LinkedIn for Marketing: Strategies That Actually Work

Whether you're a startup or an established leader, LinkedIn is the ideal platform to be on. With over 950 million professionals, from industry leaders to startup founders, it is a hub for meaningful connections. For early-stage B2B startups, in particular,  it can be immensely beneficial. Social media management platforms Taplio and Sprout Social report that it drives 80% of social media marketing leads and generates leads for 62% of B2B marketers. 

This blog serves as a blueprint for using LinkedIn for B2B marketing. From effective strategies to practical tips, here is everything startup marketing teams need to know.

Understanding LinkedIn Marketing for Startups:

LinkedIn Marketing for startups involves creating relevant content, sharing organizational updates, and participating in industry discussions. These activities help build brand awareness, facilitate partnerships with market leaders, generate qualified leads, and establish credibility in the industry. 

Consider the AI platform Gong as an example. To optimize their LinkedIn profile and increase their reach and engagement, they have utilized several platform features. With the ‘Life’ feature, they have provided an overview of the company culture, and with the ‘Products’ feature, they have described its offerings and benefits. 

Why LinkedIn for B2B Marketing?

Reaching the right people and generating qualified leads is one of the biggest challenges for B2B marketers. That’s where LinkedIn comes in. For startups, it’s a goldmine—giving access to a network of professionals and key decision-makers, helping build brand awareness, form strategic partnerships, and uncover new leads.

1. Global reach: The most significant advantage LinkedIn offers to its users is a worldwide reach. The platform, with a growing user base and rising engagement rate, boasts users from over 59 million companies across 200 countries. For B2B startups, this global network provides visibility, access to mentorship from around the world, and an opportunity to learn from diverse perspectives. If the platform is utilized efficiently, it can provide an opportunity to build relationships with potential clients and partners in markets that are often difficult to access through traditional channels. 

   
   

2. Presence of industry leaders: With over a billion professionals, including influential figures such as Tim Cook and Satya Nadella, LinkedIn provides startups with direct access to industry leaders. Engaging with their content and insights can inspire new ideas, foster valuable connections, and create opportunities for collaboration and growth.

   
   

3. Cost-effective branding: For early-stage startups to scale and differentiate themselves from the competition, LinkedIn is a cost-effective tool. By sharing meaningful and reliable content with users and utilizing analytics features to optimize their content, startups can establish credibility and build authority in the industry without incurring hefty financial investments. For instance, finance company Refinitiv created engaging content to attract customers. Using precision targeting, they were able to generate high impressions and CTR rates without incurring high costs. 

   
   

4. Establishing strategic partnerships: LinkedIn offers its members the opportunity to build strategic relationships within their industry. By connecting with experts and professionals, joining LinkedIn groups, and attending events and webinars, startups can immensely benefit and leverage the insights gained to scale their business. 

   
   

5. Lead Generation: LinkedIn is widely regarded as one of the most effective platforms for generating leads. According to Sprout Social data, 89% of B2B marketers use the platform to generate leads, and 40% consider it the most effective channel. On LinkedIn, startup founders can create demand for their product by sharing content highlighting its benefits, interacting with prospects, and identifying their ideal customer group. For instance, IBM uses LinkedIn’s targeted advertising option to connect with industry leaders, while HubSpot utilizes LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify prospects.

Effective LinkedIn Marketing Strategies

A well-planned LinkedIn strategy can help startups expand their reach, build credibility, and transform connections into long-term partnerships. In this section, we break down some efficient strategies for startups to implement:

1. Optimizing your profile: To generate leads and engage with users, startups should prioritize optimizing their LinkedIn profiles. Amongst the different options for pages, they should select the business one and then start optimizing it according to the brand requirements. The ways in which a profile can be enhanced are:

   - Completing the page setup by filling in relevant information, such as location, and following similar pages in the niche. LinkedIn has reported that companies with complete profiles get 30% more views per week.

   - A clear headline and summary that uses the right keywords and communicates the value the company provides to its customers 

   - To make it visually appealing, use a professional profile picture and a well-designed cover image. Marketers should ensure a consistent brand tone that aligns across the entire page. For this purpose, tools like Canva and Adobe can be used.

   - Creating a custom LinkedIn URL for the page can help improve credibility and shareability. 

   - Adding a CTA along with the Follow button, like “Contact Us” or “Visit Website”.

   - In-built LinkedIn tools, such as “Life,” can be used to showcase the company culture, and “Product” to display the company offerings. 

   Employees can be encouraged to align their personal brand with the company’s by using the brand logo in their banner image.

For instance, Salesforce has used a clear profile picture, highlighted their new offering in the banner image, and effectively conveyed what makes their brand unique in the headline.

They have also utilized the Life tool to demonstrate leadership within the company and share the mission that drives growth.

2. Creating relevant content: One of the best practices for startups to grow their brand is to post relevant content consistently. LinkedIn has reported that businesses that post weekly get twice as much engagement on their page. Content ideas that founders can implement are:

   -Creating short and long blog posts that share educational and informative content, providing value to customers. For instance, HubSpot shares content on relevant topics such as AI and marketing, incorporating pop culture references to appeal to a broader audience.

   -Focusing on content with images and infographics, as they have the potential for higher engagement with more comments.

   -Posting videos may have significant benefits for startups in terms of reach. Live videos, in particular, have 24 times more engagement compared to static forms of content.

3. Joining LinkedIn Groups: A great feature of the platform, startups can join and participate in LinkedIn Groups. This allows startup founders to share knowledge, leverage expert insights, and network with established players. To effectively leverage benefits, active and niche groups should be focused on where discussions are relevant. Over time, startups can even create their own groups to establish authority, increase visibility, and cultivate valuable partnerships.

4. Using LinkedIn Analytics: For a successful campaign, startups must measure and analyze how campaigns are performing to identify opportunities and gaps, and further optimize their efforts accordingly. For this purpose, they do not have to use external tools but can leverage insights from LinkedIn’s analytics dashboard. Founders can review metrics on various aspects, including published content, follower count, and page visitors. 

5. Interacting with other accounts: A simple way for companies to boost engagement and rank their page higher in LinkedIn search results is by interacting with different accounts in their niche. Marketers can do this by:

   - Liking and commenting on competitor posts and broader industry updates. This helps in increasing visibility and fosters a collaborative and supportive environment in the market. 

   - Reposting relevant news and content from other accounts.

   - Replying to comments under the company posts to increase engagement.

6. Account-based Marketing: Startup founders can also leverage the benefits of Account-Based Marketing. It is a strategic approach that facilitates targeting and engaging with high-value accounts rather than a broad audience. For B2B brands, this approach is practical, as it adopts a personalized approach and focuses on attracting and building relationships with individual accounts. This can be done by:

   - Identify high-value accounts and pinpoint their challenges.

   - Develop content that speaks directly to their needs.

   - Engage with decision-makers through thoughtful comments, shares, and connections.

   - Using the built-in LinkedIn tools to implement effective campaigns.

   - Tracking engagement, measuring results, and adjusting strategies to maximize impact.

Tips for LinkedIn Marketing for 2025

With evolving behavior of customers and changing trends, here are some tips for startups to create a successful LinkedIn Marketing strategy:

1. Understanding the target audience: A clear understanding of the target audience, including their interests, behaviors, and preferences, can help create an efficient LinkedIn plan. Founders should focus on understanding customer pain points and develop content accordingly that addresses those challenges. To gain a deeper understanding of their target audience, they can also create buyer personas and join LinkedIn groups to see what kinds of topics are being discussed. 

   
   

2. Using tools and automating tasks: By utilizing various tools for specific tasks, startups can automate manual work and streamline the campaign process. For instance, founders can utilize tools such as Buffer for scheduling content and Tapilo for scheduling, content creation, and lead generation. 

   
   

3. Posting at the correct times: A marketing team may create high-quality content, but it lacks value if it receives low engagement due to being posted at the wrong time. The correct posting time is a crucial element for success that founders have to take into consideration. In the UK, the best day to post content is on Thursday, between 3 and 7 PM, while Sundays are the worst due to a lack of engagement. 

   
   

4. Encouraging employee advocacy: By encouraging employees to share the company’s content or mission on LinkedIn, a startup can easily boost brand awareness and build trust. LinkedIn has reported that employee-shared content receives eight times more engagement than posts shared by the company. By tapping into employee networks, startups can amplify visibility and attract more qualified leads.

Key LinkedIn Tools for Startups:

LinkedIn offers a variety of tools designed to help startups connect with their audience, boost visibility, and drive growth efficiently. Here are some helpful tools for startups to use:

1. LinkedIn Sales Navigator: The Sales Navigator tool enables the sales team to target a broad range of potential buyers and engage in meaningful conversations that drive conversions. It can help find past connections and build new ones using the Lead Spotlight tool, ensure a database of past customers and prospects with a CRM tool, and find qualified leads through an advanced search algorithm. It is a comprehensive tool that can help sales teams scale their efforts. 

   
   

2. LinkedIn Pages: A LinkedIn Page is the primary place where the startup can share updates, achievements, and engage with the industry. It helps businesses join relevant industry conversations, grow their follower base, and strengthen relationships with customers and partners. With over a billion users globally, maintaining an active LinkedIn Page is essential for increasing brand awareness and driving business growth.

   
   

3. LinkedIn Groups: Similar to groups and community pages on other social media platforms, LinkedIn Groups offer startup founders a space to interact with other industry professionals, share ideas, gain insights, and collaborate on projects. Moreover, the startup can also build deeper relationships with customers by discussing topics that matter to them and highlighting their pain points. 

   
   

4. LinkedIn Analytics: LinkedIn Analytics is a valuable feature that provides startups with insights into how their content is performing. Through various metrics, founders can measure the effectiveness of their campaigns and adjust their marketing efforts accordingly. 

   
   

In conclusion, LinkedIn is an effective platform for companies to utilize, whether they are established players or early-stage startups. The platform offers numerous benefits, including global reach, cost-effective branding, and qualified lead generation, which can help startups scale effectively. By following a mix of strategies, such as understanding the target audience and content scheduling, and utilizing tools like Sales Navigator and LinkedIn Groups, startups can establish authority, increase customer awareness, and ultimately drive revenue and growth. 

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