More than 600 million users are currently generating B2B leads with LinkedIn. The majority, between professionals and companies, either interacting with other businesses, or recruiting new employees.
And the figures do not stop growing, as the business social network continues to demonstrate its ability to be the number 1 platform in B2B marketing and for the professional field.
Recently, Microsoft reported that LinkedIn revenue grew 24% in the second quarter of 2020. So if you are considering expanding your business by offering your services to organizations, generating B2B leads with LinkedIn is your best option.
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Why generate B2B leads with LinkedIn?
The key to measuring leadership on LinkedIn, or on any social network, is having the ability to convert contacts into customers. Generating B2B leads with LinkedIn is increasingly profitable, in the first instance, due to its ability to impact favorably and at an extremely low cost for potential partners.
In fact, impressions per content are more numerous than new job offers. So betting on developing content with intention should be your first priority on this social network. So, if you want to sit at the table of the winners of LinkedIn, the new options that the platform for professionals brings are for you.
New categories in your favor
Less than a month ago, the social network for professionals announced the implementation of two new tools for generating B2B leads with LinkedIn. Both are oriented to companies through three fundamental pillars that you should apply , whatever path you take. These are reputation, relationships, and income.
These new options to generate B2B leads with LinkedIn are the company category for your profile and the growth rate of your company . The latter will also have the support of industry leaders.
The category of company
The need for a “ company ” category had long been highlighted among profiles of B2B lead experts with LinkedIn. For this reason, LinkedIn now allows you to rub shoulders with managers of organizations and professionals, depending on the sector in which you develop.
Company categories are defined based on industry publications and lists that group companies into specific market segments .
Who is in charge of those lists?
The lists to generate B2B leads with LinkedIn are selected by industry leaders such as Forbes, Fortune and LinkedIn itself . As you probably know, Forbes and Fortune are publishing their company lists on a regular basis.
With this option you have the possibility to generate your own lists with similar audiences to these rankings . Simply, you will have to compile the list in a new inventory and make it available to everyone on the social network. Some of the options with which you can find your way are:
- Forbes World’s Most Innovative Companies.
- Fortune, 100 Fast Growing Companies (Worldwide).
- Linkedin News Editors’ Top Companies and their variants by region.
As you will see, the list of companies or companies featured in these rankings is quite limited. But it is very likely that as the months go by it will be reinforced in order to facilitate the options to generate B2B leads with LinkedIn.
Business growth rates
The key objectives for any business, but especially for early-stage startups that forge their identity in the market are:
- Increase brand awareness .
- Engage a target audience through thought leadership
- Attract talent.
With the not-so-recently released LinkedIn option to find out the growth rates of companies, you will have the opportunity to generate B2B leads with LinkedIn quickly and easily, laying the foundation for who you are and what you offer globally.
However, LinkedIn administrators noted that this relaunch of the option to view companies’ growth rates is actually an invitation to update their numbers. Well, keeping information about their innovations and growth on the air will allow them to generate interest in potential new investors .
Growth rates according to the size and age of the company
- Negative growth companies.
- 0% – 3% growth in the company.
- 3% – 10% growth of the company.
- 10% – 20% growth of the company.
- 20% + growth of the company.
Of course, it is completely understandable that startups or lower growth organizations are affected. Well, if they are compared to companies with longer time or with a higher rate, they will be displaced.
However, if you think about it strategically and keep this option updated, it will be possible to position your company by constantly demonstrating its growth . What makes this option something really special to capture B2B leads with LinkedIn.
What other options do I have to reach B2B leads with LinkedIn?
The previous two sections are the most direct way to capture B2B leads with LinkedIn. However, they are not the only ones. There are many other alternatives within the wide range of options of this social network.
1.- LinkedIn Sales Navigator
This functionality is focused on sales to generate B2B leads with LinkedIn from the well-known social selling . It allows you to interact within the platform and, at the same time, establish relationships of trust between sellers and buyers .
Sales Navigator bases its operation on the stored data of all LinkedIn users. Thus, it allows you to connect first hand with your target audience. Which translates into saving time, effort and money.
2.- LinkedIn Lead Builder
It is part of the Sales Navigator tool. This option helps you create a list of candidates, while allowing you to narrow your searches for new potential clients in a segmented way by country, sector, region, position, company, etc.
After adding your leads options, you can see their posts and updates on your Sales Navigator home page.
Something that will undoubtedly help you generate new ideas to create a context with which to connect, start a conversation and, thus, show your brand and generate B2B leads with LinkedIn.
3.- LinkedIn Ads
It is an advertising tool that offers the possibility of publishing ads specifically aimed at the professional target audience. In addition, it facilitates the search for jobs and employees. Since it allows converting job offers into advertisements within the platform.
4.- LinkedIn Gen Forms
By using Inbound Marketing, the user is interested in a content or advertisement and clicks on the CTA with the promise of obtaining more information about the company or texts with similar content.
That’s when this tool to generate B2B leads with LinkedIn takes hold. At that precise moment, it is vital that the form appears and automatically fill it in with your contact information and profile.
These forms are intended to generate leads. To do this, they make it easier for advertisers to collect information in the database. Thus, they also prevent interested users from going through the tedious process of filling them.
What else do you need to know to generate B2B leads with LinkedIn?
If your business sector makes use of B2B marketing, there is no doubt that your business strategy can reach a new level with LinkedIn.
However, it is always good to rethink options and look at the data. To reach the largest number of B2B leads with LinkedIn there are some points that you should perhaps know:
A.- LinkedIn has 675 million monthly users
To put that number in context, Instagram currently has a billion users and Facebook has 2.5 billion. Twitter informs around 330 million users.
B.- 70% of LinkedIn users are outside the USA. USA
While the United States is LinkedIn’s largest market with 167 million users, the B2B lead-generating platform has gained popularity worldwide. This includes 211 million users in Europe and 179 million in Asia Pacific . The platform operates in 24 languages.
C. The majority of LinkedIn users globally are men
According to market research in social networks that have stopped to evaluate the activity of the network, the average user of LinkedIn. It is mostly identified as a man. This indicates that, when presenting your content, you should bet on more direct elements .
Similarly, according to Pew Research, 29% of American men are on LinkedIn, while only 24% of American women have profiles on this social network.
D.- The majority of LinkedIn users are millennials
It’s no surprise that LinkedIn is less popular with younger and older age groups. It is a professional network after all. Retirees and students, in general, are not the target market.
But marketers may be interested to note that almost half (44%) of Americans ages 25-29 are on LinkedIn , according to Pew Research.
This bodes well for the growth of the platform in the coming years. Generation Z , which is taking its first steps as a workforce, may well consider that being present is not negotiable, even more so than millennials.
Which logically translates to 57% of LinkedIn traffic being mobile. Percentage that, by the way, has not changed since 2018. Therefore, it is not too much to think about omni channel and responsive formats.
If you want your company to have a presence on social networks, obtain high conversion rates and are constantly generating new leads , you need to create a perfect performance and social media ads strategy .