Since 2003, LinkedIn has been a unique online space for professionals and businesses to connect and build influence. 17 years later, LinkedIn is home to around 675 million monthly users. Often acknowledged for its effectiveness as a recruiting platform, LinkedIn presents more than just job opportunities — it has also become a powerful opportunity-builder as a marketing tool for B2B brands. The medium continues to mature, expanding its features to promote business growth, development, and advertising all in one space. Strategically growing, and engaging with, your LinkedIn audience can help your brand stay relevant and heighten your profitability.
Before LinkedIn became the B2B platform it is today, it was a networking platform between employers and prospective employees. It was notably different from other burgeoning social media platforms — instead of posting personal updates, users were more likely to share about company news, job opportunities, or promotions. In the years since, LinkedIn has grown in popularity, drawing in professionals and companies across a breadth of industries.
Thought Leadership: Content Marketing on LinkedIn
Today, LinkedIn has become the go-to platform for business networking with over 30 million member companies. Companies and industries still use LinkedIn for job postings, but businesses are increasingly finding success in using the platform to build new business partnerships. It’s a hub of valuable B2B leads, with four out of five people on LinkedIn being decision makers in their workplace.
Content creation is key — 97% of B2B marketers use the platform for content marketing, because C-suite executives are known for engaging with it. In fact, the platform has 15x more content impressions than job postings, meaning LinkedIn content marketing is here to stay.
It’s not enough to simply create entertaining content like you may on other social channels; if you want to draw in leads, LinkedIn is the place to establish your brand as a thought leader. B2B decision makers are watching, and nine out of 10 of them find thought leadership to be important. To become a go-to authority, you need to frequently create new and relevant content that shows off your expertise.
Remember: To be a thought leader, you cannot be a jack of all trades. This isn’t the place for broad strokes. Start with a tight focus on what you know well to build authority as a subject matter expert.
Paid Marketing on LinkedIn
There are many ways the platform can turn a profit for business. It’s accessible, and it doesn’t have to break the bank. Along with content marketing, LinkedIn has a wide variety of advertising options that allow businesses to advertise and test their markets with A/B testing, text only ads, display ads, or access their audience with InMail campaigns.
Key Takeaways:
At the end of the day, marketing on LinkedIn can be cost effective and worth the risk, as even in 2020, 17 years later, engagement on LinkedIn has increased 50% year-over-year.