LinkedIn is the world's largest professional networking platform, with over 850 million members. With 63% of users visiting the site at least once daily, it presents a huge opportunity for B2B companies and agencies to connect with relevant audiences.
Unlike other social networks, LinkedIn users are there specifically for professional reasons - to network, build their brand, seek out business opportunities, and consume industry-related content. The platform skews towards an older, employed demographic, with over 50% of users aged 30-49. Hence, it becomes the ideal environment for agencies to build awareness, generate leads, and establish thought leadership.
With a wealth of targeting options, native advertising formats, and organic reach capabilities, LinkedIn offers diverse marketing opportunities for agencies. It enables agencies to promote their services and credentials to a vast audience of potential prospects and partners. Developing a comprehensive LinkedIn marketing strategy can significantly expand an agency's visibility and inbound opportunities within its niche.
Build a Complete Company Profile
Your LinkedIn company page acts as an online brochure and is often the first impression potential clients will have of your agency. Invest time into building a complete and polished company profile.
Fill out all sections of your company page, including an overview, detailed descriptions of services offered, company culture, photos, videos, etc. The more comprehensive your profile, the better understanding prospects can gain of your agency.
Make sure to customize your company URL in a clean, brand-appropriate format. The default URL containing random numbers needs to be more professional. A customized URL like linkedin.com/company/agencyname is much better for your brand image.
Upload a logo, cover image, and profile pictures that fit LinkedIn's specifications. Show real photos of your office, team, and work to add legitimacy.
Your company page is prime for real estate for making an impression and conveying your brand identity to potential clients researching your agency. A complete, well-formatted company profile looks appealing and establishes credibility.
Encourage Employee Profiles
Having your employees create complete LinkedIn profiles showcases your team, provides social proof, and helps your agency appear more credible.
Go beyond just requiring profiles and train employees on optimizing their profiles. Explain creating an "All-Star" profile with a professional headshot, polished background summary, and detailed work experience. Encourage them to get recommendations from colleagues, highlight relevant skills, link to content they've created, and customize their LinkedIn URL.
The more complete and optimized your employees' profiles are, the better it reflects on your agency. When potential clients research your team online, you want their profiles to reinforce your agency's expertise. Well-crafted employee profiles also help with search engine visibility and relevance for your agency.
Participate in LinkedIn Groups
As a professional social network, LinkedIn's groups provide a great opportunity for agencies to demonstrate expertise, connect with potential clients and partners, and network with industry peers. Joining and participating in relevant LinkedIn groups can effectively establish your brand and gain valuable exposure.
When choosing groups, look for ones related to your agency's services, industry, and target clients. For example, a digital marketing agency may want to join groups for marketers and small business owners. Identify active groups with discussions and opportunities for contributing insights.
Once you've joined groups, look for ways to get involved in the conversations. Share relevant articles, case studies, and tips that provide value to the members. Reply to questions and polls whenever your expertise can help. Avoid blatant self-promotion, but brief mentions of your agency are fine. Starting discussions on hot topics and trends also helps position your firm as a thought leader.
The goal is to demonstrate knowledge while building connections. With consistent, insightful participation, you can gain authority and expand your network. This organic visibility within niche professional groups can lead to valuable awareness, relationships, and new business over time.
Utilize LinkedIn's Ad Platform
LinkedIn offers several ad formats agencies can leverage to promote their services and attract new clients. Some options include:
Sponsored Content.
These posts appear in the LinkedIn feed, similar to normal posts. They are labeled as "promoted" and can contain images, videos, and links. Sponsored content allows agencies to get their messages in front of a highly targeted audience in the LinkedIn feed.
Sponsored InMail
These are customized emails sent to specific people. They have high open and response rates compared to regular emails. Agencies can use Sponsored InMail to connect with potential clients and send personalized outreach at scale.
Text Ads
These highly targeted text-based ads appear on the right rail of LinkedIn pages. Text ads are a great way for agencies to promote service offerings and drive traffic to their website or specific landing pages.
Dynamic Ads
These customized ads change in real time based on the viewer's profile and activity on LinkedIn. Agencies can create highly relevant and engaging dynamic ads by leveraging LinkedIn's extensive targeting options.
Targeting Options
Some of the main ways agencies can target their LinkedIn ads include:
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Job title
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Company
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Industry
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Interests
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Groups
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Location
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And more
Agencies should test different audiences and targeting combinations to determine what works best for their goals.
Best Practices
To optimize LinkedIn ads, agencies should:
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Use high-quality creatives (visuals and copy)
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A/B test ad variations
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Leverage LinkedIn's detailed targeting
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Analyze performance and optimize based on results
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Create separate campaigns for different objectives
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Keep text short, simple, and scannable
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Drive traffic to customized landing pages
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Retarget people who engage with ads
By leveraging LinkedIn's powerful advertising platform strategically, agencies can increase brand awareness, generate leads, and attract new business.
Publish Long-form Content
Publishing long-form and In-depth content is a great way for agencies to establish thought leadership and expertise. Rather than just posting short snippets and announcements, consider writing and sharing articles, ebooks, whitepapers, and other educational materials.
Some ideas for long-form content on LinkedIn:
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Thought leadership articles on industry trends, challenges, and opportunities
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Case studies showcasing successful agency-client projects
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Ebooks or guides on relevant topics like social media marketing, branding, web design, etc.
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Research reports based on surveys or interviews your agency has conducted
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Slide presentations summarizing key insights from your agency
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Video interviews or webinars with agency experts
The LinkedIn platform is ideal for sharing this type of content because of its large professional audience and the capabilities for adding rich media. You can include images, charts, videos, and slides to create an engaging reading or viewing experience.
Repurposing content from your agency's blog or website is an easy way to populate your LinkedIn company page with high-quality content. Pay attention to which blog posts generate the most traffic and shares, then reformat those articles for the LinkedIn audience.
Long-form content sets agencies apart while providing value. As you build a library of helpful material, your agency will gain visibility and credibility with both existing and prospective clients.
Share Content Regularly
One of the best ways for agencies to build their brand and attract new clients on LinkedIn is by regularly sharing high-quality content. This content should provide value for your target audience and demonstrate your agency's expertise.
Aim to share new blog posts, articles, case studies, infographics, and other owned content 2-3 times per week. This content should align with your overall content strategy and focus on topics your ideal clients care about. Share content published on your company blog, website, and other owned channels.
In addition to sharing your content, you should also comment on and share content from others in your industry. Look for relevant discussions among your target audience and share insightful statistics, case studies, and thought leadership content.
Commenting on posts from prospects, existing clients, and industry influencers helps increase your visibility and engagement. Make sure comments provide value to the discussion and showcase your expertise.
Regularly sharing a mix of owned and curated content will position your agency as a thought leader and help grow your organic reach and following on LinkedIn.
Leverage Live Video
Live video is a great way for agencies to demonstrate thought leadership and boost brand awareness on LinkedIn. Consider going live from industry events or hosting webinars to showcase your expertise.
When broadcasting live, have a strong intro that covers who you are and what you are. Viewers will learn. Outline the critical talking points and leave time for a Q&A to foster engagement.
Promote your live video across other social platforms like Twitter and Facebook to maximize reach. You can even repurpose video content into shorter clips to share after the event.
The interactive nature of live video helps agencies make stronger connections with prospects. Viewers appreciate the transparency and authenticity of the format.
With video marketing only growing in importance, agencies should take advantage of LinkedIn's platform tools. Live events don't require extensive production. All you need is a smartphone and compelling insights to share.
Use Sponsored Content
LinkedIn's sponsored content and sponsored InMail advertising options allow agencies to get their content and messages directly into the feeds of their target audience.
With over 722 million members worldwide, LinkedIn advertising provides a powerful way to reach professionals and decision-makers. Sponsored content can be used to promote an agency's best-performing organic posts to a broader audience.
The key is targeting sponsored content carefully based on member demographics, interests, company attributes, and more. Start by promoting content that has already proven popular and successful organically. Then, analyze performance to identify which audiences engage best with different post types and topics.
Sponsored content is also an excellent way to drive targeted traffic to an agency's website. Include eye-catching headlines and clear calls-to-action that send visitors to relevant pages or content offers. Measure click-through rates and optimize based on results.
Consider sponsoring content when launching a new service, promoting an event, releasing a guide or report, highlighting client success stories, and other initiatives. Timely, relevant sponsored content allows agencies to reach new and existing contacts in a context that is open to engaging.
Analyze and Refine Efforts
LinkedIn provides robust analytics to help you identify what's working and what's not. Pay close attention to your posts' engagement levels, shares, clicks, impressions, and other metrics. Look for patterns in your top-performing updates to discern what resonates most with your audience.
Double down on the specific tactics, content types, and messaging that convert best. For example, if you notice your audience loves behind-the-scenes photos, make those a regular part of your content mix. Or if a certain series of posts drove lots of leads, create more content in that vein. Optimization is key.
Conclusion
You need to try different post formats, new ways to repurpose content, or different times of day to publish. Experiment with paid campaigns, Groups, ads, and Sponsored Content. LinkedIn changes frequently, so you need to refine your approach continually. Stay on top of new features and capabilities. Analyzing performance data will reveal what works, allowing you to invest more time and resources into your most effective LinkedIn marketing.
