You are from a B2B company. You don’t think LinkedIn marketing applies to you. Well B2B customers are also people. Therefore content marketing will surely work for B2B customers as they also use different social platforms like other normal people.

Once you have entered the office, you don’t just replace your brain pins from B2B to B2C versions as allocated by HR. There are a few differences between B2C and B2B marketing- multiple stakeholders for one. On individual level have far more in common.

With LinkedIn social media has broadened its horizons for professional conversations. Allowing people to discuss topics and share content on a personal level. We have not spoken about sensitive issues like mental effects of working in  IT company or Challenges of going back to work after childbirth. These are just a few examples. There are many such topics we need to openly talk about. LinkedIn is the perfect platform for speaking your mind with your professional circle.

Some people want to share information and personal experiences as they want to help others. They want to share their inspiring stories.

LinkedIn ranks the highest as the B2B social media platform-

LinkedIn is the Formal suit as compared to Facebook’s beach T-shirt. As per content marketing institute the latest B2B report for North America, 92% of B2B marketers use social media for content distribution. A rate below the e-mail usage (93%). LinkedIn commands a massive 97% of B2B marketers who take social media action double the number reported in 2010.

You won’t believe, but LinkedIn is older than Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and Crikey. Most of us were unaware of social media during those days.  LinkedIn started as a platform to find career opportunities via job listing and networking.  But that is not the only reason people visit LinkedIn. In the present day, LinkedIn is viewed seven times more often for content rather than job listings.

As you can see how LinkedIn has slowly evolved into content marketing platform acquiring and integrating content services like New aggregator pulse, Presentation platform SlideShare and online learning company Lynda.

After the acquisition by Microsoft, there is a lot of work put in for innovation of LinkedIn. LinkedIn and building that reputation as a place for professionals to grow, inform, stay connected and learn.

In whose content do people trust-

The reports revealed by the 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer report says that 62% of people trust in a brands social media advertising more. And reports suggest that LinkedIn is far more trusted by users than Facebook or Twitter.

LinkedIn is comparable to trusted publications like The Wall Street Journal and Forbes. That says how people see this platform. For brands, LinkedIn is an opportunity.

People trust advice given by the employee of a company more than a CEO. It’s a natural human tendency that people trust people who are “more like them” even more than a company. The individual has more impact rather than a faceless brand which carries more authority. I would say many brands do not take full advantage. Only 3% of employees share company relevant content. So there is a massive opportunity for companies to check employee base and ask them to share content on LinkedIn. Give your employees a direction from the company. Tell them what they want to share and what do they want to be talking about. You need to tell them that, this will help them build their personal brand and give them the appropriate content for sharing.

Not just for campaigns anymore

Most of the B2B marketers use LinkedIn, but some of them still use them occasionally when time, budget and resources allow them to do so. Some of them use it only when there is a big campaign launch.

It is very important always to be on as any B2B buyer will consume ten content pieces during the purchase procedure. The brands who are doing well, having a best B2B performance from their campaigns are those who are always-online sharing content. Those who do well follow an always-on content marketing strategy.

Content leading to conversations

We spend time in sharing content and publishing them. Our final aim is the audience click on the link and follow our website or make a conversation with us so that we can capture a lead. Even B2B marketers follow the same strategy and expect to capture leads online.

You need to keep a balance and understand what will your audience consume in the social media feed. You need to figure out the right time to drive them off the platform. Marketers sometimes overthink about just one piece of content.  They think like “this content has to go there and the next step is that the audience will be doing that.” This is a very straight way of thinking.

Expecting your audience to go and sign up for your newsletter immediately is way too narrow-minded. We need to get more creative in our LinkedIn marketing.

People need at least three to four pieces of content before engaging with your brand.  You cant drive audience by creating one white paper. You need to create related content every day as it reinforces the idea in the person’s mind. The first few contents are just the seeds you put in the audience’s mind.

Conclusion- LinkedIn marketing is one of the most effective contrivances to reach your target audience. It is one of the best places to meet professionals and connect with them. With growing content marketing trend LinkedIn is the right way to go. “Wider the network, Wider the prospects.”