Much is written about B2B marketing and social media. The focus is always on Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn still plays a minimal role in the discussion. What a shame! There are enormous opportunities for companies on LinkedIn. Especially now that the focus of the network is increasingly on B2B content marketing. Time to put the top 100 advertisers under a magnifying glass in this first edition of the LinkedIn Monitor.
LinkedIn Monitor
For this first edition of the LinkedIn Monitor, we took the top 100 advertisers (Nielsen) as a starting point. In the period from April 1 to September 30, my colleagues and I investigated the use of the company page for all these brands based on the following points:
reach (number of followers)
geography (international/dutch)
current affairs (updates, presence of products/services)
relevance (business context)
synergy with the brands' other (owned) media.
The use of groups has been disregarded. An optimal use of the LinkedIn company page is namely the basis for a successful use of LinkedIn marketing.
Fish where the fish are
However, many Dutch companies do not yet or hardly use the marketing opportunities that LinkedIn has to offer. 82 percent of Dutch company pages (116,774) have fewer than 50 followers . The LinkedIn Monitor also shows that 30 percent of the top 100 advertisers do not actively use the company page. A missed opportunity, because if your company is dependent on business customers, LinkedIn is of course a very attractive pond to fish in.
More than 4 million Dutch people now use LinkedIn to network with other business users. However, most companies are still unaware that these users can also be potential customers. A majority of LinkedIn members (88 percent, source: LinkedIn) indicate that they are interested in following a company page.
SD-LinkedIn monitor
Global vs. local
The LinkedIn Monitor shows that approximately 30 percent of companies 'piggyback' on the global company page. Of course, this is a choice of the company itself, but it is wise(er) to also create a local page. LinkedIn offers companies the possibility to create affiliates on the company page, so that there is a clear link with the page of the parent company.
Using a local company page, you can also fine-tune the content (status updates, products and/or services) and then target it to/for your target group. International brands such as Microsoft , Kia and Renault have created a Dutch company page with specific content for Dutch LinkedIn users. Dutch LinkedIn members will certainly also be interested in 'local' information from Unilever , Danone and Coca-Cola .
Focus is on HR
That LinkedIn is an excellent recruitment platform seems obvious. The Monitor shows that more than 56 percent of advertisers use LinkedIn primarily for HR purposes. These brands use the (paid) career tab to communicate vacancies and reach potential candidates. The company page is usually the domain of the HR department, while the marketing department focuses primarily on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
Only 26 percent uses LinkedIn (at least) for marketing purposes. If you want to interest latent job seekers in a job, it is wise to show more than a few vacancies, employee testimonials and the (good) secondary employment conditions.
Content & branding
LinkedIn users are particularly interested in the latest developments and trends in portugal mobile phone number list the industry and information about products and services. The essence is that you show involvement, think along and communicate openly. Ask customers to think along with you about developing new services and talk about current developments in the industry in the field of innovation and sustainability. This may be more difficult and time-consuming than placing an advertisement, but much more effective in the long term. You can also 'style' the company page with visual content to create more synergy between the various (owned) media.
The LinkedIn company page is ideal for content marketing. The average LinkedIn member is satisfied with just two status updates per week. That was also the starting point in the Monitor. Only 31 percent of the top 100 advertisers regularly post status updates. Of those, just under 25 percent are current and relevant. Posting posts from Facebook and Twitter on LinkedIn? Don't do it! We have seen multiple updates from the top 100 advertisers in which LinkedIn users were called upon to 'like' the company on Facebook. LinkedIn users are active on the business network with a completely different mindset ( source: The Mindset Divide' ).
Product tab
The product tab, with rich segmentation options and banner space, was activated by only 44 percent of the company pages examined. While a lot of business product information can be found on the websites of companies such as UPC , T-mobile , Ziggo , De Lotto and KPN . This information is usually (very) limitedly included on the LinkedIn company page. But travel organizations, retailers and educational institutions also have a business target group or offer that is not or hardly communicated on LinkedIn.