5 Tips to Help B2B Businesses Generate Leads Today

In 2020, most B2B businesses are using LinkedIn as part of their marketing efforts. However, not every business has built a streamlined, effective, and lead-generating process for incorporating LinkedIn into their marketing strategy. As the platform continues to grow in popularity with B2B decision makers, it will continue to be a powerful source of lead generation in the B2B space. Right now, 45% of LinkedIn users are in upper management. With that said, we're sharing actionable tips for a more effective, optimized LinkedIn presence. 

Why LinkedIn Is So Powerful for B2B Businesses

Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are the most popular sites overall, but when it comes to B2B, LinkedIn is the place to be. LinkedIn is designed for businesses and professionals to connect, making it the ideal place for businesses build brand presence by offering helpful and informative information to their audience, including prospective customers. In fact, 91% of executives rate LinkedIn as their first choice for professionally relevant content.

And good news for marketers — LinkedIn generates the highest visitor-to-lead generation compared to any other social networking site at 2.74%, which is 3x higher than Twitter and Facebook. 

LinkedIn has become the most important social media marketing tool for businesses globally. Businesses who capitalize on LinkedIn increase brand awareness, establish authority and generate solid leads. So how do you effectively generate leads on your LinkedIn account?

5 Actionable Tips to Improve Your Effectiveness on LinkedIn

Making the most out of your LinkedIn account for your business isn't a difficult process. Here are five tips that you can implement today to help get you started. 

1. Long-Form Posts 

Creating consistent, long-form posts may seem tedious, but the benefits are too powerful to ignore. Companies that can create engaging content that aligns with their business offerings will position themselves in front of potential clients that can turn into long-term customers.

Additionally, these posts give businesses the opportunity to share as much information about their company as possible while also establishing brand authority and increasing brand visibility. Your brand's visibility is essential, especially as so many businesses exist online and are posting content. In fact, LinkedIn is the #1 channel B2B marketers use to distribute content at 94%.

Essentially, providing your audience with consistent content increases your marketing efforts as this content will be shared throughout your LinkedIn network, helping you to generate more leads.

2. Tag People

If you really want to generate more leads, it may help to tag people in your posts. Tagging people on LinkedIn is actually an extremely beneficial feature, because their connections and people who follow them will see it. This means that you can multiply your viewership tremendously by incorporating this step into your digital marketing strategy.

However, this doesn't mean you can tag just anyone. Instead, you should focus on tagging individuals you may have referenced in your post or tagging someone who you may have talked to recently that you think would be interested in your post.

Utilizing the tagging feature from time to time will certainly maximize your marketing efforts. Businesses can seamlessly gain access to new networks and market to a wider audience. 

3. Engaging Videos

Videos are relevant now more than ever on social media. Video content boosts both your professional and personal brand, helping to position your company in front of other businesses effectively. Additionally, video allows you to tell your company's story, which is beneficial as it gives your company the opportunity to be transparent. This, in turn, helps your audience more easily connect to your brand. 

Moreover, the increased engagement along with video content's ability to spread across your LinkedIn network provides a convenient way to showcase products and services. Remember, it's best to keep videos short on LinkedIn. Research found that 68% of people say they would prefer to learn about a new product or service by watching a short video. Would you say the same? You want to provide enough content so that the video is informative but not too long that you can't keep your audience's attention.

4. Relevant Hashtags

Hashtags help businesses see what conversations are going on in their industry and give them the opportunity to engage with these conversations to get in front of new audiences.

Businesses should focus on developing a hashtag strategy. Take  time to explore hashtags that you think your ideal client would be searching for. Then, test the hashtags by plugging them in to see how well they perform. From there, you can create a Google Doc and compile your tested hashtags into a list so that you can have them at your disposal when you're creating content.

It's important to note that businesses should understand what industries they are targeting to ensure their hashtags are relevant as this will improve the effectiveness of your hashtag usage. 

5. Advanced Search

As a business owner, it's important to be proactive when it comes to connecting with your ideal clients. While a solid marketing strategy will certainly bring potential clients to you, it also doesn't hurt to reach out to potential clients to introduce yourself or tell people about your company.

With that said, precise targeting is going to be extremely important when it comes to generating solid leads. This is why advanced search has become such a necessary part of businesses' marketing strategy on LinkedIn. Advanced search helps business owners generate a list of ideal clients that they can connect with. In fact, if you want to input more than one keyword, businesses can use Boolean Search, which is a function that allows you to combine keywords to improve results. Ultimately, advanced search will increase your potential of connecting with the right businesses rather than connecting with businesses who don't really fit your offerings. 

Most B2B businesses have a top priority of generating strong leads. While many businesses may have a good marketing strategy in place, some companies still aren't leveraging LinkedIn effectively. LinkedIn is a powerhouse when it comes to generating B2B leads, and every business should incorporate this social platform into their marketing strategy. 

At Beacon Digital, we're experienced in helping businesses leverage digital marketing tactics for complex products and services. If you have any questions about generating B2B leads on LinkedIn or want to know more about how we can help your business, contact us.