How Your B2C Company Needs to be Marketing on LinkedIn

With a user base encompassing over 1/3 of the professionals on the planet and executives from every Fortune 500 company, LinkedIn’s potential as a marketing resource has traditionally been associated with B2B strategy, while B2C companies have focused more heavily on Facebook and Twitter. Marketing a company effectively on LinkedIn, though, has often been out of many organization’s reach. It is time for rethink your presence on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn recently released some data on the purchasing power of their user base, revealing serious potential for effective B2C interaction. Remember that LinkedIn users, just like Facebook and Twitter users, are consumers who buy televisions and dishwashers and sweaters too. However, LinkedIn users have more disposable income and higher levels of education than the average American. LinkedIn has coined the term “Prosumers” to describe their users. 80% of these Prosumers are willing to pay more to purchase from a trusted brand and they are 152% more likely to be active in online conversations. Essentially, Linkedin users have more buying power than users on other social media platforms. So, if you are a B2C company selling high end products or services, Linkedin can pave a pathway to millions of potential consumers who are wealthier, more brand conscious, and more socially active.

How can your B2C marketing strategy best utilize the site’s tools to reach these Prosumers?

Company Pages

Marketing on LinkedIn Pages can help your company establish credibility. From reporters to bloggers and everyone in between, LinkedIn offers thousands of routes to reach out to journalists and gain coverage for your brand, increasing your media presence and establishing yourself as a trusted expert, bolstering your reliability and authority.

Promoting Company Culture

The majority of LinkedIn users are on the site to pursue professional development and job searches. While your company profile offers a great way to support your HR department in a cost-effective manner and recruit the right people to help build your brand, it also offers you an opportunity to promote your company culture to these Prosumers. They may stumble upon your page looking for job openings and connections (users can see if they know anyone working for your company), but if you build a strong page with quality content, they will stick around to check it out.

Groups

You can use the Groups function to effectively reach your target market. Say you are opening a running store in Charlotte, NC. What better way to start connecting with potential customers, influencers, and brand ambassadors than perusing the Charlotte Running Club group? You can find out about races, local events, and even offer discounts. (Disclaimer: Don’t be overtly promotional or risk getting kicked out of some groups. This is not the main purpose of the groups section so we recommend treading lightly before blatantly pitching to them). Or, you can create your own group to boost your brand’s profile. You can utilize your personal group to offer insider discounts, form focus groups, send samples, gather market data, and stimulate growth through countless other methods of Prosumer interaction.

Relationship Cultivation

LinkedIn can also be a great resource for building and maintaining relationships with other companies. Stay in touch with people in your industry, and outside of it. Use your profile to keep them updated on the capabilities of your brand. This can lead to future referrals or partnerships.

LinkedIn Marketing Tools

Finally, LinkedIn offers tools like analytics and polls to track traffic and capture valuable consumer data. In addition, you can target sponsored ads by company, location, and job title. This is a seriously effective way of reaching your ideal consumers.

—

Don’t let marketing on LinkedIn remain an untapped resource for your B2C marketing campaign. Keep in mind that LinkedIn, like Facebook and Twitter, can be an effective platform for increased consumer engagement. While the end goal may be the same, remember that the approach taken to reach these Prosumers must be tailored to fit LinkedIn’s professional environment.

If your LinkedIn marketing efforts need a rethinking (or even need to be started completely), we’re happy to help! Give us a call at 504-521-6222 or send an email to [email protected] and we can get started today.