LinkedIn Marketing Strategies for Businesses

LinkedIn was launched in 2013 as a professional networking website that connects job seekers with prospective employers. However, less than two decades later, the platform has 722+ million members in more than 200 countries.

What does this mean for you?

Well, it means there are a lot of eyeballs for your business to pass in front of.

On top of that, the platform's algorithm is currently heavily favoring marketers, and is giving a ton of reach to those who are implementing their LinkedIn marketing strategies correctly.

This article is for business owners who want to use LinkedIn to get an overwhelming amount of engagement on their posts, and get their content going viral.

How the LinkedIn Algorithm Works

LinkedIn has always been open about how its algorithm works, and this makes it possible for businesses to plan their marketing strategies around it. Let’s take a look at how it works.

1. First, LinkedIn's AI bot will verify your content to ensure that it is not spam. So, if your content fails this test, it may not be visible on people's feed. Therefore, it’s important to make it a point to share only high-quality content on the platform.
2. Your content will be shown to only a few of your audience members. If they do not show much interest in your post, you may not get the chance to reach more audiences later.
3. On the bright side, if your initial audience enjoys your post, and shows this by liking and sharing it, the LinkedIn algorithm will run another check. This time too, it will ensure that your content isn't spam and the results for your audience network are credible. Once satisfied, they will make your post visible on more feeds.
4. Human editors will eventually get involved, assuming that your post is performing well. They will read the article and determine if it needs to be marketed to a wider circle.

How to Create a LinkedIn Account for Your Business

Before you develop a top-notch LinkedIn marketing strategy that works, you will need to get started with the technicalities.

Here are a few easy steps on how to create a LinkedIn account for your business.

1. Go to the LinkedIn Pages section and click on "Create your Page."

Source: LinkedIN

2. Choose the category that fits your business.

Source: LinkedIN

3. Fill in your company details. There is a page preview display to see how your page looks as you add content. Choose an appropriate URL for your brand.

Source: LinkedIN

4. Upload your company logo and add your tagline. Though this step is optional, we recommend you don’t skip it.

Source: LinkedIN

5. Click on "Create Page," and you are done!

6. Complete your page: Click the pencil icon on your profile under your company name to add more details.

• Company description: Mention your values and vision, and describe your product or service in three to four short paragraphs. Google results previews up to 156 characters. Therefore, make your description SEO-friendly and use keywords.
• Location: Enter your business location. If you have more than one office, you can add multiple addresses too.
• Hashtags: Add up to three hashtags to drive more traffic to your profile and make it more searchable.
• Cover photo: Do not skip the cover photo. For instance, you can choose an image that promotes your business. Go for a size that's 584 (width) x 396 (height) pixels.
• Custom button: Add CTA buttons with the corresponding URLs to your profile. Visit the website, contact us, learn more, register, and sign up are a few examples. It is also a good practice to add a UTM parameter for tracking.
• Manage language: LinkedIn lets you add your name, tagline, and description in over 20 different languages.

Source: LinkedIN

Once you have created your business page, you must optimize it by adding the relevant information mentioned above.

LinkedIn states that a completed profile page gets 30 percent more weekly views. So, if you want to maximize the chances of reaching potential customers, clients, and prospective employees, definitely fill those up.

Now, let’s now take a look at how to create a successful LinkedIn marketing strategy.

Tips to Create a Powerful LinkedIn Marketing Strategy That Converts

1. Define your goals.

The first and most important step of an effective LinkedIn lead generation strategy is to define your goals. The majority of organizations outline the following goals:

• To create brand awareness.
• To generate qualified leads.
• To reinforce brand credibility.
• To engage with their target audience.
• To sell their products or services.

2. Optimize your posts for better reach and impact.

LinkedIn ranks their posts based on parameters like personal connections, probability of interactions and the relevancy of interest. Therefore, the end-goal of your content should be to attract and engage your audience.

Below are a few best practices to help you outshine LinkedIn’s algorithm for your business posts:

• Share content that is timely and relevant.
• Capture your audience's attention with a photo or video.
• Keep the copy brief. Use paragraph breaks or bullet points to make it more readable.
• Tag key stats, points and quotations.
• Include short and clear calls-to-action.
• Tag people and pages wherever required.
• Include two to three relevant hashtags.
• Write solid, engaging headlines for your posts.
• Create LinkedIn polls for feedback and more engagement.
• Respond to comments and emails with a personalized message.

3. Post regularly and at the right time.

According to LinkedIn, businesses that post once a month gain followers six times faster than those that don’t. Brands that post weekly witness two times the engagement and the ones that post as frequently as once a day enjoy even more traction.

The time of posting is just as important. According to Hootsuite research:

• The best times to post on LinkedIn are 7:45 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m., and 5:45 p.m. EST.
• The best day to post for B2B promotion is Wednesday.

4. Go live on LinkedIn.

Live video gets twenty four times more engagement on LinkedIn than pre-recorded video.

You can go live for plenty of reasons: from fireside chats to interviews, webinars, and hosting virtual events, you can conduct them all live and instantly connect with your audience.

A quick tip: before hosting a LinkedIn live, promote it well across all your audience touchpoints.

5. Make use of LinkedIn ads.

Using LinkedIn for sales can help you go a long way. Use the platform's incredible targeting capabilities to promote your brands. And if you are about to launch your first LinkedIn advertising campaign here are some ways you can accomplish that:

• You can use sponsored content to reach a larger audience group.
• You can leverage pay-per-click ads that usually appear on your profile and homepage.
• You can use sponsored InMail to send personalized ads (similar to email marketing).

6. Install the LinkedIn plugin.

You can increase your profile visits (and credibility at the same time) by sharing your content with multiple groups and platforms. However, doing this can be a tedious task.

Instead, add a LinkedIn share button on your blog page or website. Because your targeted audience will push your content through various channels, it works every time. You can also use this trick to boost all your social media accounts.

7. Use automation tools.

Your business can benefit a lot from marketing automation. There are several automation tools available like Hootsuite and Buffer that help you share your content more easily and expand your reach.

These tools also help you publish your content for the right audience at the right time, as well as communicate with your audience in a hyper-personalized manner.

Conclusion

LinkedIn provides a bunch of possibilities to connect your brand to the right decision-makers and influencers. It has developed into a powerful marketing tool that can help you build brand awareness and sell your products or services.

So, if you’re not already using LinkedIn, it is high time that you recognize its significance and start designing a powerful marketing strategy for LinkedIn.

Comment below if there are any marketing tactics you use regularly on LinkedIn!