If you are a B2B marketer, you probably know how hard it is to stand out from the crowd and get the attention of your potential customers.
Many have tried various marketing strategies, such as content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, or SEO, but still feel like they are not getting the results they want.
That’s where LinkedIn Account Based marketing comes in.
What is LinkedIn Account Based marketing?
LinkedIn Account Based marketing is a smarter way of marketing your products or services to other businesses.
It is not about spraying and praying, hoping that someone will notice your message and respond.
It’s about focusing and personalizing, targeting and engaging the specific accounts or organizations that are most likely to buy from you.
How does LinkedIn Account Based Marketing work?
LinkedIn Account Vased marketing uses the power and data of LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, to help you find, reach, and convert your target accounts.
With LinkedIn’s tools and insights, you can:
- Find and segment your target accounts based on criteria such as industry, size, location, and growth potential.
- Identify the key decision-makers and influencers within each account and build relationships with them through personalized content and messaging.
- Deliver relevant and valuable content to your target accounts through various ad formats and channels, such as Sponsored Content, Sponsored Messaging, Dynamic Ads, Text Ads, and LinkedIn Stories.
- Measure and optimize your ABM campaigns using LinkedIn’s analytics and reporting tools, such as Campaign Manager, Conversion Tracking, Website Demographics, and LinkedIn Insight Tag.
What is ABM strategy on LinkedIn?
An ABM strategy on LinkedIn consists of four main steps.
- Define your objectives and KPIs
Before you start your ABM campaign, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure your success.
For example, do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, drive conversions, or retain customers?
What metrics will you use to track your progress, such as impressions, clicks, engagement, leads, conversions, or revenue?
- Select and segment your target accounts
The next step is to identify the accounts that match your ideal customer profile (ICP) and segment them into different groups based on their characteristics, needs, and preferences.
You can use LinkedIn’s Company Pages and Sales Navigator to find and research potential accounts.
Alternatively, you can upload a list of target accounts to LinkedIn’s Account Targeting tool and match them against LinkedIn’s database of over 13 million Company Pages.
- Identify the buying committee
Once you have your target accounts, you need to find out who are the people involved in the buying decision within each account.
These are the members of the buying committee, which may include decision-makers, influencers, users, champions, blockers, and budget holders.
You can use LinkedIn’s Lead Builder tool to search for leads based on their job title, seniority level, function, location, industry, company size, and more.
Another option is to use LinkedIn’s TeamLink feature to see if you have any mutual connections with your prospects and ask for introductions or referrals.
- Determine the right scale and mix of tactics
The final step is to decide how you will reach and engage your target accounts with your marketing messages.
Depending on the size and complexity of your target accounts, you may choose a one-to-one, one-to-few, or one-to-many approach.
- A one-to-one approach involves creating highly customized and personalized campaigns for each individual account.
- A one-to-few approach involves creating slightly less customized campaigns for small groups of similar accounts.
- A one-to-many approach involves creating more scalable campaigns for large groups of accounts with some level of personalization.
You can use a combination of different tactics to deliver your campaigns, such as content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, webinars, events, direct mail, or phone calls.
LinkedIn ABM targeting options list
LinkedIn offers a variety of targeting options for your ABM campaigns.
You can use these options to create relevant audiences based on their professional attributes and behaviors.
Here are some of the main targeting options available on LinkedIn:
- Company Targeting
This option allows you to target specific companies by name or by attributes such as industry, size, or growth rate.
You can upload a list of up to 300k companies or select from LinkedIn’s database of over 13 million Company Pages.
- Contact Targeting
This option allows you to target specific contacts by email address or by attributes such as job title, seniority level, function, or skills.
You can upload a list of up to 300k contacts or select from LinkedIn’s database of over 750 million members.
- Audience Network
This option allows you to extend the reach of your Sponsored Content campaigns beyond LinkedIn to thousands of partner websites and apps that are relevant to your audience.
- Matched Audiences
This option allows you to retarget website visitors or existing contacts who have interacted with your brand before.
You can use the LinkedIn Insight Tag or integrate with your CRM platform to create custom audiences based on their online behavior or CRM data.
- Lookalike Audiences
This option allows you to find new prospects who are similar to your existing customers or leads.
You can use any of your existing audiences, such as Company Pages, Contact Lists, or Website Visitors, as a seed audience to create a lookalike audience.
- Interest Targeting
This option allows you to target members based on their professional interests, such as topics they follow, groups they join, or hashtags they use on LinkedIn.
- Demographic Targeting
This option allows you to target members based on their basic demographic information, such as location, age, gender, or language.
What is LinkedIn B2B marketing?
LinkedIn B2B marketing is the process of using LinkedIn to market your products or services to other businesses.
It is a great platform for B2B marketing because it has a large and engaged audience of professionals who are looking for solutions to their business challenges.
LinkedIn also offers various tools and features that can help you create and execute effective B2B marketing campaigns, such as:
- LinkedIn Pages
These are your company’s profile on LinkedIn.
You can use them to showcase your brand, products, services, values, culture, and achievements.
You can also use them to post updates, share content, interact with your followers, and generate leads.
- LinkedIn Groups
These are communities of professionals who share common interests, goals, or challenges.
You can use them to join relevant conversations, establish your authority, build relationships, and generate leads.
- LinkedIn Stories
These are short videos or images that disappear after 24 hours.
You can use them to share behind-the-scenes insights, tips, news, or announcements with your followers and connections.
- LinkedIn Live
This is a feature that allows you to broadcast live video to your followers and connections.
You can use it to host webinars, Q&A sessions, interviews, product demos, or events.
- LinkedIn Learning
This is a platform that offers online courses and videos on various topics related to business, technology, and creativity.
You can use it to learn new skills, stay updated on industry trends, or showcase your expertise.
- LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
These are the advertising solutions that LinkedIn offers to help you reach and engage your target audience.
You can use them to create and run various types of ads on LinkedIn and its partner network.
What are the benefits of LinkedIn marketing?
LinkedIn marketing can help you achieve various benefits for your business, such as:
- Build brand awareness
By creating and sharing valuable content on LinkedIn, you can increase your visibility and credibility among your target audience.
Furthermore, you can use LinkedIn ads to reach a wider and more relevant audience with your brand message.
- Generate leads
By optimizing your LinkedIn Page and profile, you can attract more visitors and followers who are interested in your products or services.
Additionally, you can use LinkedIn’s lead generation tools, such as Lead Gen Forms or Sponsored InMail, to capture contact information from your prospects.
- Drive conversions
By nurturing your leads with personalized content and messaging on LinkedIn, you can guide them along the buyer’s journey and persuade them to take action.
Moreover, you can use LinkedIn’s conversion tracking tools, such as Conversion Tracking or Website Demographics, to measure and optimize your campaign performance.
- Retain customers
By staying in touch with your customers on LinkedIn, you can provide them with ongoing support, education, and value.
Also, you can use LinkedIn’s customer feedback tools, such as Net Promoter Score or Customer Satisfaction Score, to monitor and improve your customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Conclusion
LinkedIn is a powerful platform for B2B marketing that can help you reach and convert your ideal customers.
By using an account-based marketing approach on LinkedIn, you can target specific accounts or organizations that are most likely to become your customers.
You can also leverage LinkedIn’s tools and features to create and execute effective B2B marketing campaigns that build brand awareness, generate leads, drive conversions, and retain customers.
To get started with LinkedIn account based marketing, follow these steps:
- Define your objectives and KPIs
- Select and segment your target accounts
- Identify the buying committee
- Determine the right scale and mix of tactics
Zowan Fayzan is a digital pathfinder specializing in SEO aficionado, e-commerce enthusiast, and connoisseur of marketing analytics.