Are LinkedIn's new features the most effective B2B ad product on the market?
This week has seen the launch of two powerful new B2B advertising products from LinkedIn. Both have the potential to help B2B advertisers get far more benefit from the business-focused social network.
LinkedIn Matched Audiences
Matching audiences to email addresses is one way to re-target people who you know are interested in your product (because they've given you their address). Facebook, Twitter and Google already have options to re-target audiences based on email address.
The idea is you upload the list of your customer's email addresses, and then the ad network matches these addresses to the people on its database, so you can serve ads to those exact people. This is a great tactic for B2B because the long, complex selling process for big ticket purchases often involves signing up to research and white papers and then comparing several different providers. Advertising to…
The new design overhaul of LinkedIn is the biggest in the site's history
Importance: [rating=3] (For B2B marketers)
Recommended source: LinkedIn blog
LinkedIn have just launched the largest desktop redesign since the site was first built back in 2003. They've re-designed the whole experience from the ground up, at the same time as re-designing their mobile app. The idea is to build a site that is more intuitive, simpler and faster to use. The new layout is currently rolling out across the world and should soon be live for all users - we are seeing it for some our team, on which this review is based, but not others.
Some of the most important changes for those using LinkedIn for marketing include:
Changes to the LinkedIn feed, tweaking the algorithm to get better at showing quality content users are interested in. They've also mentioned they'll be using humans as well as algorithms to select the most…
It only takes 5 minutes a day on LinkedIn to maximise your presence
Whether you're a new or advanced LinkedIn member, it can be a challenge to make the time to make the most of your account as other priorities arise during the week.
In this infographic Bluewiremedia suggests that with a more focused approach, then all you need is 5 minutes a day to connect, acknowledge or share your content depending on how advanced you are with LinkedIn. We're not sure it's this simple, but hope the tips may spark a change in your behaviour and save you some precious time.
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Using LinkedIn to increase visibility of your content and drive referrals to your website
I've seen lots of case where people aren't really making the most of LinkedIn. Yes, they may use LinkedIn to keep their CV updated and occasionally send a little digital love to colleagues by way of endorsements. But if you are working in social media, content marketing, or simply trying to get more interest in your company’s activities, there are a lot of simple things you can do on LinkedIn that will take seconds but should increase traction for you. LinkedIn changes its features regularly, for example it recently had a homepage redesign. So, if you haven't looked at some of these new features I'll cover in this post it could be worth a refresh, or even a 'spring clean'!
LinkedIn Status Updates
Most people are aware that you can create a little update on LinkedIn pretty much like you…
Balancing the 4 ways to use LinkedIn for Business
A blurring of the lines is taking place - where once there was clarity, confusion now reigns; uncertainty has replaced certainty and as we sit in front of our online devices, we pause, concerned that our next press of the key may present us with a problem, a problem that sees us potentially offending the very people we want to do business with!
LinkedIn is evolving and unless you evolve with it, you may well end up damaging your brand reputation and your business will suffer.
Ok, this may present a slightly over the top view of the challenge I want to talk about, but please hear me out.
With more than 300 million people registered as members of LinkedIn, it's unsurprising that some will, on occasions, get the…
LinkedIn launches Lead Accelerator for funnel nurturing
Importance: [rating=4] (For B2B Marketers looking to attract nurture leads through the sales funnel)
Recommended link: LinkedIn Launches new Lead Accelerator
LinkedIn are positioning this new programme as a way for marketers reaching business (B2B) audiences to attract quality visitors, to nurture them through the sales funnel, via targeted display and social ads across the web and LinkedIn.
It appears targeting is based on your visitors profile and what they're doing on your website (like retargeting), so the advert is relevant within the buying cycle and to the online behaviour of your visitor.
What Marketers need to know about Lead Accelerator?
1. It's available to subscribe to via a LinkedIn Sales person, on an annual or quarterly subscription.
2. Available only if you have a minimum of 20,000…
Get ideas for how you use LinkedIn by checking against these practical tips.
If you are new to LinkedIn or looking for some quick reminders to powerful it can be, Hubspot's infographic provides 33 nuggets to help you become more effective when using LinkedIn
More resources on LinkedIn
A-Z of LinkedIn Marketing
17 LinkedIn Profile Tips
Smarter LinkedIn Marketing Guide
[si_guide_block id="25525" title="Smarter LinkedIn Marketing Guide" description="Create a more strategic approach to using LinkedIn using our guide packed with examples and guidance"/]…
A review of key features in LinkedIn
Although B2B marketers tend to focus more on reaching and interacting with their audiences on LinkedIn, this infographic reminds us that there are opportunities on Facebook too.
The infographic from Marketing Mojo explains some of the basics when it comes to weighing up options for advertising across LinkedIn vs Facebook. For more advanced users, refer to our social media hub for LinkedIn and Facebook features.
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A review of 7 areas to help focus your LinkedIn strategy for B2B Marketing
If your business has been using LinkedIn for a while now, it useful to review how it's supporting your marketing strategy. Perhaps it has not really done anything for you and you're thinking 'this ship has sailed, it's time for me to consider other options?' Well think again, you might be like many of other LinkedIn users, who have held accounts for several years, who, only now, are discovering how to achieve real and measurable business benefits from this platform
When I first discuss LinkedIn with new clients, it quickly becomes apparent that many of them are missing the boat when it comes to really engaging with this site. I hear comments such as 'It's just a job seeking tool for recruiters isn't it?' or 'it's for networking with people I know,…
What are the "must-have" features of your LinkedIn profile
LinkedIn has a wealth of features to help businesses as our evolving A-Z of 30 LinkedIn features shows. Using new features on LinkedIn often feels to me like like a finding a new recipe, where you are not sure which one to choose until you have tried it out, and seen the end-result. Though, like all recipes, we should not forget the core ingredients. LinkedIn has so much that it's important to determine your goals first and then choose the right mix of features to reach them, and perhaps test and try again.
This infographic showcasing 'the LinkedIn Profile Tips' is timely since the research shows that almost half of profiles are incomplete and only 58% update their details.
You can learn more about using LinkedIn for business with our recently…
