How Using LinkedIn and B2B Marketing Together Will Help Your Business

When marketing, executives think of the term marketing and the first thing that comes to mind is ‘What will this customer think of the product I’m introducing to him?’ With B2B or Business to Business Marketing, the consumer is not one individual, but large corporations, companies and even governments. Although this form of marketing has the same concerns as Business to Consumer marketing; distribution, development of the product, promotion of the product and branding, B2B has a wider reach than just one consumer at a time. From the consumer’s angle (the large companies and government), before purchasing this product, they’ll definitely be sure that the product being sold to them will be an asset to the company.

Social media has been integrated into marketing and is proving to be very effective. LinkedIn, described as a social network for professionals, has been at the forefront of B2B marketing. In this day and age, marketing executives who think social media is just a waste of time should change their line of reasoning. Social media may just be the change your company needs in terms of marketing and reaching the consumers. The key is to try and try again. This will give you the opportunity to refine your B2B marketing skills. To become a successful marketer, B2B or otherwise, you need to create your own path. Giving up on the way will not get you the results you wanted.

LinkedIn and How It Can Be Beneficial

LinkedIn, the social media site for professionals, is probably the best B2B marketing platform one can find. There are things, however, that you need to do in order to benefit from this social media platform:

• Visibility- this means that purchasers and customers need to find you. Sync your website with LinkedIn and corporations will definitely be on board
• Your profile- to entice the customer, your online profile needs to be attractive and clear to the customers. Since most people do their research online, your profile will give you a better chance to connect with your customers
• Exhibit your capability- LinkedIn has the option of updating your statuses and connecting with the customers on a personal basis. If you contact the customers and answer the questions, you’re at a more likely level where you can connect with the consumers.

The Benefits:

• LinkedIn builds the company’s credibility as referrals gained from the social media site for professionals are strong. Networking can mean success for you as a B2B marketer since you have the best networking forum anyone can ask for. The referrals you get will help you further your customer base.
• Quality is foremost- LinkedIn bases its services on being quality-oriented. The best way is to use the ‘News’ section on ‘LinkedIn Today’ as this will give you relevant material to create a contextual message for consumers. While others look for how much, LinkedIn gives you unmatched quality.
• News that is important to you and your business is what will be displayed. This will help in B2B and B2C marketing as many of the concerns you’ll be able to deal with them.