Ask any business leader…
“What is disruption?”
You’re very likely to receive unique answers. Oxford Dictionary describes distruption as a “disturbance or problems which interrupt an event, activity, or process.” However, disruption can mean different ideas for different industries.
In this article, I will talk about the disruption that is affecting B2B marketing. It’s none other than the LinkedIn platform.
With more than 706,000,000 users on this B2B social networking platform, you can see the disruption on nearly anywhere. Are you or your company feeling it?
How LinkedIn Is Disrupting B2B Marketing
The disruption into your B2B marketing is a result of the shifting sales landscape. Traditional selling tools and activities have become the least priority—no more yellow pages, knocking on doors, going over your Rolodex of calling cards. Today, selling starts in the digital world. If you don’t think that prospects do a quick Google search about you or your company, you’re back in the caveman days.
LinkedIn, in particular, is growing more robust and more powerful throughout the years. The platform may have started by being a jobseeker portal. However, those times are over. Now, LinkedIn has turned into a B2B social networking platform for developing your professional network, building relationships with prospects, and establishing your industry thought leadership. Due to these changes, LinkedIn has begun to disrupt B2B marketing.
These metrics demonstrate that B2B marketing disruption is occurring on LinkedIn:
- 80% of LI Members associate with businesses to boost their purchasing choices. *
- 80% of B2B Leads come from LinkedIn. *
- 64% of corporate website hits come from LinkedIn. **
- 50% of LIinkedInMembers purchase from a business through LI engagement. *
- 45% of LinkedIn post readers are at upper-level positions (Managers, VPs, Directors, C-Levels). ***
*(Source: LinkedIn)
**(Source: Econsultancy)
***(Resource: Omnicore Agency)
The Value of LinkedIn Marketing
LinkedIn is increasing in popularity as more and more individuals have started to recognize its worth. In fact, LinkedIn is currently pushing the top 10 in total popularity for websites globally. LinkedIn is booming as a result of the achievement some business owners have experienced with LinkedIn marketing.
It makes a whole lot of sense for anybody seeking to sell more to learn LinkedIn marketing. The time is appropriate because most small business owners are still figuring out how to use this system! It’ll be harder and more challenging to develop a solid brand on LinkedIn as time pass by. Your competition is currently building its own brand on LinkedIn as you are reading this.
Basic LinkedIn Marketing: Optimize Your LinkedIn profile
One of the best ways to enhance your LinkedIn marketing results is by optimizing your LinkedIn profile. Ensure that you boost your LinkedIn profile to target your business avatar or most ideal customer.
✅ The keywords in your title, summary, and skills section should reflect the services or products that you offer your best clients.
✅ Upload a professional headshot to your profile image. LinkedIn isn’t Facebook. Users on LinkedIn aren’t interested in whether you have a lot of friends or not.
✅ Use an engaging image for your LinkedIn profile banner. Do not use the “Blue Banner of Death” because it destroys your B2B branding on the get-go! Instead, upload a customized photo showcasing what your business does.
✅ Make use of your featured section. Share whitepapers, videos, ebooks, or any blog posts that will bring your profile visitors off the LinkedIn platform and onto your corporate website.
✅ Fill up your recommendations. You can request your past clients to write you recommendations right on the LinkedIn platform. With these recommendations, you immediately build credibility on the platform.
Many factors contribute to an effective LinkedIn marketing campaign. Optimizing your profile is merely the first step toward your potential success.
LinkedIn’s possibility to increase your net margins is a part of the reason we created the 14-Step Crushing B2B Digital Strategy System. Take a look at our CB2B system and review your social media marketing strategies.
LinkedIn Marketing Assistance
Please feel free to check our coaching and other solutions if you’re looking for LinkedIn marketing assistance. Contact us with any questions you may have about how we can help you improve your LinkedIn marketing results.
About the Author
Craig Wasilchak is the founder and CEO of Crushing B2B Digital Strategies. He is also an active member of the Entrepreneur Organization, as he is the owner of a business earning over $1M in sales annually.
Crushing B2B Digital Strategies is a Dallas-Fort Worth area-based company that teaches CEOs, C-Level Execs, & Entrepreneurs how to grow their business value by using success systems for LinkedIn, other social media platforms, and SEO. Crushing B2B offers a variety of Social Selling & LinkedIn training, Branding & Lead Generation systems that are proven to convert digital sales conversations into profits.
As a B2B Mentor that has extensive skills in Leadership, Mentoring, and Entrepreneurial skills, Craig loves to share his amazing business journey and help others achieve their maximum success.
Craig has built and sold multi-million dollar businesses over the last 25 years. Now, with Crushing B2B Digital Strategies, his goal is to teach other entrepreneurs how to grow and run profitable businesses in a disrupted business world utilizing practical business strategies. If you wish to connect with Craig here on LinkedIn, just send an invite! You are also more than welcome to subscribe to his YouTube Channel “The B2B Lead Generation Movement”.