businesses) and the customisable button. This is your call to action. LinkedIn will style it in their on-site design. If you’re using LinkedIn newsletters, you might want the “subscribe” button. Think about what most visitors to the page want to do and use the button for that.

There’s also a customisable LinkedIn lead gen form. It’s like a contact form built directly into the Company Page. People can send their details straight to you. Want to set one up? Check out LinkedIn’s guide.

And if you want to make a splash, LinkedIn now offers Premium Company Pages. It’s a paid service to help your page stand out and turn more followers into paying customers.

It’s not cheap at $99 a month and it’s rolling out in stages. We don’t have data on how well it works yet (at the time of writing), but LinkedIn says you’ll get:

  • A custom call-to-action (CTA) button: get prospects clicking where you want with a custom button at the top of your Page, in the feed and search results. “Visit website?” “Contact us”? You choose.
  • See who’s been snooping on your Page: find out which members checked out your Page each week. Perfect for checking out their profiles or inviting them to follow you.
  • Custom testimonial: building trust? Add a client testimonial (with quote and photo), to the top of your Page to show you’re the real deal.
  • Credibility highlights: won any awards lately? Got a fancy certification? Shout about what makes you stand out in the About section, search results and top of your Page.
  • AI-powered post-writing assistance: this’ll turn your notes into a first draft, so you can spend time engaging more clients.
  • Auto-invite engaged members to follow: usually you can only invite your connections to follow your Page. But this will let you automatically invite anyone who’s engaged with your posts – no matter how distant.
  • LinkedIn Premium logo: a swanky gold LinkedIn logo on your Page header for extra stand out.

Just remember, Premium Company Page is separate from other LinkedIn Premium subscriptions like Premium Business.

What to post on your Company Page

Posting regularly boosts engagement. Hootsuite has found that businesses that post weekly have double the engagement rate of those posting less often. Weekdays are best – fewer people check LinkedIn at weekends. And research shows Wednesday might be the best day for B2B content.

Worried about running out of things to say? Don’t be. Every business has at least one interesting thing to say each week – and even if management doesn’t, employees certainly will. Here are some post ideas to keep people coming back:

Company news: share your achievements, both big and small. New products or services, funding rounds, expansion to a new location, pivoting – anything noteworthy. Just keep the hard sell to about one in four posts.

Industry news and analysis: every good business has views on what’s happening in its industry. What’s going on in your sector? What do you think about it? Share your take. You might catch the attention of sector journalists and that could be the start of a broader thought leadership campaign.

Hooking readers with an eye-catching photo or graphic isn’t new to media. It’s been key since we started printing photos. LinkedIn’s no different. A punchy graphic that sums up your point can be worth a thousand words. And an on-topic photo helps your post stand out in a text-heavy feed.

Hiring updates: open positions are a good opportunity to say something about your business. Why’s your company great to work for? What exciting projects are you working on? This isn’t just for potential hires – it’s a chance to tell everyone about your company.

LinkedIn’s got a page designed specifically for hiring – the Career Page. But that doesn’t mean you can’t put job stuff on your Company Page too. Learn how to make the most of Career Pages with LinkedIn’s guide.

Content from other platforms: got a great Instagram post? Or maybe a blog? Reformat it for LinkedIn. Just make sure it’s business-focused content.

Think carefully about how you share links. LinkedIn shrinks the preview images of links. If you do need to share a link, best to combine it with a full size image of your choice, or pop the link in the comments so your post won’t get lost in the feed.

TikTok style videos are doing well on LinkedIn right now (from an engagement perspective). Adapting TikTok trends for a business audience is a great way to get more engagement with your content and give your brand a ‘face’.

As of March 2024, LinkedIn was beta testing its own TikTok style feed to capitalise on this. So get your style and content sorted now to take advantage of it later.

Engage with the community: the most successful company page are those that connect with others. Repost updates from suppliers or partners. Share insightful posts from your team (more on this later). Use your partnerships – tag other companies in your posts so you’ll appear in their follower’s feed too.

Showcase your people: make quick video profiles of your team. What do they do? What do they like about working at your company? And tag their LinkedIn profiles. It’s a win-win – good for them, good for you.

If you’re looking to hire, these videos give potential recruits a peek at life in your business.

Ask interesting questions with polls: many businesses completely overlook polls. This option creates an interactive poll with between two and four options, and choices for when to share the results. It’s an easy way to boost engagement and start conversations in your comment section.

Break down a thought leadership or advice piece: LinkedIn users love bite-sized business insights. Why read a whole business book when you can get the tips you need from others in the industry in just a few lines? Use carousel posts to summarise longer pieces of writing. Include a link to the full article for those who want more (best to put this in the comment section).

Share customer testimonials: people buy based on trust. Build it by showing how you’ve helped others. It’s a great sales tool, and since it benefits both the company and its clients, it extends your post’s reach.

For more detail on planning your content strategy, take a look at our B2B social media content creation guide.

Talk to our social media team to discuss a B2B LinkedIn strategy for your business.

Product pages

Back in 2020 LinkedIn launched Product Pages – another way for businesses to shout about their products and services. They’re a one-stop-shop for building a community around your B2B products. If you’ve got specific products you want to build community and profile around, they’re worth adding to your Company Page.

Product Pages lets you generate quality sales leads by showing off your happy customers, images, videos, ratings and reviews. You can even add a custom call-to-action button to get people asking for demos or contacting your sales teams.

Think of a Product Page as a hub. It’s where you promote your products and grow your business. It’s where your customers share their experiences and get recognised as experts. And it’s where buyers can make confident decisions in a trusted environment.

Users can share their experiences as professionals and learn from the experts. Buyers can make informed decisions by chatting with current users. And brands can tap into a trusted community of product gurus and advocates to drive growth.

Right now, only businesses in certain industries can add product pages. Those in:

  • business-to-business (B2B) software
  • computer hardware
  • financial services
  • insurance
  • education
  • healthcare
  • pharmaceutical

LinkedIn company page examples

Enough theory. Let’s see what this looks like in practice.

We’ve rounded up some outstanding LinkedIn Company Page examples. Here’s what each of these big B2B companies are doing right.

Hootsuite: they’ve nailed it. Everything from their punchy headline (“Too many brands suck at social. Yours doesn’t have to”) and clever use of video and different post types are spot on. Take a leaf out of their book for your B2B LinkedIn page.

 

HubSpot: they’re great at getting people talking. They tackle big issues, not just the niche, techy details. That’s what their blogs for.

Templafy: they keep it simple. Their headline says it all: “Enabling content for the future of work.” You know what they do straight away.

Templafy is like HubSpot, but they go for longer text posts. They share tips, facts, and questions to engage their audience. They even throw in mini courses on productivity and short videos. Their content appeals to their target audience (business and marketing managers) by sharing insight and keeping a human touch.

Affirm: this financial services provider delivers simple, honest and transparent financial products. They’ve struck a balance between being professional and relatable.

They put faces to their announcements or comments with photos or slick graphics. They use humour, share customer testimonials, and show off the people behind the tech.

GE Vernova: their headline is “The Energy to Change the World,”. They mix it up with polls, video, short animations and reports. Their priority it to create content that’s shareable.

Deloitte: they’re huge – over 400,000 employees worldwide. But they keep it human on LinkedIn. They cover broad business topics and their “life at Deloitte” feature is great for recruiting.

LinkedIn Marketing Solutions: it’s no surprise that LinkedIn’s internal teams know their stuff. They create shareable content, start discussions in the comments section, and share tips. They also plug their other B2B channels, like their podcast and blog.

When it comes to LinkedIn Company Page examples, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Look at other businesses in your sector or of a similar size. Don’t copy them but think about what works well and how you could use those ideas.

Making the most of your people

A company is nothing without its employees, and the same goes for your Company Page. Getting your team involved and encouraging ’employee advocacy,’ is one of the best ways to boost your company’s reach organically. 

At the very least, employees need to link their accounts to the Company Page. This means they’ll be listed as employees, and puts a link to your Company Page on their personal profiles. A LinkedIn Company Page without any employees looks fishy – anybody could’ve set it up.

But to really have an impact, your employees and the company need to interact. Think of your Company Page as a virtual storefront. Activity here is the difference between a quiet, empty store and an energetic, bustling one.

There are loads of reasons to get your team interacting with your Company Page. For one, LinkedIn says that the average person on LinkedIn has ten times more connections than the average company has followers.

When a person shares content, it has a much bigger impact than when the company does. LinkedIn data shows that content shared by employees gets twice as many clicks as when it’s just shared by the company. It’s also a great recruiting tool. According to LinkedIn, “for every piece of content an employee shares on LinkedIn, at least one person will view your job postings.”

There are also benefits to authenticity when employees share company content. The Edelman Trust Barometer, shows that people are three times more likely to trust info about a company from an employee than from a CEO.

On top of that, employee-shared content is seen as 8x more authentic than company-shared content. This leads to a 7x higher chance of getting positive action.

So, how can you plan your B2B LinkedIn strategy to make this happen for you?

Encourage employees to interact on LinkedIn: let them know that you’re working to raise your profile and ask employees to do their bit. Make sure they have time every week to post some thoughts, share colleague’s content, and make new connections.

In a busy company, updating LinkedIn can feel like a low priority for employees. But, if they know that their posts are part of a company-wide effort, they’ll be more likely to take the time. LinkedIn doesn’t need to be time consuming – a few minutes a week from each employee is enough to make a huge difference.

Show them that it’s good for them too: interacting on LinkedIn isn’t just good for the business, it’s good for the employee. Regularly interacting on LinkedIn will build their personal brand as industry experts while boosting the business. At the same time, getting involved in discussions is a great way to network.

For salespeople, the benefits are even clearer. LinkedIn’s research shows that sales reps who share content on LinkedIn are 45% more likely to smash their target. If you’re offering signing bonuses for new business, listen up. Companies actively using LinkedIn are 57% more likely to see more sales leads.

Frame it positively: don’t make it a chore. Suggest it as a way to get to know others in the sector and to promote the business – something everyone can benefit from.

Remind them LinkedIn isn’t for hard selling. The algorithm actually discourages that. Instead, it’s a chance to catch up on the news and join bigger discussions in the sector.

Offer training: most employees know how to use social media but LinkedIn can feel intimidating. A bit of training can give employees the confidence to bring their personal style to LinkedIn.

Remember, your employee advocates are part of your marketing strategy. So, spending some money on training is worth it. Good training should cover LinkedIn’s unique features and what to post (and what not to) for the best results.

Want more tips on using LinkedIn for B2B comms? Check out our guide on How to use LinkedIn to support B2B EEAT.

Talk to our social media team to discuss a B2B LinkedIn strategy for your business.

LinkedIn lead generation

LinkedIn is a powerful lead generator. Four out of five users on the platform are involved in making business decisions. And they’ve got twice the buying power of audiences on other platforms.

Those numbers are impressive, but it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by LinkedIn’s huge lead gen toolkit. So let’s start from the beginning. Lead generation is when you attract and nurture potential customers through your sales funnel. The good news is that if you’ve been following this guide, you’re already on your way to a solid LinkedIn lead gen strategy. You’ve:

  1. Built an attention-grabbing Company Page for your business.
  2. Created a solid content strategy, with relevant updates for your ideal customer or candidates.
  3. Got your team to fill out their LinkedIn profiles, and engage with Groups and topics.

That’s a great start. You can keep going with this organic activity without spending a pennyBut if you’re willing to invest a little bit, LinkedIn’s paid tools can boost your content and really skyrocket your reach.

LinkedIn’s advertising features include:

  • Advanced targeting options. You can cut down your audience using things like location, job function, seniority, company name, company size, industry, degree, skills, professional interests, and more. This is so your content reaches a highly relevant and engaged audience.
  • Personalisation. Sponsored InMail lets you send customised messages to your target audience. It’s great for pushing gated content or inviting users to an event.
  • Ad variety. They’ve got the lot – sponsored content, sponsored InMail, video ads, dynamic ads, carousel ads and display ads. Test them out, see what works
  • The Lead Accelerator. It’s not just about the first touchpoint. You can track high-value prospects and keep serving them custom ads. You can also retarget based on website visits and account lists.
  • Industry-leading conversion rates. HubSpot found LinkedIn ads convert at 9%. That’s more than triple Google Ads’ 2.58%.

But, there are a few things to think about. For one, LinkedIn ads cost more than any other social ad platforms.

LinkedIn also offers more limited analytics compared to competing social ad platforms. LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager only gives a fraction of the detail given by Facebook Ads Manager. But, you could argue that much of Facebook’s data is extraneous. Though, it’s better to have and not need than to need and not have.

Using LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager is also a bumpy experience. It’s getting better with every update, but the user experience is far from polished. Be prepared to run into some confusing screens (and even bugs) as you create your ads.

The final point to consider is that, in the B2B landscape, prospects are unlikely to engage with your brand at the first touch point. This can skew your results if you don’t consider the big picture. For example, your B2B LinkedIn lead generation strategy may drive more qualified leads to give you a call after seeing an ad. This isn’t a conversion on LinkedIn, but there’s no doubt that it’s a lead from LinkedIn.

To ramp up your LinkedIn lead generation strategy with ads, set up a LinkedIn Campaign Manager account. Then, follow the platform’s guide to create your first ad. You’ll need to adjust as you go, so keep an eye on your data and always remember your objectives.

LinkedIn InMail strategy

Just like any other social media ad campaign, you’ll get the most bang for your buck when you have a solid strategy behind you. LinkedIn InMail (or Message Ads) are no different. These ads land directly in your target audience’s inbox. They come from a real person and they work well – LinkedIn says that over half are opened.

There’s no character limit to your InMail. But it’s best to keep it short and focus on one call to action. LinkedIn says Message Ads work best when they’re sent on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

Think about who you’re trying to reach and tailor your tone and the content to suit them. The best LinkedIn InMail strategy is bespoke and designed for your target audience.

You might offer different things to your new connection:

  • a product demo
  • a free resource (like an in-depth guide)
  • a meeting or phone call (but be clear why this would help them).

There’s no one-size-fits-all here. But it can help to see an example. Here’s a sample LinkedIn InMail template for a recruiting business. This InMail asks for your new connection’s thoughts on your industry or product to help refine your positioning.

LinkedIn InMail templates

Subject: Have your say: the future of workforce planning

As a talent acquisition leader, you will be the instigator in shifting to skills-based workforce planning for your organisation, and we’d like to hear from you.

We’ve created a brief survey to explore the most pertinent challenges that organisations are facing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This survey will capture feedback from HR, talent acquisition and business leaders like you, across multiple industries, to create an accurate view of the most significant challenges to talent acquisition.

Once the report is completed you will be amongst the first to receive a copy and will be entered into our prize draw to win a £150 retail voucher, as a thank you for your participation in the survey.

Will you help us by completing our survey? [insert survey link]

 

This message is just 130 words, but it has a clear focus and call to action. The subject line is clear and gives the reader a reason to click (“have your say”).

InMail can also dynamically insert details, such as the person’s name, for a personal touch. To do so, you could add something like the following to this LinkedIn InMail template:

“Hi %FIRSTNAME%” or “Dear %FIRSTNAME% %LASTNAME%”

The system then sees who the InMail is being sent to and automatically replaces these with the right names (in my case, these would read “Hi Louise” or “Dear Louise Watson-Dowell”).

LinkedIn also lets you send a test message first, so you can see how everything will look once it goes through the system. Check out LinkedIn’s guides on creating and testing and Message Ads.

Measure, review, refine

Even if you’re not paying for ads, LinkedIn still gives you loads of useful analytics. If you look at it carefully and try a trial-and-error approach, you can get some great results.

Start by checking which posts land (and those that don’t), at least once a month. Try to spot what makes a post successful. Is it the type of info? Format? Time or day you post? This regular review will be the drumbeat of your B2B LinkedIn strategy.

The more often you review your approach, the quicker you can react to changes. Engagement rates can change for all sorts of reason – from algorithm updates to market trends. When they do, it’s up to you to work out why and use it to your advantage.

Some of the useful LinkedIn stats to look at are:

  • average post engagement (reactions, shares and comments)
  • The number of site and direction clicks.

You can also do some digging to see which sales qualified leads came directly from your organic social efforts.

Bear in mind that this is an ongoing process. Don’t expect results overnight. It takes time to build up momentum on social media. Keep focusing on the end goals you set at the start and you should start seeing results.

Bring in the experts

Creating a social presence that drives business results is tough. That’s why many businesses bring in the experts.

As a B2B social media agency, our team can deliver a bespoke solution for your business based on what you want to achieve and your budget. Whether it’s a strategy your team can put into action themselves, LinkedIn content production, an ad programme to move prospects through your sales funnel or complete page/profile management on an ongoing basis, we can help.

Talk to our social media team to discuss a B2B LinkedIn strategy for your business.

DefinitionheadsOct22

Written by: Louise Watson-Dowell, Head of digital PR & social media at Definition.

Updated on 11/07/2024.

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