Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Project 1 - B2B PDF
Project 1 - B2B PDF
PROJECT REPORT
ON
SUBMITTED TO
SINHGAD INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
CHANDIVALI
SUBMITTED BY
SAGAR PUROHIT
BATCH – 2017-19 & ROLL NO. - 57
MARKETING
1|Page
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Mr. Sagar Purohit has successfully completed the project work as
examination.
DIRECTOR
Date: _________________
SIBM
2|Page
DECLARATION
Management (SIBM), hereby declare that I have successfully completed this Project on
“LinkedIn: The ultimate social media tool for B2B Marketing” in the academic year
2017 - 19.
The information incorporated in this project is true and original to the best of my knowledge.
_____________________________
Signature
3|Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
4|Page
INDEX
Serial
Table of Content Page No.
No.
A COVER PAGE 1
B COLLEGE CERTIFICATE 2
C DECLEARATION 3
D ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 4
E INDEX PAGE 5
1 Introduction 6
1.2 Objectives 6
8 Findings 37
9 Conclusions 44
10 Bibliography 45
5|Page
1. Introduction :
LinkedIn has already started to sweep the B2B marketing world, with 94% of business
marketers using it in one way or another. But are we all utilizing it properly? It’s all very
well having a profile, but there’s loads you can do with LinkedIn to boost business lead
generation, assert credibility and grow your brand footprint. If you’re just using LinkedIn
to run a profile, then you’re missing a major marketing trick. 43% of B2B marketers have
sourced customers from leads generated on LinkedIn, and many marketing departments are
starting to see business lead generation through LinkedIn as a channel in its own right.
Let’s look at LinkedIn in detail, why we should all be using it for marketing, and the best
ways to generate high quality leads using the social media platform.
1.2 Objectives:
The main objective of this project report is to under the various useful
advantages of the Linked in which s now a days is one of best social medial
tools for B2B Marketing Peoples.
Primary objectives:
To study and understand what is LinkedIn?
To understand its needs and Why to use it?
How to use LinkedIn to generate leads?
Its usefulness in B2B Lead Generation.
6|Page
1.3. Types of Research :
This Research Study is a type of Qualitative Research in which non numerical data is
collected. This study had focused on various attributes based on the appearance of the product,
quality, feel of the product that cannot be measured but can be expressed with the help of words
and an individual rating can be provided for each attributes what is specified or for which
improvement has to be done.
Research design specifies the methods and procedures for conducting a particular
study. A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of the
data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to their search purpose with economy in
procedure. Research design is broadly classified into three types as:
7|Page
2. LinkedIn- What is it?
A question worth addressing, even though it’s likely we’re all familiar in some way with
the platform and what is does.
LinkedIn is a social media platform that wholly focuses on business networking and
discussion. You create a personal profile and fill it with what is, in essence, an interactive
version of your resume, linking to the business pages of your present and past employers, your
college, school etc. You can make connections with people you know or plan to work with,
and endorse (or be endorsed with) skills ranging from social, to managerial and technological.
The platform also allows you to share posts, follow individuals, and join groups and instant
message. And that’s just basic LinkedIn! There are plenty of extra additions you can utilize if
you’re planning to use it for marketing, needless to mention the opportunities to run paid
advertising campaigns.
It’s a constantly growing platform with endless possibilities for those looking to use it
for B2B marketing, so let’s make sure we’re getting the most out of it!
It’s all very well us talking about LinkedIn and what it does, but as B2B marketers, we
need to look at the facts- why should we use it? We’ve done our research and deciphered four
key reasons-
1) Audience size- LinkedIn has over 500 million members, and they’re aiming for 3 billion!
61 million of them are senior level influencers, and 40 million are in decision-making
positions. This gives you a huge amount of global reach in your prospecting efforts- all those
people are there at your fingertips!
2) Usage- This is a huge amount of members, but what if they only log on once a month? No
worries there! 40% of LinkedIn’s active monthly users are on the platform daily consuming
content and interacting with businesses. Added to this, every month, 63 million different
people use their mobile to access their LinkedIn account, meaning it not only has an
enormously active membership- they’re also using it on the move (and maybe out of work!).
8|Page
3) Age group- This is a huge positive for LinkedIn. It’s the only major social media platform
with an equal number of members aged 30-49 as it does aged 18-29. This eliminates the fear
that social media only appeals to millennia’s (it does have 87 million millennial members, 11
million of which are decision makers), and lets us know that business decision makers are not
only very present on LinkedIn, but indeed very active!
4) Focus- This is the true strength of LinkedIn- its business focused! A true B2B social media
tool if ever there was one. People login and use it to search businesses, engage with businesses
and learn about the future of their business and industry. 55% of B2B buyers use LinkedIn to
search for venders and research their solution, so a presence on the platform is essential. Added
to this, the information LinkedIn gathers and displays is intensely useful for B2B marketers.
You know a prospect's organization, industry, job title all at a glance; this makes it easy to
carry out specifically targeted marketing, aimed at those you can be sure will have an interest
or even a need for what you offer.
5) BONUS! It works- Companies that use LinkedIn to generate leads see it produce 80.33%
of their social media leads (Facebook and Twitter only providing a combined total of 19.46
%!). It’s also cheaper! 90% of B2B marketers reduced their cost-per-lead by upping their
LinkedIn activity above any other social media.
Now we know why you should be getting your LinkedIn strategy in check, here’s some tips
on how to get started!
Profile – Start at the beginning. Your profile is crucially important if using it to boost B2B
marketing. Think of it like a website, it needs to have no gaps in information, professional
images and a regularly updated feed of content. Include a CTA too- it can be as simple as
“message me to learn more about human resources tech”- but it’s there, and it encourages
conversation.
9|Page
Business page – If your business doesn’t already have a page on LinkedIn-then get one
going! This is the page that all your company’s employees can attach to and anyone searching
your business will go to. Make sure it’s packed out with as much information as possible, from
contact number and organization details to images of your logo and a CTA. For many B2B
buyers, this may be the first time they come across your brand, so get across what you do, and
why you’re the best.
Personal messaging- Much like an email campaign, using the LinkedIn “Sales Navigator”
you can get a message to an individual’s inbox. This cannot be automated in the same way an
email campaign is, however, you can use an advanced search function to bring up a list of
prospects that match your buyer persona exactly- so you know who to message! One SaaS
organization saw their LinkedIn In mail messaging bring them 11x more leads than an email
campaign. It’s got to be worth a try!
Group sharing – LinkedIn also lets you get your message out to the masses. With ready-
made groups, you can search an industry, or job title and get a huge amount of people who
have opted into a group to share and discuss information about that subject. This is the perfect
place to promote your product/solution and grow your brand awareness. Companies have seen
86.3% of LinkedIn leads generated come from sharing your brand on groups and interacting
with the comments. Make sure the group is relevant to your buyer persona, and you’re good
to go!
Content upload- Out of all the LinkedIn users, only 3 million of them share content weekly.
This is a tiny number looking at the platforms membership- so there’s definitely a niche to fill
when it comes to posting content. Whether it’s on your personal profile or in groups, you need
to get your content out there. Every week, there are 9 billion impressions on the LinkedIn feed
from content alone- think of the exposure!
Referrals and connections – This is useful for both marketing and sales. Use an add-on like
LinkedIn Helper to aid you in making connections with people from specific industries and
job titles, then you can message them personally and spark up a conversation. Add your
current clients too- every connection you make opens up an average of 400 people you can
network with; and as 91% of your clients are happy to make a referral (but only 11% of sales
people ask for them), request one! You never know how many leads you might generate.
10 | P a g e
Social media isn’t just for the young generation to make the most of- it’s for everyone!
And LinkedIn continues to ensure it’s a platform B2B organizations everywhere can benefit
from. The chances are, you’re already using it, and if you’re not- you definitely know enough
to get started now, we'd say it's one of the best B2B marketing tools out there!
If lead generation is something you’re keen to boost (and let’s be honest- who isn’t?!),
then Lead Forensics can definitely give you a leg up. Our global leading software tells you
what businesses have visited your website, along with contact details for the organization and
its key decision makers. Know who your leads are, where they came from and what they
looked at whilst visiting your website- you can have them on the phone with a tailored
approach at the ready in seconds.
To survive and thrive in a connected world, B2B tech companies have to get creative about
where they get their leads. For most of them, a healthy marketing strategy incorporates social
media marketing across a variety of platforms.
Of all of the platforms used, LinkedIn is one of the most prominent. Here’s why:
LinkedIn stats show that 93% of B2B marketers believe LinkedIn is the most effective
site for lead generation
According to Inside View information, LinkedIn outdoes Facebook, Twitter and
blogging for individual lead generation
64% of corporate website visits originate on LinkedIn
More than 80% of B2B social leads come from LinkedIn
11 | P a g e
For a B2B tech company looking to generate leads, those are promising statistics. The
question becomes how to develop an effective LinkedIn B2B lead generation marketing
strategy as part of an overall social media marketing plan.
There’s a lot to consider.
For example, there’s a learning curve. Setting up an effective LinkedIn site and then learning
how to create and publish relevant posts takes an investment of time and energy. Depending
on the LinkedIn package, sometimes it takes money, too.
Content is key to a vibrant LinkedIn marketing strategy, and finding the best ways to create
good content and then distribute it on LinkedIn has its own learning curve. Optimizing a
company profile, utilizing all the features effectively, and aligning sales and marketing on
LinkedIn are important, too.
Understanding LinkedIn Analytics is also necessary because it allows B2B companies to aim
and re-aim their LinkedIn marketing strategies as industry trends fluctuate.
There’s a lot of work involved, but done right, LinkedIn marketing plans can effectively
generate leads that help B2B tech companies grow.
Optimizing your profile as a B2B Tech Leader is where LinkedIn B2B lead generation
begins. As a LinkedIn participant, you have to be interesting, engaging and professional, and
you have to do it quickly so that browsers click through to know more about you—and your
company.
You only have seven seconds to make a good first impression. Make it count.
12 | P a g e
through several different screens as you complete the profile. There are five basic areas of
information to fill out: experience, education, photo, skills and expertise, and details.
Keep in mind that this will be the first impression that many people will have of you, so you
need to make it stand out in all the best ways.
Education—Formal education history such as university degrees should go here. If you have
any conferences, individual courses or specialized training in your industry that will make you
stand out, add them here, as well. As with items in the Experience section, make sure they’re
relevant to what you want to accomplish.
Professional photo—Out of all the elements of your profile, this could be the most
important. A professional photo makes you 14 times as likely to be found on LinkedIn.
Professional headline—LinkedIn populates your personal headline with your job title and
current company. You can change this to something that will pique the curiosity of people who
might see your profile, but remember to target it to the audience you want to impress. As a
B2B tech leader, aim to draw in people who can help generate leads.
Use the URLs—You can add up to three URLs to link back to online portfolios, work-related
blogs, or personal (but professional) websites that will help position you as a B2B tech leader.
Skills and Endorsements—in the skills section, list your skills and ask for endorsements from
colleagues. Then ask a handful of people who’ve worked with you to provide
recommendations. Try to get at least five recommendations on your profile in the beginning.
These make a big difference in the impact your first impression makes on new readers.
Details—Details that you add while setting up your profile show up as bullet points under your
job experience.
Join Groups—as you fill out your profile, take a moment to join one or two groups that look
like a good fit for your company and your career goals.
13 | P a g e
Fill out your Summary—unless you move it, the summary section will show up right under
your profile picture. Take the necessary time to create a summary that showcases your abilities
as a B2B tech leader.
Write your summary in first person and in simple language. Make it personable, but keep
it professional. Busy professionals skimming through your profile should feel like they’ve met
someone they could carry on a great conversation with.
While you write, keep your target audience in mind. As a B2B tech leader, you’ll want to
appeal to people in technology and in business management positions. What kinds of things
would you talk about with them if they sat across the table from you? If you can, phrase your
summary the same way you would when talking with them face to face.
Include around six of your biggest achievements that relate to your abilities as a tech leader.
Once your profile is complete, you can edit it as you go along, adding more sections or details
as needed.
LinkedIn is four times more likely to gather business-related traffic and send it to a
company website than other social media accounts. For a B2B tech company, that makes
creating LinkedIn posts that catch the eyes of potential leads all the more important. You’ll
need to know what to post, when to post, and how often to post.
As you prepare to write your first articles, investigate some of the tools that can propel
your ideas into industry conversations. A successful LinkedIn B2B lead generation marketing
strategy can utilize hashtags, tagging people and companies that you want to engage, creating
long-form posts with useful tips, and posting short videos.
Hashtags
Although the #hashtag originated on Twitter, its popularity has spread across social media
platforms, including LinkedIn.
14 | P a g e
Hashtags are useful for inbound marketers because they categorize specific keywords that
potential clients can search for. An article or post with a hashtag will surface with other posts
using the same hashtag on social media platforms.
For a B2B tech company, using hashtags to become part of relevant industry conversations can
be useful for lead generation. However, limit the number of hashtags you use to two or three
per post. Using more hashtags than that can be annoying to readers and actually drive down
views.
It’s also important to research the hashtags you use to make sure they’ll help you achieve your
goals.
Short videos
On LinkedIn, companies can post short videos on the products and services sections of
their company profiles. They’re set up easily by pasting a YouTube video URL in the correct
spot, and they’re free to use.
15 | P a g e
Short videos can also be used as posts from personal LinkedIn pages. Asking employees
to share a company video on their personal LinkedIn sites can significantly boost company
visibility.
On LinkedIn, it takes about ten articles to get one conversion. This means ten articles that
spark conversations and curiosity. The more ideas you ignite with your content, the more
likeminded business people will be drawn to your posts—and to your company.
16 | P a g e
Writing Your First Article on LinkedIn
Getting started is fairly simple. To write an article on LinkedIn, log in and look for the
white space near the center top of the page that says share an article, photo, video or idea. Click
on the pencil icon. This opens up your blog window, a clear writing space with a simple menu.
In the blue section below the toolbar, there are two icons and a plus symbol for adding
a cover image for your blog. As this can become part of your brand, select something that
represents your company and the message you want to send to other people. There are header
options (normal through header 5) in the menu bar, as well as bullet points and numbers for
lists, a hyperlink insertion tool, and a quotes tool to make any quotations you use stand
out. You’ll also find the standard bold, italic and underline options for changing up the text.
17 | P a g e
Your headline goes below the blue rectangle. The white screen at the bottom of the
window is where you’ll write the text of the article. If you click on the icon that says Write
Here, another toolbar pops up that gives you options for inserting photos, videos, snippets,
links, and slides. Clicking the X on the left of the toolbar will close it so you can continue
writing text. In the top right-hand corner of the page, you’ll also find a more drop-down menu
that allows you to see your current drafts and articles you’ve already published. You can also
start a new article from that menu or access the help center.
Once you begin, aim to get five to ten articles out quickly. Having at least this many
posts can boost your credibility.
All in all, it’s a simple structure that’s easy to use. Open the window, write, add some media,
and hit publish.
19 | P a g e
particularly want to spark a conversation with. You can also change the post settings to gain
the widest possible audience from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the window.
Also consider using the write an article option to create a very short post with questions,
hashtags, and links back to an article you’d really like people to see.
Content can be included in comments, too, so don’t forget to engage with people who
comment on your posts. It’s an effective way of driving up views. Ultimately, writing and
posting great content is part of the lead-generation process. When you engage your audience,
you increase your chances are of pulling in business.
Once you have a personal LinkedIn profile, you can add a company page.
As with your personal LinkedIn page, out. Add an exceptional photo that accurately depicts
your brand and the message you want to send to potential leads.
In the products and services tab, include descriptions, links to, and explanations of the
products and services you sell. List them in order of importance.
Ask for reviews on your products and services from LinkedIn members. These reviews show
up as written testimonials, and they can be used on company websites as well as being featured
on the LinkedIn company page.
Write a great summary. Your summary can be anywhere from 250-2,500 characters,
including spaces. Focus on shared interests within your industry and on building trust with
like-minded people. Once you build trust, you can work together with others to advance your
shared interests—such as building business partnerships and generating leads.
20 | P a g e
In your summary, list five or six significant company accomplishments, and add in volunteer
service to show your company is aware of communities and individuals. Create your first blog
posts. Aim for five to ten quality posts at first, and add to them later.
Utilize Slide share. When you write your first company blog posts, consider embedding
Slide share presentations to help explain why the industry needs your business. Slide share is
one of the 200 most visited sites in the world, and it gets 60 million views a month. It can also
be optimized for specific keywords, which can cause the blog post to outrank more traditional
posts on the same topic.
Share the company page with employees. If they have personal LinkedIn accounts, ask
them to identify with the company page. They’ll then show up as employees on your company
page, which means visitors can connect with them. This can generate more talk about your
company and ultimately bring in leads.
Add additional administrators to the page, including key employees. They’ll feel more
engaged with the company’s success, and it will spread the responsibility to promote the
company across a broader human resource network.
21 | P a g e
V) MAKING THE MOST OF LINKEDIN GROUPS
LinkedIn Groups are one of the most useful tools for a B2B tech company, especially
when it comes to generating leads through inbound marketing.
This tool works for B2B tech leaders because, in groups, people talk to each other.
They share ideas. It’s a never-ending networking event held online that allows companies to
watch for trends and join in pertinent discussions.
In order to grow your business, you need to connect with your buyers. LinkedIn Groups
are great places to meet people, talk about industry problems, discuss solutions and build
relationships that can generate leads.
“We have to know the buyer profile. We have to know who we’re talking to. We also have to
know what problems they’re having, because those are the problems we’re going to be
providing helpful information for.”—Matt Traylor, Innovative Marketing Resources
An easy method to search for groups that fit your buyer profile is to search for them by
keyword. Once you see a group that might work, dig deeper. Look at the statistics for the
group—how many people are in the group? How many active conversations are there? Look
at the demographics, too—if the group is filled with salespeople rather than industry
professionals, you might get a lot of sales spam rather than good niche-specific conversation
to draw people to your company.
22 | P a g e
It’s also important to look at the rules of the group. If the group doesn’t allow links to
be posted in the discussions, don’t do it—you’ll be labeled as a spammer. One exception is
occasionally linking back to a blog post that thoroughly answers a question someone had
during the discussion.
Groups with no links are the highest quality groups for discussions. Company
representatives shouldn’t worry about not being able to link back to a website or blog post,
because people who appreciate the conversation will want to connect with you and learn more.
When they do, they’ll see the company page and other links that can stimulate even more talk
and generate leads.
A final way to find groups that might interest you is to decide who your dream client
would be. Once you’ve found your dream client’s profile on LinkedIn, research the profile for
helpful demographics and skim to the bottom, where the groups this person participates in are
listed. It’s a good bet some of those groups will be ones you’ll want to spend time in, as well.
23 | P a g e
Keep an eye on changes
Occasionally, changes in the way a social platform like LinkedIn works can shake things
up in your social media marketing plan. LinkedIn changed many of its group features to help
cut back on spam and make using groups more effective. If something changes, watch the
trends on group discussions as well as your LinkedIn analytics to determine how your company
will be affected.
Sometimes it’s worthwhile for a B2B tech company to create a new group. If a good
discussion group gets too spam my, for example. You might also be able to use a new group
to establish your business as an industry leader.
Sponsored Content
Sponsored content is a paid boost for increased visibility. It begins as organic posts on your
company page that show up in the feed of your followers.
When you feel like it’s time to reach beyond the people who ordinarily see your posts, you
can pay for the best pieces to become sponsored content. Choose articles that are already
popular with your organic followers and narrow your choices from there.
To generate leads, sponsored content should have a call to action or a gated component like
a webinar that new readers can sign up for. You should always target your widest possible
audience.
Once you’re ready to go, your pages will be distributed on the feed or other pages of the
LinkedIn members you’re targeting. When they click back to your site, the content will show
up as company updates on your company profile or showcase pages.
24 | P a g e
Direct Sponsored Content
Direct sponsored content is an expansion of sponsored content.
With direct sponsored content, posts won’t be published on the company page to be a part of
a campaign, and companies can personalize or tweak the content. This allows them to test and
retest the content they use until they’re satisfied with the results. The tests won’t be sent to
followers, only to the specific target audience the company chooses.
Both sponsored content and direct sponsored content ads are created by the advertiser in
LinkedIn’s campaign manager.
Text Ads
Text ads make up LinkedIn’s self-service Pay-Per-Click advertising program. Like the
other advertising options, companies can choose which audiences to target. The company
creates its own ads, sets its budget and pays only for the ads that result in clicks or impressions.
Sponsored In Mail
Sponsored In Mail is an e-mail marketing campaign just for LinkedIn. Companies using
sponsored In Mail can direct personalized messages with no limits on character counts, such
as invitations to webinars or other events, to targeted audiences. Campaigns are quick to set up
and launch. As with other LinkedIn advertising services, companies set their own budget.
25 | P a g e
Similarities and Differences in LinkedIn Marketing Campaigns
All of the campaigns originating on LinkedIn are self-service programs run through
LinkedIn’s campaign manager. On campaign manager, the person in charge of the campaign
names it, sets a budget and a target audience and gets it going.
To use campaign manager, a person needs to have a LinkedIn account and a credit card.
The main differences between the advertising programs are how the advertising content is
delivered and its marketing purpose. Here’s a quick run-down:
The advertising programs differ from the target/retarget tools, too. The target/retarget tools
simply match databases so that LinkedIn campaigns can be targeted more effectively
Display ads can be run on LinkedIn, but these have to be set up through an outside advertising
source.
26 | P a g e
VII) ALIGNING SALES AND MARKETING ON LINKEDIN
In any company, getting sales and marketing to work hand in hand can be more challenging
than it sounds.
27 | P a g e
Using the filters on LinkedIn’s search option is free, but for companies who are looking
for more dramatic growth, using the paid LinkedIn Sales Navigator might be something to
consider. It has advanced search options and the ability to save lists of target accounts and
leads. There are also more sales insights and the ability to use your entire network to help reach
out to prospects beyond company connections. Pricing of sales packages and comparison to
other LinkedIn packages are discussed in more detail in Chapter Seven.
A major part of knowing how to tweak your LinkedIn marketing strategy is paying
attention to what works and what doesn’t. For that, you have to consider the statistics and
watch the followers, shares, clicks, and impressions.
28 | P a g e
Updates
Statistics for updates are gathered in a table showing the first few words of the post, the date it
was published, and whether or not it was a sponsored campaign. You can see whether the
update was sent to all audience members or to a target audience, as well as the number of
clicks, impressions, interactions, and followers that you gained because of this update.
There’s also an engagement percentage that shows the total of interactions, clicks, and
followers acquired, divided by the number of impressions. Reach is shown on a graph depicting
the number of daily clicks for both paid and unpaid campaigns.
Followers
Besides the total number of people following your company page, you can see how many
followers you acquired organically and how many came from sponsored content or company
follow ads.
You can also take a look at follower demographics, including seniority, industry, job function,
company size, and more.
Follower Trends allows you to see how the number of your followers has changed over time
and the How I Compare feature shows the number of your followers compared to other
companies.
Visitors
Visitors are tracked with a graph showing the number of daily views for your company page,
as well as career page clicks, unique visitor clicks (also in a graph form), and visitor
demographics.
29 | P a g e
6. How LinkedIn fits into the 2019 social media landscape:
Less than a month ago, Social Media Examiner released their 2017 survey of more
than 5,000 marketers on the usage of social media platforms, strategies, challenges, etc.
After reading through it, we saw a lot of facts we expected to find… and then, a few we
didn’t:
40% of respondents indicated that the most important network for B2B marketers is
LinkedIn. It beats out Facebook by 3%, Twitter by 25%, and absolutely dwarfs
YouTube, Google+, & Instagram.
The second most important social platform for marketers overall is LinkedIn. While
networks like Instagram and Snapchat have hogged the spotlight as of late, and
Twitter is thought of as second only to Facebook, data shows that when it comes to
marketing importance, LinkedIn has a comfortable lead on all but one network.
30 | P a g e
7. 10 Ways LinkedIn Can Build Your Brand and Generate Leads:
i. Turn your profile views into new business - Most LinkedIn users are familiar
with the “Someone has viewed your profile” email notification. If you’re like me, you’ll
open it, glance at the content, and send it directly to the trash.
But according to LinkedIn expert John Nemo, by doing that I’m missing out on
opportunities to generate leads. Instead, I should follow that email (or click the “who’s
viewed your profile” link in the “Profile” drop-down on my personal LinkedIn page), and
track down the people who have viewed my profile. Then“once you find someone worth
reaching out to (meaning a person who you think is your ideal prospect or customer), you
can open his or her profile in a new tab, scan it to quickly find out some additional personal
and professional information about him or her, and then invite him or her to connect.”
Think about it. This person has just viewed your profile, meaning they’ve taken the step
to find out more about you. Reach out to learn why. It could very well be that they’re
interested in your products or services.
ii. Take advantage of plugins - LinkedIn is a great tool for lead generation on its
own, and it becomes even more powerful when you integrate complementary add-ons.
Here are four worth tapping into:
Rapportive
This is a handy tool for Gmail users who browse in Firefox or Chrome. After
downloading, run it to get a list of any LinkedIn profiles, Twitter handles, Skype
accounts, and more, that have been created with the emails addresses in your contacts.
Then, use Rapportive to build your network by sending personalized LinkedIn invites
directly from your inbox.
31 | P a g e
With LinkedIn Connection Revealer.
This tool will tell you exactly how big of a network all your first level connections
have. From there, engage with users who travel in big circles, and try to leverage their
platform to promote your product or service.
Headline
Without a great headline, your post, sponsored story, ad, etc., won’t get clicked. That
means no traffic to your landing page. Headline, a paid plugin for the Google Chrome
browser, will automatically generate hundreds of popular headline combinations that
contain keywords you specify. If your post is about video marketing trends, type in
“video marketing trends” to get compelling titles that will compel people to click
through.
LinMailPro
This Chrome extension allows you to automatically find and invite every person who
has recently viewed your profile — which will make implementing tip number one a
whole lot easier. With it, you can send a personalized message to those who have
looked at your profile, and even tag them to sort your new connections into a list of
potential customers you can deliver marketing messages to.
iii. Sign up for LinkedIn’s new profounder service - An exciting new service
LinkedIn has been quietly rolling out is “Profounder.” As a freelancer or independent
professional, signing up is a must. Inspired by freelance-finding websites like up work
and Fever, this new offering allows businesses to take advantage of LinkedIn’s vast
amount of user data to find highly recommended pros for any job.
To become part of Profounder, you’ll need an exceptional profile that shows off your
skills. According to LinkedIn, it should include:
A professional profile photo
A title relevant to the service you want to be found for
A summary filled with your accomplishments
Several recommendations that cite your skills, describe your role in a project, and
include a relevant date
Links to long-form content you’ve published on LinkedIn
32 | P a g e
iv. Ask employees to post your company’s content - You’ve been searching
tirelessly for some powerful brand advocates to share your company’s blog content and
case studies, and they were sitting right in front of you the entire time.
Data shows that 50% of all employees already post to social media about their employers,
so why not ask them to share updates related to your brand that can generate traffic and
leads?
Companies like Dynamic Signal help companies do just that by allowing marketers
to pick and queue up company-approved content that employees can share in just a few
clicks.
According to strategist Travis Wright, because people tend to listen to their social
connections more than official marketing campaigns, techniques like this can result in 5
times more traffic, and 25% more leads.
v. Make yourself discoverable - Search engine optimization isn’t just for Google.
On LinkedIn, making yourself easily discoverable and touting your experience has the
potential to boost the number of opportunities you have to sell your product s or services.
If you’re a graphic designer, and someone in your area needs help to create a logo, you
want to be the person who pops up when they search “graphic designer near me.”
Here are a few things you can do to boost the likelihood that happens:
33 | P a g e
the groups you’re a member of are displayed on your profile, their names will help
you rank for relevant searches that your prospective clients are conducting.
Request recommendations. Some experts believe that 10 or more will boost your
profile’s search engine ranking.
vi. Publish posts with LinkedIn Pulse -“The quickest way to build your
professional brand is with LinkedIn’s publishing platform. Use it to write about everything
from industry trends to career accomplishments. It’s important to write about what you
know, as these articles will help you establish yourself as an expert.” Like on your landing
pages, the more authority you can show off, the more sought after you’ll be by prospects
hunting for your services. Consistently publishing educational articles and blog posts
about industry news has the potential to not only drive traffic to your website but
eventually position you as an influencer in your space. LinkedIn Pulse allows you to do
that with an easy-to-use interface that you can use to write rich, long-form content that
includes images, videos, and even links to your company website.
Businesses like Scoop.it and Great Jakes saw a huge boost in traffic and leads after
using it to publish their content. And, don’t worry — if you think you don’t have the
resources to publish more content in yet another place, consider repurposing your
website’s blog posts for LinkedIn.
34 | P a g e
viii. Sponsor your most valuable content - Sponsored Updates allow you to
infiltrate the LinkedIn feeds of people who are most likely to find your content valuable.
These native ads look like this
The best ones pair a genuinely valuable piece of content (think eBook, guide, or
template) with the following tips:
Add visually enticing thumbnail images. Add your own if you’re not partial to the
one automatically pulled from your web page.
Create a compelling headline that answers “What’s in it for me?” What will your
prospect get from clicking through?
Take advantage of your connections. Content shared by popular people in your
network (like your CEO or a well-known brand advocate) have higher click-through
potential.
35 | P a g e
ix. Create a sponsored In Mail campaign - Sponsored in Mail campaigns allow
you to cut through all the clutter and reach the LinkedIn inboxes of the people who matter
to your business. Use the service to send rich content and compelling offers to targeted
prospects of your choosing.
When Utah State sought to fill its graduate program with highly qualified
candidates in the region, they used the help of Sponsored in Mail to do it. Here’s what
their In Mail message to prospects looked like:
The result of the campaign was a 20 to 1 ROI, a 71% conversion rate on requests
for more information, and a 27.5% open rate for In Mail.
“The ads are visually appealing and eye catching, since they include a member’s profile
picture — they also allow us to include more ad copy, which helps us better promote our
content.”
At the close of their campaign, CA Technologies’ ads had converted at 11.3%, at a cost
per lead 68% less than other social channels.
36 | P a g e
8. Findings:
37 | P a g e
3) 40% of monthly active users use LinkedIn daily.
Of those using the platform monthly, up to 40% are accessing it on a daily basis. If that is the
case, that’s over 100 million professionals you could be targeting every single day. To make
that even more excited, LinkedIn users typically use the platform to find relevant content,
meaning they’ll be much more willing to check out what you’re sharing. We’ll dig into that
one soon though…
38 | P a g e
6) LinkedIn is the most-used social media platform amongst Fortune 500
companies.
Another B2B statistic from LinkedIn’s Marketing Solutions Blog that should definitely peak
your interest... This just serves as further proof that LinkedIn is the place to go to reach your
ideal customers and clients.
11) LinkedIn profiles with photos get 21x more views and 36x more
messages.
The decision to include a photo or not isn’t much of a decision at all in 2019. Profiles with
photos get significantly more views, messages, and results than generic, picture-less folks.
Don’t think your profile picture absolutely must be an expensive, professional headshot either
– as long as you have a picture, you’re on the right track.
12) Just under half (44%) of all LinkedIn users are women.
Of LinkedIn’s total user base, it was last reported that 44% are women. LinkedIn is quickly
becoming a platform for all – no matter who you’re trying to reach in the business world,
LinkedIn is a great place to find them.
13) LinkedIn Slide Share now has 70 million monthly active users.
According to TechCrunch, LinkedIn’s slide deck sharing platform Slide Share is up to at least
70 million users monthly. Slide Share expert and Foundation Marketing Founder Ross
Simmonds has long been an advocate of the platform and its marketing potential.
39 | P a g e
14) LinkedIn is the #1 channel B2B marketers use to distribute content
at 94%.
According to LinkedIn’s Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to LinkedIn, 94% of B2B marketers
use LinkedIn as a content distribution channel, compared to Twitter at 89%, Facebook and
YouTube both at 77%, and Google+ 61%. If you have content to distribute (which you
definitely should), LinkedIn should be your first stop. It’s where most B2B marketers go first.
15) LinkedIn makes up more than 50% of all social traffic to B2B
websites & blogs.
Yes, more than half of all social traffic to B2B sites comes from LinkedIn. Collectively,
LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter drive 90% of social traffic to B2B sites & blogs, with more than
half of that traffic comes straight from LinkedIn. Facebook and Twitter may have more
monthly active users, but LinkedIn clearly separates itself as the go-to for B2B content
distribution.
40 | P a g e
16) 92% of B2B marketers include LinkedIn in their digital marketing
mix.
If you’re looking to follow what expert B2B marketers are doing, start with LinkedIn. In terms
of what channels are included in their content marketing mix, 92% of B2B marketers listed
LinkedIn. Twitter was next at 87%, then Facebook at 76%, YouTube at 67%, and Instagram
at just 15%. The best B2B marketers have bought into LinkedIn’s potential.
17) 59% of B2B marketers say LinkedIn generates leads for their
business.
Of a group of B2B marketers surveyed, 59% were able to confidently say LinkedIn is
generating leads for them. That number would quite likely be even higher if not for the 33%
who were unsure on where their leads were coming from. Regardless, LinkedIn is still twice
more effective than Facebook and Twitter both.
41 | P a g e
18) 65% of B2B companies have acquired a customer through LinkedIn.
With LinkedIn users more likely to do business with someone they encounter on the platform,
the fact that 65% of B2B companies have acquired a customer through LinkedIn should not
come as a surprise. It’s the place to go for B2B marketers looking to generate more leads and
build up their customer or client list
19) 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn vs. 13% on Twitter & 7% on
Facebook.
This one stat alone should be enough to convince you to start investing your time in LinkedIn
as a B2B marketer. Of all B2B leads coming from social media, LinkedIn is responsible for
80%. That’s 4 out of every 5 leads coming from LinkedIn. All other platforms combined make
up less than 20%, including Facebook and Twitter. Fewer users definitely does not mean less
B2B leads.
42 | P a g e
20) 3x more conversions than Twitter & Facebook.
In a HubSpot study, LinkedIn generated the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate at 2.74%,
almost 3x higher than Twitter at 0.69% and Facebook at 0.77%. Not only do more potential
leads land on your website through LinkedIn, they’re also more qualified and willing to buy.
43 | P a g e
9. Conclusions:
“The quality of leads coming from LinkedIn is higher than anything else we’re
doing.”—Max Traylor, Innovative Marketing Resources
One of the main reasons to use LinkedIn as a marketing strategy for B2B tech
companies is because of the lead generation that happens in LinkedIn Groups. It’s all in the
discussions, and in the relationships, you build with other members of your industry.
Providing thoughtful content and promoting it across LinkedIn profiles and groups in
a successful campaign can set you up as a thought leader. People who search for solutions in
group discussions are likely to remember you and your company. They’ll come looking for
you when they have questions.
Some will come to you wanting to buy your products and services. In the end, that’s what
you’re aiming for.
61 million LinkedIn users are senior level influencers and 40 million are in
decision-making positions.
LinkedIn is the #1 channel B2B marketers use to distribute content at 94%.
LinkedIn makes up more than 50% of all social traffic to B2B websites & blogs.
91% of marketing executives list LinkedIn as the top place to find quality
content.
Of the 10,000 most shared articles of the last 5 years, only 6% were written by
influencers.
80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn vs. 13% on Twitter & 7% on Facebook.
LinkedIn generates 3x more conversions than Twitter & Facebook.
44 | P a g e
10. Bibliography:
Reference Books
Marketing Management, Philip Kotler 14th Edition
Research Methodology, C. R. Kothari Second Edition
Strategic Marketing Management, Richard M. S. Wilson, 3rd Edition
Website References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com
http://www.siamindia.com/statistics.aspx?mpgid=8&pgidtrail=9
https://www.technavio.com
https://www.slideshare.net
https://www.smartcompany.com.au/marketing/
https://foundationinc.co/lab/b2b-marketing-linkedin-stats/
https://instapage.com/blog/linkedin-lead-generation
https://neilpatel.com/blog/linkedin-strategies-b2b-marketing/
https://blog.leadforensics.com/linkedin-the-ultimate-social-media-tool-for-b2b-
marketing
https://www.penguinstrategies.com/blog/how-to-use-linkedin-to-generate-leads-as-a-
b2b-company
45 | P a g e