NETWORKING FOR ALL NEEDS

When you open up a social media app, you are typically in a state of mind that is generally associated with the app. Wanting to see how your crazy uncle did on his latest fishing trip? Hop on to Facebook and check out his latest catch. Wondering what the sports analysts and trolls are saying during a close basketball game? Head on over to Twitter to get the fastest updates. Feeling creative or looking for inspiration? Instagram is only a click away.

But what about LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is an absolutely fascinating channel for businesses to take advantage of—both for their own networking needs and for marketing to an audience that’s ready to get to business.

LinkedIn may not be as large as Facebook, but it still has a staggering 660 million members on the platform. And a large number of those users are actively engaged with other people, brands, and associations.

It has been well documented that LinkedIn and other professional network users are in a different mindset compared to when using a personal networking channel such as Pinterest or Instagram. A 2012 study conducted by LinkedIn and market research agency TNS shows that users interact with LinkedIn in a vastly different way compared to other social media platforms, opting to focus on industry-related topics, networking opportunities, and career advancement options through education and training.

Being able to understand the emotional differences of users between platforms is crucial to confidently market to an audience. If you post an image of your toddler’s birthday party or a meme on your LinkedIn page, whether it’s a personal or business page, it will most likely be met with little success in comparison to the same post on your Facebook.

LinkedIn marketing gives businesses unique opportunities that are not readily found on other digital channels. Being able to directly search for and connect with industry leads, prioritize B2B opportunities, and create hyper-specific advertising campaigns are all amazing advantages a business will find when they register for a LinkedIn account.

BUILD INDUSTRY LEADS

Whether you’re looking for a new client or a partner vendor, you’re going to have to do some networking. LinkedIn’s ecosystem revolving around “networking” and “connections” makes it ideal to search for and select prospects. Search and group functions make it easy to discover people in the same or connected industries that can be of help now or down the road. The “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” mentality is alive and well on LinkedIn. Access to information is readily available with a free account, but premium account benefits bring even greater chances at landing a solid connection. With a variety of premium tiers, a user can choose which package best fits their needs no matter their situation.

It’s a common misunderstanding that LinkedIn is only for job hunting—that the platform is only filled with pushy recruiters and under/over-qualified applicants unable to satisfy recruiter needs. In reality, LinkedIn is full of qualified and inspired individuals who are eager to collaborate, whether it be for a new gig or to help their current company. A quick search will pull potential groups, inspiration pages, and professional associations related to your industry. Industry news is just as quick to break on LinkedIn as it is on a press release network.

On top of finding new contacts, LinkedIn’s familiar timeline makes it easy to nurture and reconnect with your connections. The timeline functions very much like Facebook, allowing users to interact with both brands and people. When the interface is easy to use, it makes you far more comfortable putting your best foot forward when you engage with the online community.

B2B MARKETING

It’s ok to say—B2B marketing is hard, tough, and no fun. Who wants to sift through potential leads looking for a decision maker? No one, that’s who. We all want the decision maker of a potential deal to magically appear in our inbox.

Unfortunately, it never happens like that.

Fortunately, we have LinkedIn.

In a world obsessed with maximizing efficiency, LinkedIn makes it easy to find the contact you need to get the ball rolling on your next project. Studies show that leads produced by LinkedIn are vastly superior to leads from traditional sources across the board. When you’re trying to market a new product or service, would you rather your audience be interested or not interested at all? That should be an easy answer.

Traditional digital marketing can be highly targeted, no question about it. If you’re looking for a specific person or title from a specific company, a Google or Facebook ad probably isn’t your best option. Why spend more than you have to when targeting one individual?

TARGETED ADVERTISING

Just like the other social media platforms, LinkedIn has a robust digital advertising platform. Campaign Manager allows for users to reach a niche audience with a variety of tools. You’re able to customize your campaign to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your websites or LinkedIn content, or even funnel leads and other types of conversions to you. Targeting your audience is easy with the use of LinkedIn’s attribute categories to focus on, such as by company name, job title, schools, and so much more.

The design and budget of your ad is important, and no corners should be cut. But measuring and optimizing your ad campaign is vital to a successful strategy. Campaign Manager allows for you to track standard metrics, then refine your ad in the midst of its schedule. Options and features like this help you reach the perfect audience with every ad you run.

Many businesses already have a LinkedIn account created, but how many are actively using it? This is where us at Digital Lagoon come in. We can help you with your marketing efforts beyond refreshing your website. We have the LinkedIn marketing know-how to make sure you make the best impression with all your connections. Contact us today to learn more on ways we can help jumpstart your LinkedIn presence.