With more than 810 million users worldwide, LinkedIn has become THE go-to platform for getting known, for making new customers and selling. Today we’re teaching you everything there is to know about LinkedIn marketing to be a prospecting whiz. Full steam ahead 🏎️! LinkedIn is the must-have 😎 of professional networks. Still, you’ll need a few notions to get off the ground on this network.
Are LinkedIn marketing offers worth it?
We’re starting out strong to find out if LinkedIn offers are worth it. This won’t be the only information we’ll cover in this article. The bigger definitions will come later. To do LinkedIn marketing will be of paramount importance if you want to stand out on the platform. Well, that’s good, but how do you actually do it?
You should know that LinkedIn offers the possibility to use one of these tools to do marketing: it is LinkedIn Ads. You will be able to :
- Generate qualified leads.
- Increase your website traffic.
- Improve your brand awareness.
- Communicate with professionals.
- Develop 📈 your business.
Now that we know what it’s for, we’ll be able to focus on the different formats you can use for LinkedIn Ads.
LinkedIn Marketing: Advertising formats on LinkedIn Ads
On LinkedIn, you can choose between 4 different formats:
- The advertising text.
The “Text Ads” format will be displayed on the right or top of the LinkedIn news feed. You will have the choice to create cost per click (called CPC) or cost per impression (called CPM) bids. You will have them in different sizes and shapes and you will have the opportunity to use a call to action (CTA).
- The sponsored message.
With this format, you’re going to be able to send individual messages 📥 to your different prospects directly to their LinkedIn email. This will give you the opportunity to drive traffic to your website and can even offer them to fill out forms.
- The sponsored content.
This type of format appears in the LinkedIn news feed. Even better, it will appear in the news feed of the people you want to target 🎯 (and that’s wonderful). This will give you the opportunity to target quality audiences with the help of accurate data.
- The dynamic ads.
Here, this format is going to allow you to do personalized advertising using data from various profiles (the company, job title, profile picture…). This will allow you to launch ad campaigns very quickly in order to boost your brand awareness and significantly increase traffic 🚀 to your website.
LinkedIn Ads: The price
LinkedIn Ads already offers us quite a few solutions, but what is the cost of these various services offered by the platform?
In fact, here everything will depend on what you are willing to put in terms of advertising budget 💰. Indeed, LinkedIn Ads works with a bidding system. So you’ll have to find out beforehand to optimize your costs.
When you have finally chosen which advertising format suits you best, you now need to choose your bidding type according to your objectives. If you choose the cost per thousand, you will develop the brand image.
As for the cost per click, you will use it to generate leads. When you want to run a campaign, you’ll have a target 🎯 in mind (we hope so for your sake since we keep harping on the importance of doing a persona!).
And of course you know that your target is also your competitors’ target (which seems logical). So you’ll have to put a higher bid than your competitors. If you want to have more information on the subject, we strongly advise you to read this article. It’s not because you have to put a higher bid that you have to explode 🧨 your budget.
You need to think it through carefully. Estimate your budget to know how to bestoptimize it.
Now, LinkedIn offers its paid solutions, but you don’t have to pay to market on LinkedIn. We’re offering you these alternatives on a golden platter.
Free alternatives to market on LinkedIn
The bidding system is not for you yet and you are going to think about it? We can already start with some other techniques.
#1 Creating a company page
If you want to sell a product or service, you’ll have two options:
- Create your company page.
- Sell from your personal LinkedIn account.
If you decide to build your strategy by creating a page dedicated to your business, you will have to think about important elements such as:
- Your company name.
- Its URL.
- Fill in the website field.
- Fill in the company size.
- Its sector of activity.
- Put a logo and a banner.
- Fill in the hashtags.
You have the main elements allowing you to create a page. This one will allow you to gain visibility 👀 if you take the trouble to feed it well. Don’t forget to share it with your network and add calls to action. You can also promote your page from your own personal account.
#2 Attract your prospects with Inbound Marketing on LinkedIn
You can promote your products or services from your personal account as mentioned earlier in this article. However, there is a small subtlety. If you want to sell with a personal account, it is advisable to empty your LinkedIn account of your colleagues, your friends and keep only the people who correspond to your targets.
This would make you have your LinkedIn account for your friends 💖 and colleagues and one, exclusively dedicated to your prospecting. Once you’ve done that, it’s now going to think about your content strategy.
For your information, thanks to LinkedIn, you will be able to capitalize on “personal branding“. Of course, it doesn’t just happen. To gain credibility, you’re going to have to post, yes, but post ✍️ regularly.
Also, you’re going to think about the topics you want to express yourself on. There, we start to enter serious topics. Indeed, you will have to define your themes according to the famous TOFU-MOFU-BOFU.
The TOFU-MOFU-BOFU contents
Once again, these terms are in no way substitutes for meat… When you are going to want to post on LinkedIn, some topics are going to go in your :
- TOFU.
This is the “top of the tunnel,” so the highest part of thefunnel. Your TOFU content is said to be generalist. What does that mean? It means it speaks to everyone. You don’t have to write about technical content, you can write about well-being at work, social issues or teleworking.
- MOFU.
This is the “middle of the funnel”. You are talking to a smaller target, between the broad target and your core target. Your audience is just starting to qualify. You can talk about copywriting or SEO.
- BOFU.
The “bottom of the funnel” therefore corresponds to the end of your funnel. Your content will therefore be very specialized 🤓 in this type of post. You’re going to be able to cover specific topics such as what you learn in your business, how to optimize an article, technical SEO or even the benefits of self-business.
#3 Recommend and get recommended
On LinkedIn, the more people trust you, the easier it will be for you to sell. This is where LinkedIn recommendations come into play. Indeed, if people in your network recognize your skills, chances are others will too. Recommendations 🥰 give you credibility, but be careful you can’t do it just any old way.
Referrals can be given to you by someone who has worked with you before or who has already purchased a product or service (a customer). Of course, in order for you to receive referrals, you must also play the game of giving them. You also have to know how to give before you receive.
Okay, you’ve recommended someone and you’d like to be recommended for your different skills as well. There are two scenarios:
- You are new on the platform, so you will have to ask for a recommendation. You will have to define beforehand who you want to be recommended by and on which skills you want to be recommended. Once this is done, browse the profiles that interest you and click on the “More” tab and then on “Request a recommendation” and fill in the required fields.
- Second scenario: You start to have a little influence in the “LinkedIn Game” and therefore, recommendations will come naturally to you.
#4 Groups for LinkedIn marketing
LinkedIn groups offer a great opportunity to connect with people who are interested in the same topics as you. Through this, you will be able to share content, maintain and grow your network.
Note by the way that you if a person is not connected to you but is part of a group, you will still be able to send them a message 📨 and access their profile. Therefore, by sharing your ideas on these LinkedIn groups, you have a chance to not only get exposure but also to get your product or service out there and potentially sell it.
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LinkedIn Marketing banner
We couldn’t talk about marketing without talking about the banner on LinkedIn. And yes, if you are going to sell on LinkedIn, your banner can be a major asset in your B2b strategy.
To stand out from the crowd, you have to put all the chances ☘️ on your side. So the banner, one of the first visual elements on your profile and one of the marketing levers, must be striking.
For your marketing, when people see your banner, it’s all about speed, it must be quickly understood what you do at a glance. Don’t forget one very important element: you have to capture your prospect in the first few seconds.
In fact, the banner is an essential part of optimising your profile on LinkedIn, so don’t overlook it.
What is marketing?
Come on, to perfect your knowledge, let’s tackle some small definitions. Marketing is used to analyze consumer needs. So you’re going to have to do some research on your personas (that’s a portrait of your ideal customers) so that you can then achieve your goals 📈.
Once that’s done, you’re going to put together a set of ways to influence the different behaviors of your buyers. You will then adapt your offer. This is with the goal of constantly creating value in the eyes of your customers. Marketing exists in order to differentiate yourself from the various competitors 💥 out there. In a marketing strategy, you must:
- Find your target.
- Create your network of clients.
- Highlight your value proposition.
- Make loyal ❤️ customers.
- Maintain the customer relationship.
There are different types of marketing which we will discuss.
BtoB marketing
This term simply means “Business to Business” (which can also be called industrial marketing) and is aimed at marketing between professionals. It is opposed to BtoC marketing. In this kind of marketing, the customers are companies. Unlike BtoC marketing, there may be fewer players but it converts better 💰.
Even if you don’t sell directly to an individual, it’s important not to neglect the analysis part of your target. You will focus on things like:
- What type of business do I want to sell to?
- How will they react to my product?
- How will I meet their needs?
- How can I be differentiating?
The logic 🤔 is the same as a BtoC marketing but the marketing plan, on the other hand, will be quite different. If you’re still not sure how to differentiate Btoc marketing from Btob, here are two btob examples that can help you:
- A company buying computer parts from a specialized company for their computer fleet.
- A restaurant 🍥 sourcing from a wholesaler.
In fact, btob is simply the commercial relationship between two companies.
Inbound Marketing
In recent years,inbound marketing has become a reference in this field. It is one of the acquisition strategies that works best. And we will explain why. Inbound marketing means “inbound marketing”. It is the fact of attracting to you a prospect who does not know you yet and thus becomes a customer 🤑. There are several ways to do inbound marketing through:
- White papers.
- Webinars.
- SEO.
- Podcasts.
- Advertising on television.
- Etc…
In BtoB, it is the technique par excellence ❤️ because it allows you to maintain the link between you and your prospects so that they become customers.
One of the elements that one must take into account when doing Inbound Marketing is the maintenance of the relationship, which is more commonly called “lead nurturing”. Nothing to do with cooking, lead nurturing will allow you to keep in touch with your prospect or customer. Yes, it is good that a prospect comes to you, but then?
That’s where you’ll have to think 🧠 in order to accompany the customer throughout their buying journey. Depending on where the prospect is in the conversion tunnel, you’re going to have to:
- Attract his curiosity, his attention.
- Push him to come back to your site.
- Make him understand that you are able to meet his needs.
- To make him understand that you will be there at each step of his journey.
Outbound Marketing
In opposition to Inbound marketing,Outbound will go and get the customer rather than letting them come to you. The term means “Outbound Marketin” and it is the traditional 🛖 form of marketing.
You’re going to make sure you communicate 👄 to reach your target. How? You’re going to put up posters in key places 🔑(we’re talking about physical places), where your customer base is potentially but also on digital signage (when you do Adwords advertising for example).
This form of marketing is less and less used as new approaches have emerged. However, the simplicity that it represents makes it still present for some brands. We can also couple physical display campaigns to digital display campaigns.
This leads to a complementarity in the communication. It is possible to do outbound marketing with emails (this is called cold email and we strongly advise you to take a look at this article). You think that email is dated and that it is no longer useful? No way, on the contrary.
The email 📩 is and will remain a powerful tool in your prospecting strategy. You have to use it but use it well. In order to be very effective, we even advise to send an email to your prospect before contacting him on another medium. Why should you do this? Because your prospect will already know your name, and it will be easier for you to start a conversation if he has already seen you somewhere.
Strategic marketing
We’ve made a lot of progress on the different types of marketing, now let’s move on to strategic marketing. What is it? Well, it’s simple! The strategic marketing, in opposition to the operational marketing, is going to allow you to concentrate on short-term objectives. It is implemented in the following steps:
- ✅ Identify his targets.
- ✅ Analyze the market.
- ✅ Setting objectives.
- ✅ Positioning its offer.
- ✅ Setting up the marketing mix (the marketing mix corresponds to the actions you will put in place to ensure the success of your solution).
- ✅ Follow up your actions.
You will set up a strategy that adapts to the commercial objectives of your company, taking into account the whole strategy during the strategic planning. To help you in the setting of your objectives, you can use the SMART method which corresponds to :
- Specific (What is my objective? Is it clear?)
- Measurable (How will I measure the success of my goal? How do I quantify it?).
- Attainable (Is it achievable?).
- Realistic (What can I actually do?).
- Temporal (How much time do I need to achieve my goal(s)?).
What you need to remember is that strategy marketing will essentially focus on prospecting and then the way to build loyalty 💓 your audience.
Product marketing
If you want to sell a product in the market, you will definitely turn to this type of marketing. As the name suggests, it is going to focus mainly on what you are going to offer to your customers.
So you’re going to have to think about (once again) your personas and thus know what you’re going to offer them. As a reminder ⏰ you must imperatively respond to pain points of your target.
What are you going to bring them? How will you meet their needs? To their expectations? So everything must be thought of to satisfy your customer. You will think about the following elements:
- Design of your product.
- The name of the brand.
- Packaging.
- The range of your product (Mid-range? High-end?).
You will need to be able to offer a product that matches your consumers’ expectations based on the points we talked about before. That’s why the analysis of your personas, of their expectations but also of the market will allow you to match your offer to your customers. There are two elements to remember for product marketing:
- The visual.
- The characteristics of your product.
Indeed, they say that appearance 😍 doesn’t matter but when you do product marketing, it changes a bit. You’ll need to come up with an aesthetically pleasing visual that makes you want to, that has good ergonomics. It is through the analysis of your market that you will be able to propose a visually pleasing product.
Concerning the functional aspect, it is also theanalysis of your market that will make sure that you bring the functionalities that your target needs. You must ask yourself how your consumers will use your product.
Operational marketing
This type of marketing is the opposite of strategic marketing. It refers to all the techniques you need to put in place to achieve your marketing objectives.
Operational marketing objectives are medium term. They will certainly be changed along the way to adapt to market realities.
This is the time when you will most certainly take action 💥 since you will get feedbacks and make decisions accordingly. In operational marketing, you are going to be able to communicate about your product, promote it and then make it known.
One important piece of information ⚡ to know is that even though operational marketing is the opposite of strategic marketing, they are often complementary. Operational will take over from strategic marketing to bring your projects to life.
Digital marketing
We have talked about a lot of marketing, now let’s talk about digital marketing. This one is very simple to understand since it will group together the different marketing techniques in order to promote a product on all the digital channels such as :
- The e-mailing.
E-mailing 📩 still has a great future ahead of it. And for good reason, it will allow you to approach your potential customer, activate him and build loyalty. Moreover in a prospecting strategy, you can even automate the emails but we will come back to that later during this article.
- The SEO.
This is also called natural referencing. This will allow you to position yourself on search engines according to the request (keyword) of a user. It is very easy to implement SEO and it will cost you 💲 almost nothing. Indeed, you will need small hands writing you content about your offerings (products or services).
- Adwords.
It’s online advertising: you will be able to create different ads depending on the display you want to have (in display, on Youtube 📹 , in search format… It’s up to you).
- Affiliation.
You will be able to promote your product or services through affiliate partners. For example, Amazon has several hundred thousandaffiliates in its affiliate program.
- Social networks.
You can also do a marketing campaign on social networks (you have two options: organic (free) or paid).
There are other media through which you can communicate but we decided to list the main ones. Besides, we talked to you about social networks, what if we focused on LinkedIn?
What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is the first professional platform in the world. It has more than 810 million users 🤯, which makes this platform extremely popular. Know that this platform is for employees, entrepreneurs, recruiters, those looking for jobs in various fields. On LinkedIn, you can do almost anything:
- Prospecting.
- Gain visibility and notoriety.
- Meet professionals in your sector.
- Promote your products or services.
- Develop your network and your career.
Among other things, the platform will allow you to connect with members, share content and boost 🚀 your brand awareness. Well of course, it’s a professional network, we get it but what does it bring?
I’m glad you asked that question. Your LinkedIn page is more than just a resume. If you are looking for a job, this page will serve as your showcase. So it’s in your best interest 👀 to focus on it. If you are not looking for a job, the platform will allow you to find your prospects or simply show your field of expertise and thus make you credible if you want to sell your services for example.
This media provides you with a digital presence that cannot be ignored if you are a bit diligent.
What is LinkedIn marketing?
Now that we have seen the two definitions of the two different words, we are going to explain what LinkedIn marketing is. To put it simply, marketing on LinkedIn consists of:
- Create relationships 💗 (so you will have new connections).
- Boost your brand to sell a product or service.
- Set up partnerships.
- Share content (especially through the power of copywriting).
- Drive traffic to your website.
- Get new leads.
If you want to have a top notch marketing strategy ⬆️ you should definitely incorporate LinkedIn into your efforts.
Why do LinkedIn marketing?
We don’t always think of LinkedIn when it comes to marketing. Sure, we think of Facebook and Instagram, doing sponsored posts… Yet, the pro network has a lot to give you a hell of a boost⚡. By the way, did you know that LinkedIn was more effective in terms of lead generation than Facebook? This is because LinkedIn is a platform based on trust.
In fact, people coming to LinkedIn trust LinkedIn (it’s also one of the most trusted platforms in the world) because when you go to someone’s profile, it’s a real person they see 👁️ not an entity.
Therefore, when we see the profile of someone who wants to sell us a product, we are going to be able to see his connections 🕸️ (is he connected with someone I know?), his different posts, the way he expresses himself on the network. You’re going to be able to determine if he’s really an expert on the subject or not.
Also, you have no barriers on LinkedIn. What we mean by that is that you can talk directly to the people in charge of the product or the decision makers. That’s the great strength 💪 of LinkedIn. This is why it pays to market on LinkedIn. Your chances of converting are significantly higher than with the social networks we already know.
Go multichannel
If the word “multichannel” doesn’t ring a bell, we’ll quickly explain what it is. To put it simply, multichannel is a marketing strategy in which you use different means of contact to sell a product or service.
You adapt to the behavior of your users. You don’t skip steps when doing multichannel, you will of course have to define your target 🎯 (again that buyer persona!) and think about your means of communication. If you contact your prospects only on LinkedIn, you lose the possibility of catching future customers by email.
And conversely, if you’re only prospecting by email, you’re missing out on chances to convert on LinkedIn.
So, what do we do? Well, we’re going to contact the same person, yes, but we’re going to multiply the conversion opportunities 💰 by contacting them on various channels. You can couple to your LinkedIn strategy, something like mailing.
Some consider it outdated but email still has a very bright future ahead of it. It is even considered better to contact your prospect first by email and then contact them again on LinkedIn. By the way, did you know that you can do multi-channel with Waalaxy?
A tool for multi-channel? Waalaxy of course!
We don’t need to introduce you to our flagship prospecting tool🕯️ anymore: Waalaxy. With this one, you will be able to do a good number of actions that will allow you to boost your prospecting considerably.
You are going to be able to do automated prospecting to boost 🚀 all your business opportunities, expand your network and send messages as well as emails. And yes, pretty complete to be an ace prospector right?
Waalaxy sequence
You just have to choose the sequence that fits your needs. For example, if you want to do multi-channel, you can try the Thomas Pesquet sequence, it allows you to :
- Visit a profile.
- Find the prospect’s email.
- If the email has been found, you can send an email, then follow up.
- Finally, it will send an invitation on LinkedIn.
This is an excellent sequence for multi-channel prospecting. And as we said earlier in this article, starting by sending an email will only optimize your lead generation.
You’ll have a better chance of reaching a potential customer if you use multiple communication channels. Cold mailing has a considerable advantage compared to sales people who send emails: it is the automation. This will allow you to:
- To send a very personalized message 💟 and tailored to your target.
- If a person does not open your first email, thanks to a sequence, you will be able to relaunch him with a second email then a third etc…
The fact of sending several mails to the same person will increase the probability of opening. And the good news? This little chrome extension offers you the possibility to prospect 100 people per week for 0€. WHAT ? 0€ ? But that’s not possible! Well it is! Waalaxy is free 🤑 it’s a gift.
For 0€ you will get the main features of the app and all this without even giving your credit card information. Once you’ve had a chance to test it in its free version, you can totally change your subscription to fully exploit the tool’s power.
LinkedIn Marketing: Conclusion of the article
So we are coming to the end of this article and we will quickly recap what we have seen during this one, namely:
- The definition of marketing which corresponds to all the actions that you are going to put in place in order to sell 💰 your product or service.
- The different existing marketing (but not exhaustive) such as :
- The strategic marketing.
- The operational marketing.
- BtoB marketing.
- BtoC marketing.
- Digital marketing.
- Inbound marketing.
- Outbound marketing.
- Product marketing.
- What LinkedIn was and what you can do with it. Namely, a professional platform helping you promote your products or services, boost your visibility and improve your personal branding.
- Marketing on LinkedIn which is about building relationships 🥳, setting up partnerships, sharing content, driving traffic to your website and getting new leads.
- How to market on LinkedIn with the platform’s ad formats and its free alternatives.
- How to go multi-channel and use Waalaxy to perfect your prospecting.
LinkedIn Marketing Article FAQ
We’ve covered a lot of topics in this article. So we’re going to give a brief recap in this FAQ.
Definition of marketing
If you don’t understand the concept of marketing very well, we will simply tell you that it corresponds to the various actions you will put in place in order to sell 💰 a product or a service. And know that you can very well sell a product on LinkedIn.
Marketing on LinkedIn
Marketing encompasses a lot of parameters but that doesn’t mean it’s difficult to implement and especially on LinkedIn. LinkedIn marketing will have to take into account the fact that:
- Create new relationships 💖.
- Share your ideas and topics in the form of posts with the aim of promoting your brand.
- Participate in LinkedIn group exchanges to potentially gain new leads.
- Set up partnerships with players in your industry.
It is through a well-honed marketing strategy that you can take off 🚀 on LinkedIn. By the way, a well thought out strategy starts with establishing a persona.
How do you make a good persona?
You’ll hear over and over again the importance of drawing a picture of your ideal customer: the famous buyer persona.
You need to be able to personalize your target 🎯 to know exactly who you are going to sell to. You will also have to determine their position, what is their level of decision making if they are in a company for example.
Also, you have to think about the pain points (nothing sadomaso, we reassure you): this is what corresponds to his blocking points in the path of buying a product or service. Yes, you must know everything about your persona:
- His/her last name, first name.
- His age.
- His job.
- What he likes to do.
- His position in the company.
- His objectives.
- His favorite means of communication.
- His level of responsibility.
- Etc…
Finally you will have understood, you must know this persona like the back of your hand, by heart ❣️. Once you’ve zeroed in on that perfect persona, you’re all set to send them the most beautiful prospecting message the Earth has ever borne.
Strategy to adopt on LinkedIn
With everything we’ve seen in this article, you might wonder what strategy you could adopt on LinkedIn to get your sales off the ground.
Once you have your goals in mind 🧠 your persona and your means of communication (including LinkedIn of course), we’ll finally know how to put it into practice. For an effective strategy on LinkedIn, you will need:
- A good buyer persona.
- A clear idea of your objectives such as:
- Get more visibility 👀 with customers.
- Generate more leads.
- Build a community.
- Increase your brand awareness.
- Choose the topics you’ll write about.
- Choosing the type of content you will share:
- Text.
- Photos.
- Videos.
- Articles.
- Be regular.
- Use software that allows you to automate your prospecting (Waalaxy!).
- Personalize your invitations and prospecting messages.
Is it possible to do BtoC prospecting on LinkedIn?
While the term may sound barbaric, B2C marketing simply means “Business to Customer.” Its main feature? It’s about directing your offers to a customer who wants to consume a product or service from a company.
The difference to BtoB marketing is that this customer doesn’t represent an organization 🏢 or a company. So it’s very important when doing b2c marketing to think about these different questions:
- Who is my perfect customer?
- How can I meet his need? Or how can I create a need?
- How do I reach my target 🎯? What are the ways I will communicate with this one?
- What is the budget I am willing to spend?
Of course, analyzing your persona is not your only mission 🕵️. You will also need to analyze the market on these points of course:
- Who are my competitors (direct and indirect)?
- How is a competitor‘s product or service perceived?
- How will my product or service be received?
- What are the prices on the market?
- How will my product be differentiated?
And above all, you have to keep in mind 🤯 that just because a solution works for a competitor doesn’t mean it will work for you. Analysis is of paramount importance in marketing. In any case, know that it is entirely possible to do BtoC marketing on LinkedIn.
How to sell on LinkedIn
To sell on LinkedIn, no secret 🤫 you’ll need to have a well-optimized profile. Yes, your profile is your storefront. When someone arrives on it, it’s the first thing they see, it’s the first impression they’ll get of you. That’s why you must focus on its optimization.
When you yourself are impressed 😮 with the beauty of your profile, you will have to think about your strategy, your goals, share relevant content to the people in your network. The next steps will be to keep in touch with your prospects.
You have to keep in mind that it is easy to sell on LinkedIn but you have to nurture 🍜 your relationships, the platform is above all made to create a quality professional network. Now you know everything about LinkedIn Marketing, we can’t wait to see you take off 🚀 into the stratosphere to sell your products.
