Have you considered using LinkedIn as a marketing tool? You’re probably already using social media platforms like Facebook and X/Twitter to promote your business but you might have ignored the power of LinkedIn. With over 27 million users in the UK alone, LinkedIn is a powerful platform for generating leads, raising brand awareness, and building lasting brand relationships.
In this article, we’ll show you how to use LinkedIn for marketing to promote your small business, including tips and strategies for creating a LinkedIn marketing plan, maximising your LinkedIn efforts, and measuring success.
Why LinkedIn works for small business
LinkedIn is a professional social media platform that caters to a professional audience. This makes it an ideal platform for small businesses to reach a target audience they otherwise won’t see on other social media platforms, including business professionals, creatives, and business partners.
Here are some reasons you should consider using the LinkedIn platform for marketing:
Reach your target audience
One of the primary advantages of using LinkedIn for marketing is targeting specific demographics. LinkedIn’s targeting options ensure your content is seen by the right people who are most likely interested in your products or services.
For example, if you’re a B2B company looking to target LinkedIn company pages or decision-makers in the tech industry, you can use LinkedIn to target LinkedIn profiles with specific job titles, such as “Chief Technology Officer” or “Director of IT.”
Raise brand awareness
Create your own LinkedIn group or join LinkedIn groups and showcase your brand’s values, news and updates with the relevant audiences. Also, engage with your followers on your LinkedIn post to increase brand visibility. This will keep your brand in your audience’s mind and build a robust professional network on the platform.
Build business relationships
LinkedIn is a powerful platform to foster business relationships with LinkedIn members, from partners to suppliers. You can do this by creating content or joining relevant LinkedIn groups and participating in discussions to establish yourself as a thought leader with their professional network. This will foster meaningful connections with potential customers leading to new business opportunities.
Generate leads
The LinkedIn algorithm provides a range of advertising options that can help push a company’s marketing strategy to a great length.
By targeting the right audience with the right call-to-action, small businesses can attract potential customers and encourage them to take action, like signing up for a free trial or downloading a whitepaper.
LinkedIn’s lead generation forms also make it easy for LinkedIn users to provide their contact information directly through the platform, making it even easier for a business on LinkedIn to generate a lead.
Creating a LinkedIn marketing strategy for small businesses
Before you start conducting business on LinkedIn, create a LinkedIn marketing strategy. Here are some steps you can take to get started:
Create a LinkedIn company page
Your own LinkedIn group is your business’s online presence on LinkedIn. It’s where you can showcase your brand, share company news and updates, and engage with your audience. To create a LinkedIn company page, have a personal LinkedIn profile account. So, if you do not have one, create a personal profile first. Then click the “Create a Company Page” button on your LinkedIn homepage and follow the prompts.
Optimise your LinkedIn page
You must observe some LinkedIn marketing tips for search engines and your target audience to get the most out of your LinkedIn company page. This includes using relevant keywords in your company description on LinkedIn pages and doing content marketing that incorporates blog and website links.
Join relevant LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn groups are a great way to connect with like-minded professionals and potential customers. Join relevant LinkedIn groups in your industry and engage with the community by sharing insights and advice.
Advertising on LinkedIn
LinkedIn provides a range of advertising options, including where your LinkedIn ads will appear on the platform, such as in users’ news feeds or on the right-hand side of the page. These ads can help you target specific demographics and generate leads for your business.
Using LinkedIn analytics
LinkedIn offers a range of analytics tools that can help you measure the effectiveness of your LinkedIn marketing efforts. Use these tools to track your page views, engagement, and other metrics and adjust your marketing strategy as needed.
How to maximise your LinkedIn marketing
Once you’ve created your LinkedIn marketing plan, it’s time to maximise your LinkedIn efforts.
Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your LinkedIn company page:
Share relevant and engaging content
The key to success on LinkedIn is to post relevant content. This can include company news, industry insights, and tips and advice for your target audience.
Use LinkedIn posts and status updates
LinkedIn status updates are a great way to share content with your audience and engage with your followers. Use these features to share news, insights, and other relevant content that can help you build your brand and generate leads.
Leverage LinkedIn’s publishing platform
LinkedIn’s publishing platform lets you publish long-form content, such as blog posts and articles, directly on LinkedIn. This can help you establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry and attract a larger audience.
Use sponsored content and dynamic ads
Sponsored content and dynamic ads are powerful advertising options that can help you reach a broader audience on LinkedIn. Sponsored content appears in users’ LinkedIn feeds, while dynamic ads can target specific audiences based on their LinkedIn profiles.
Incorporate relevant and popular hashtags
Hashtags can help you increase the visibility of your content on LinkedIn. Use relevant and popular hashtags to help your content get discovered by a wider audience.
Tips for growing a LinkedIn audience
Growing your LinkedIn audience takes time and effort. However, it is essential for LinkedIn’s marketing strategy. Here are tips to guide your action:
Write a compelling company description
Your company description is one of the first things people will see when visiting your LinkedIn page. Make sure it’s compelling and accurately reflects your brand and what you offer. Keep your audience up-to-date with your business’s latest news and updates. This can include new product launches, awards, and other milestones.
Engage with your LinkedIn connections
Engage with your LinkedIn connections by sharing content, commenting on posts, and responding to messages. Then connect with other business professionals and partners in your industry to expand your network and generate new leads.
Join relevant LinkedIn groups in your industry and engage with the community by sharing insights and advice. This can help you build faster business relationships with your audience. Feel free to share links to your blog and website to drive traffic and increase engagement with your audience.
Use text ads to reach your target audience
Text ads are a cost-effective way for small business owners can reach their target audience and generate possible leads on LinkedIn. Showcase pages on your LinkedIn timeline to highlight specific products or services your business offers.
Tips for measuring success on LinkedIn
Measuring the success of your LinkedIn marketing efforts is essential to ensure that you’re achieving your marketing goals. A great way of doing this is by using LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager’s analytical tools to aid your marketing effort.
Here are some marketing tips for measuring success on LinkedIn:
Track and analyze your LinkedIn analytics
Monitor performance once your campaign is up and running. LinkedIn’s analytics tools provide a range of metrics and data to help you monitor the performance of your campaigns. This includes metrics such as impressions, clicks, page views, engagement, and conversions.
Adjust your marketing strategy as needed
If you don’t achieve the desired results, adjust your strategy. This may involve changing the type of content you share, targeting different demographics, changing your ad format or adjusting your ad spend.
Incorporate LinkedIn offers
LinkedIn offers are a great way to incentivise your audience to engage with your business. Use LinkedIn offers to promote discounts, free trials, and other special offers.
Conclusion
LinkedIn is an effective marketing tool and a valuable platform for small businesses in the UK. Creating a LinkedIn marketing plan and maximising your LinkedIn efforts can generate leads, raise brand awareness, and build business relationships.
This entails having the right strategy and approaches to build a brand and expand your customer base. As LinkedIn continues to evolve and introduce new features and advertising options, small business owners need to stay up-to-date and adapt their marketing strategies accordingly.
So keep an eye out, and tweak your marketing plan now and then to position yourself for success and achieve your business goals.
Additionally, LinkedIn’s algorithm prioritises content that sparks conversations and drives engagement, so create content that will establish your brand as a thought leader and connect you with your target audience.
