B2B marketing just doesn’t garner enough attention as much as its counterpart, B2C. But with all the platforms and opportunities available for B2B marketing, it’s time the industry comes out of the shadows. Big business or small, proactively managing your clients’ entire life cycle and engaging them will yield a greater return than focusing all your energy in the beginning. For a small-medium business, this may sound overwhelming. What’s the best way to do that? Digitally, of course.

If you’re a medium or small business, don’t be afraid to enter the world of LinkedIn. It’s ideal for B2B and may return even more leads than your efforts on other social media platforms.

Simply making a LinkedIn profile for your business is not enough. 49.5% of LinkedIn profiles are not completed, which means they will not show up in a LinkedIn search. Make sure you’ve filled in your full profile to ensure exposure. Speaking of exposure, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important if you want your business’s page to show up on a Google search. Treating it like it’s optional is a mistake and dissolves all the hard work you put into creating your page.

Now, that you have a complete page that will show up on a Google search, here are a few LinkedIn tricks you should be taking advantage of:

Don’t post coupons, develop your brand.
Remember, LinkedIn is a professional social network site. No one’s visiting your LinkedIn page to look for discounts and offers. Professionals, who may be your consumers, as this is B2B, are looking to see how you present yourself, or to simply learn more about your company. Keep your page polished.

Show them what they want to see.
So if they’re not there for discounts, what do we post? LinkedIn allows businesses to publish their work. Share your latest whitepaper, or news article. When you do this, ensure the work is pristine. Content is great, but on LinkedIn, post insightful content that is unique to your organization. This feature is brilliant for building your brand identity, and is a marketing tool on its own, as potential clients can view your portfolio.

Engage your employees.
Your employees are your biggest ambassadors. Expand the reach of your page with their help. Encouraging them to use LinkedIn professionally, sharing the company’s insights, and simply having a presence will bring exposure for your company. You know what they say, the team is as good as each individual player – harness their professionalism and personality to enrich your brand identity.

Insights & Influencers
If you haven’t considered blogging, it’s time to start! The fact that you’re reading this article is proof itself that content engages consumers more than any form of advertising today. If you post an original article, and it is shared by a few employees, it is bound to be read by a much larger network. Where do influencers play a part in this? Many professionals share content on their LinkedIn page – find an influencer who would be fit to support your brand and mission.

You may be sure all these strategies are great, but how do we gather the connections to make all this worth it? LinkedIn allows you to join groups, a feature that is especially beneficial for small business. Join local groups and eventually create your own group. For example, if you are a tech company located in Mumbai, create a “Mumbai Techies” group and your target market will be within reach.

With all this said, keep in mind that social media marketing, whether we’re talking about B2B or B2C, is all about creating community, content, and company character and LinkedIn makes all of this within reach.