B2B LinkedIn Marketing: Embracing Change and Optimizing Your Strategy
LinkedIn company pages play crucial roles in B2B marketing strategies. They provide dedicated platforms for businesses to connect with their ideal clients–platforms that help B2B marketers showcase how they stand out from all the other widget makers and servicers.
As a social networking platform for professionals, LinkedIn provides a valuable opportunity for businesses to establish a strong online presence, build brand credibility and connect with potential buyers. With a LinkedIn company page, businesses can…
- Share informative content
- Position themselves as industry thought leaders
- Engage with their target audience in a professional setting
On the paid side, LinkedIn offers robust targeting capabilities, allowing businesses to reach very specific industries, job titles and professional demographics, ensuring their marketing efforts are focused and effective.
So, when LinkedIn makes changes to its platform’s capabilities, B2B social media marketers sit up and take notice–just like they did earlier this month.
Seven News Announcements from LinkedIn
In early June 2023, citing pressure on B2B marketers to produce results (76% of B2B CMOs feel the pressure to deliver results), LinkedIn announced seven changes to their platform to help CMOs and their teams perform more effectively.
Introduction of GAI Tools and Ad Formats
LinkedIn is introducing new generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools to increase efficiency and generate content for B2B marketers. These tools will help marketers reduce day-to-day tasks and focus on higher-value work. Interestingly, LinkedIn reported that 55% of B2B marketers across the globe hope to use GAI.
AI Copy Suggestions
The introduction of AI Copy Suggestions in North America showcases LinkedIn's ongoing efforts to enhance advertising capabilities. By leveraging GAI technology, this feature generates text and headlines for ad creatives, utilizing data extracted from a company's LinkedIn Page. Marketers can conveniently choose from a variety of suggested copy options, make necessary edits, and effortlessly implement them into their campaigns.
Expanded Ad Formats
To effectively target buyers throughout their buying journeys, LinkedIn is launching several ad formats. One notable addition is the In-Stream Video ads, which will be visible across mobile and desktop apps and sites. In addition, Conversation Ads and Thought Leader Ads will be made available to all users in July.
Audience Insights
Agency partners now have access to Audience Insights, a groundbreaking API from LinkedIn. This powerful tool provides invaluable insights into campaign audiences, enabling agencies to optimize their strategies.
B2B Leaderboard
LinkedIn is launching the B2B Leaderboard and CMO Scorecard, both of which measures the outcome of paid and organic brand efforts on the platform in a slightly different way. The B2B Leaderboard spotlights companies that rank highest in creativity, buyer intent and their storytelling strategies across organic and paid marketing, as measured by LinkedIn’s B2B Index Matrix.
CMO Scorecard
Marketers can utilize the CMO Scorecard to assess the effectiveness of their marketing efforts, measuring creative, media, and outcome metrics while considering factors such as attention, branding, linkage to key buying situations, effectiveness, evenness, efficiency, leads generated, meetings influenced, and hires influenced.
The Biggest Change in How LinkedIn Company Pages Are Used
LinkedIn is also rolling out Pages Messaging, enabling two-way conversations between LinkedIn members and brands. This feature allows users to directly reach out to brands through their Page to ask questions about products or companies.
Until now, rather than taking an active role in engagement, LinkedIn Company Pages have served as user destinations: background resources manned by platoons of individual sales team members who comment on other people’s posts, join groups and send InMail.
However, thanks to recent changes, users can now DM Company Pages and start conversations in the app. Page admins can respond as the Page, providing another useful engagement option.
This change in LinkedIn's messaging inbox for company pages matters for B2B marketers for several reasons:
- Enhanced Direct Communication: The messaging inbox update lets businesses communicate quickly and directly with their target audiences on LinkedIn. B2B marketers can now send and receive direct messages (DMs) through their company pages, allowing for more personalized and efficient communication. This direct communication can facilitate relationship-building and lead nurturing, as well as help with addressing customer inquiries or concerns promptly.
- Improved Customer Engagement: With the messaging inbox feature, B2B marketers can engage in real-time conversations with potential clients, existing customers and other professionals in their industry. This enhances customer engagement by providing a seamless and convenient channel for interaction. B2B marketers can use the messaging inbox to share personalized information, provide customer support, offer product/service recommendations and establish stronger connections with their target audiences.
- Facilitates Lead Generation: The messaging inbox update can be a valuable tool for B2B lead generation. Marketers can use direct messaging to initiate conversations with prospects, qualify leads and move them further along the sales funnel. By leveraging the messaging feature, marketers can nurture leads by providing relevant information, addressing their specific needs and building relationships that may ultimately lead to conversions and sales.
- Builds Trust and Credibility: Direct communication through the messaging inbox allows B2B marketers to establish trust and credibility with their audience. By engaging in personalized conversations, providing valuable insights and offering prompt assistance, marketers can showcase their expertise and position themselves as trusted advisors. This can lead to stronger brand trust, increased brand loyalty and ultimately, more successful business relationships.
Overall, the change in LinkedIn's messaging inbox provides B2B marketers with a powerful tool to enhance their communication, engagement and relationship-building efforts. It opens up new avenues for personalized marketing, lead generation and customer support, ultimately contributing to more effective B2B marketing strategies.
With only 5% of buyers in-market at any given time, and even fewer during an economic downturn, B2B marketers need to focus on reaching, and creating memory recognition, with future buyers.
How Companies Should Adjust Their LinkedIn Tactics
To incorporate this change in LinkedIn's messaging inbox capabilities, here are a few key ways B2B companies can adjust their social media tactics.
- Encourage Direct Messaging: B2B companies should actively encourage their audience to send direct messages through their LinkedIn company page. They can include a clear call-to-action in their posts, inviting users to reach out with inquiries, or to initiate conversations. Promote the benefits of direct messaging, such as personalized assistance, quick responses and tailored solutions.
- Provide Timely Responses: With the messaging inbox, it’s crucial for B2B companies to prioritize timely responses to incoming messages. Aim to respond promptly and professionally to inquiries, comments and messages received through the messaging feature. Quick and attentive responses can help build trust, improve customer satisfaction and demonstrate the company's commitment to customer service.
- Personalize Communication: Use the messaging inbox to personalize communication with your audience. Address individuals by their name, reference specific details from their LinkedIn profiles and tailor your messages to their specific needs or pain points. This personalized approach shows that you value their unique circumstances and helps establish more meaningful connections.
- Nurture Leads Through Direct Messaging: B2B companies can leverage the messaging feature to nurture leads. Engage in conversations with potential clients, provide additional information about products or services, share relevant resources and address their specific concerns. Use the direct messaging channel as an opportunity to guide leads through the sales funnel and build relationships that lead to conversions.
- Share Exclusive Content and Offers: Use the messaging inbox to provide exclusive content or offers to your audience. For example, send personalized messages with exclusive industry insights, whitepapers or webinar invitations. This approach not only adds value to your audience but also encourages them to engage further and strengthens the relationship.
- Build Relationships with Key Decision-Makers: Capitalize on the direct messaging capability to establish relationships with key decision-makers within target accounts. Personalize your outreach, share relevant content and offer insights that address their specific business challenges. By fostering meaningful conversations and showcasing your expertise, you can position yourself as a trusted partner in their decision-making process.
- Monitor and Measure results: Implement a system to track and measure the effectiveness of your direct messaging efforts. Monitor response rates, conversion rates and engagement levels through the messaging inbox. Analyze the data to identify trends, optimize your messaging strategy and refine your approach for better results.
By incorporating these tactics, B2B companies can leverage the change in LinkedIn's messaging inbox to enhance their social media strategies, strengthen customer relationships, and drive business growth.
Not sure where to start? Noble’s B2B marketing team is both supremely social and incredibly skilled. Contact us here to get started.