LinkedIn has been considered a job search and professional network engine. Not anymore. The popular social network is trying to evolve into a more powerful podium for marketing and sales with its newly launched B2B marketing community.
When LinkedIn was launched in 2003, it was simply a platform primarily used for professional networking and career development. It allowed job seekers to post their CVs and employers to post jobs. Over time, the platform grew its scope from managing real-world professional relationships to becoming a tool that enabled its users (individuals and businesses) to organize offline events and digital campaigns, join groups, and advertise and market business products and services by posting photos, articles, videos, and related content.
A subsidiary of Microsoft since 2016, LinkedIn is now a powerful hub for effective and improved B2B marketing. With over 830 million registered members from over 200 countries and territories, the company is now gearing up for opening fresh avenues for more than 50 million creators around the world. Let’s find out how LinkedIn is powering its B2B segment for this upcoming community.
But what is B2B marketing?
Business-to-business (B2B) marketing, as the name suggests, is the practice followed by a business to market its products and services to another business. This strategy targets only the niche audience. For instance, a business that builds financial software as a product (or service) will attract decision-makers’ attention in financial institutions and fintech companies.
Evidently, LinkedIn is a unique medium where businesses can promote their products to relevant and professional audiences. 71% of professionals use LinkedIn to inform business decisions. This global community of professionals is, thus, a goldmine of potential customers for B2B marketing.
LinkedIn progresses to launch B2B marketing community
In a move to give a dedicated platform for B2B marketers, LinkedIn has launched an official B2B marketing community. According to one of their surveys, 82% of B2B marketers across the world believe creative confidence is growing globally.
“B2B is having its day in the sun – we saw it firsthand at Cannes last month when we celebrated the first-ever Creative B2B Lions,” Jim Habig, Vice President of Marketing at LinkedIn Marketing solutions.
The company also introduced a six-week Creator Accelerator Program to support U.S. creators passionate about technology and innovation. With this program, LinkedIn aims to amplify global voices across the platform and grow an interactive community through coaching. The program is a medium for LinkedIn to feature specific channels, earning a financial grant of up to $12,000.
According to LinkedIn, anyone who can drive professional conversations about the world of work can become a creator on LinkedIn. LinkedIn members in the U.S., 18 years of age or older can join.
LinkedIn has proven itself to be a unique combination of mindset, audience, and an appropriate environment that helps companies and businesses scale to greater heights. With this new program, LinkedIn is ensuring new connection opportunities for creators.
What are other platforms doing?
Although Facebook didn’t initially have a reputation for being a business platform, it is now estimated that 74% of people use Facebook for professional purposes. 46% of B2B marketers use it, too, which is more than the 33% of B2B marketers who use LinkedIn. Marketeers can utilise “Facebook lives” – available to everyone, which is in contrast to LinkedIn lives that one needs to be approved for. Using this feature can enable the businesses to create personal connection with their customers and other businesses. After all, Facebook is still the biggest social media platfrom in terms of user base and time spent on the platform.
Viewed by many as the best new way of attracting new business. Instagram engagement and user base is only growing, so purchasing ads or using the Instagram live feature can prove to be of great value. B2B instagram marketing is not just about driving immediate sales, but can also be about building long-term relationships with potential buyers. According to recent data, more than 50% of consumers follow brands on Instagram – having a strong engagement and large Instagram following will help marketeers to positively stand out when approached for business by another company, which is likely to be on Instagram too.
The B2B Competition
All in all, the competition in the B2B marketing world on social media is gearing up. Although LinkedIn has traditionally been thought about as the place to do and market business, other social media platforms are also catching up with the trend. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds in the next few years to come and whether any given platform will emerge as a clear leader in this space.
Founder Dinis Guarda
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