Learn more at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffzelaya - Check out this guide on how to incorporate LinkedIn into your marketing efforts and build thought leadership, attract buyers and drive real results.I've personally used LinkedIn with great results and should be a necessary tool in your marketing toolbox. Want to learn more about how Vocus can help with your social media, online marketing or Public Relations?

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LinkedIn Marketing: A Guide
How to integrate LinkedIn with your marketing strategy
and boost your bottom line.
LinkedIn Marketing: A Guide
How to integrate LinkedIn with your marketing strategy
and boost your bottom line.

2. 2
LinkedIn Marketing: A Guide
Marketing Cloud
LinkedIn Marketing: A Guide
How to integrate LinkedIn with your marketing strategy and boost your bottom line.
Everyone knows LinkedIn as the social network for job networking. But LinkedIn can also boost
your bottom line beyond connecting with potential business partners.
LinkedIn recently released a new profile design and set of features for company pages. As an online
community comprised solely of professionals, LinkedIn allows B2B marketers access to customers,
prospects, press and key thought leaders through a credible platform.
This guide will help you incorporate LinkedIn into your marketing efforts and build thought leader-
ship, attract buyers and empower customers to market your services on your behalf—all of which
will serve your bottom line.
Building Thought Leadership
To stand out from the competition, it helps to position your
company as an industry leader and an expert source of
information for interested consumers, even when they’re
not making a purchasing decision. When they make a buy-
ing decision, potential customers will already be familiar
with your company’s expertise.
As a community of professionals, LinkedIn should be a
priority platform to establish and strengthen your company’s
thought leadership. Here are some ways to do this:
1: LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn Groups offer a simple way to interact with profes-
sionals in your industry. Groups let you participate either as
a member or through your own groups.
• Become a member of an existing group. Thou-
sands of groups already exist on LinkedIn with topics
for just about every industry, field and business.
Based on your company profile, LinkedIn will suggest
relevant groups. Additionally, you can search for
groups using keywords associated with your business.
Youneedapprovalfromamoderatortojoinagroup;this
is usually a quick and simple process. Group members
can contribute to discussions, post links, and pose and
answer questions within the group. Remember, as with
all social media platforms, avoid blatant sales speak and
hard sells.
• Create your own group. Creatingagroupdemon-
strates thought leadership, and keeps your customers
and followers informed of company news and events.
It’s a good opportunity to lead discussions around
issues of common interest and to report on industry
trends.
Let’s take a closer look at how a business
might leverage LinkedIn Groups. For
our example, let’s use an app company
that helps businesses manage time
efficiently. It would make sense for this
company to create a group that focuses
on time management practices and post
links and videos on best practices and strategies.
Thiscompanymightalsoinvitebusinessownersfromaround
thecommunityasguestmoderatorstohostforumson chal-
lenges they’ve faced with time management and their tips
for making the most out of a workday. The group isn’t a sales
forum for the app but rather an informational and educational
resource for other businesses and potential clients.
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LinkedIn Marketing: A Guide
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Roles in a LinkedIn group
Owner: Group creator. Owners have the ability
to set the tone for the group by posting articles
and posing questions to members. Providing solid con-
tent is a sure way to grow your following and establish
yourself (and your company) as an industry leader.
Owners can elevate the role of other group members to
manager or moderator.
Manager: Group managers control discus-
sions, membership, settings, subgroups, rules
and more. The only difference between a group owner
andmanagerisanownercancloseortransferownership
of the group. Managers share the responsibility of
creating the voice of a group.
Sharing industry news in a timely fashion, providing
insightful commentary, publishing original content and
encouraging discussion among group members are all
strategies that managers can employ to develop a com-
munity of experts in your LinkedIn group.
Moderator: Group moderators have only the
ability to monitor discussions and comments. In
their role, they ensure that the group remains on point
and focused on the appropriate industry topic. You
don’t want your company page to become home for an
Internet troll or spammer. Attentive group moderators
are key to maintaining the integrity of your group.
Member: As a group member, you can post
links and contribute to discussions in groups
that relate to your business or industry. This tactic can
show you to be an industry leader. By searching for the
most relevant LinkedIn groups and regularly offering
input, other industry experts will begin to recognize
your name.
Do not post blatant sales messages or blast the same
comments to all the groups you participate in. You want
to build credibility as a real person at a real company
with real insight—not a sales-bot.
2: Status Updates
As with other social networks, LinkedIn allows users to post
status updates. However, companies on LinkedIn can now
target status updates, allowing them to tailor content for
specific audiences. The targeting parameters include; com-
pany size, industry, function, seniority and geography. To do
this, follow these steps:
• Locate the “Share an update” box on your company
page home tab.
• Hover your cursor over “Share with all followers” and
select “Targeted Audience.”
• Select the appropriate above-mentioned criteria from
each tab.
• At the bottom of the pop-up box, select whether you
want to share with employees and non-employees, or
strictly non-employees.
Note: Any user who actively views your company page can
see all status updates. Also you don’t have to target your
posts if they’re relevant to all of your audiences.
WhatkindofstatusupdatesshouldyoushareonLinkedIn?
Status updates allow your company to directly engage viewers
and followers of your company page. Consider sharing the
following in your status updates:
• Company news
• Promotions
• Relevant industry articles
• YouTube videos
• Online news releases
• Newsletters

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LinkedIn Marketing: A Guide
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Some email marketing providers have integrated with
LinkedIn to automatically post links to marketing emails
directly on LinkedIn.
Aswiththestatusupdatesyouposttoothersocialnetworks,
keep what you share on LinkedIn short, timely and relevant.
Also, remember that your LinkedIn audience is comprised of
business professionals.
These content strategies will solidify you as a
thought leader:
• Share breaking industry news, as well as your reaction
and interpretation of that news.
• Are you doing something innovative? Share and solicit
feedback from your peers!
• When you welcome aboard new talent, post a short
video introducing the new hire, detailing their qualifi-
cations. Top talent attracts other top talent—as well as
attention from customers and other industry leaders.
• Always post links to your online news releases on
LinkedIn. Not only are you sharing your news with
potential customers and partners, but reporters moni-
toring your sector may spot your release on LinkedIn.
Online news distribution services, like PRWeb, give
users the option to automatically post news releases
to LinkedIn.
• Schedule marketing emails to post on LinkedIn in
order to reach professionals and customers who have
not signed up to receive your emails.
Let’s return to the time management app
company. They are getting ready to
launch a 2.0 version. Scheduling a
LinkedIn post that links to the online
news release will drive more reads of
the release. The company should also
post screenshots and demos of the
2.0 interface so current and potential
customers can immediately identify
what they can expect from the app.
With the recent redesign of the LinkedIn company page,
your status updates now appear front and center on your
profile. This makes it extremely easy for viewers to read, like,
comment and share updates.
You can feature a post at the top of your page. This high-
lights important readership—for example, clicking the link
that will lead them to an online release.
Don’t be afraid to get interactive with the material you post.
Remember, viewers respond best to engaging content
that adds value to their experience. Posting infographics,
YouTube videos, demos and tutorials are all effective ways
to get and keep the attention of LinkedIn viewers—and
potential customers.
Attracting and Engaging Customers
Many B2B purchasers turn to LinkedIn when making a
buying decision. LinkedIn is unlike other social networks in
that it is a professional, business-oriented community. So
when prospective clients go to LinkedIn, they’re already
motivated to hear your message.
How to optimize and leverage your company
page to attract customers
To make the most of the new features LinkedIn recently
released, it’s important to completely fill out each section.
Let’s take a look at the features of the LinkedIn company
page and how to get the most out of each one.
1. Profile Images: In addition to a
small thumbnail that appears at the
top of your profile (which is ideal for
displaying your company logo), you
can also display a banner image to
appear in the space directly below.
As the saying goes, “A picture is worth
a thousand words.” But perhaps more
important when it comes to LinkedIn is
that a picture lets viewers SKIP a thousand
words and quickly understand the product or service your
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LinkedIn Marketing: A Guide
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business provides. This is important in a purchasing envi-
ronment inundated with options for the buyer.
Keep the following in mind when choosing a visual to display
on your company page:
• The image you choose should quickly and clearly
communicate what your business offers the viewer.
• Use high quality, high-resolution images to commu-
nicate professionalism as well as please viewers aes-
thetically. Image resolution is determined by a measure
called PPI (pixels per inch). Pixels are the small dots that
make up an image. So the more pixels per inch, the
higher the resolution and quality of the image. As a rule
of thumb, high-resolution images are at least 300 PPI.
• Keep this image evergreen in order to continually
attract viewers to your page. Perhaps show your
employees at work, customers using your product or
usethespacetopromotebigcompanyannouncements
or offers.
2. Products and Services: The redesigned company
pages on LinkedIn allow you to list and feature your com-
pany’s products and services to appear in two locations—
under the “Products” tab at the top of your company profile
and in the sidebar to the right of the profile. You should
upload high-res images of each product or service with a
brief description of each.
Pastandcurrentcustomersleaverecommen-
dations and reviews of your products and
services.Asweknow,customerrecom-
mendations and testimonials are of
tremendous value in B2B marketing.
Don’t forget to ask customers
to leave recommendations and
reviews on your LinkedIn page. We’ll
discuss effective strategies for doing
so in the next section of this paper.
3. About Your Company: Below the
“Company Updates” feed you’ll find a section to complete
about your business. In this part of your LinkedIn company
profile, you should:
• Create a brief description of your business
• List your unique selling points under the “Specialties”
heading
• Display your web address to identify quality inbound
leads and SEO
• Provide your business’s physical HQ address in full
• Identify the type of company (public or private), when
thecompanywasfoundedandthesizeofyourcompany
• Select your business’s industry
This section of your company profile is essential. It ensures
your business is among the results when viewers search for
any corresponding criteria.
4. The Competition: The “Insights” tab at the top of
your profile and the “People Also Viewed”
section at the bottom of your profile’s right
sidebar allow you to see what viewers of
your company’s page are looking at on
LinkedIn. In other words, you can see
what other companies your audience
is checking out.
This insight can help determine who
your top competitors are and what they
do that works—or doesn’t work. You can use
this information to create points of differentiation
between you and your competitors, and promote those
points on your own company page.
Building Reach With Customer Evan-
gelists and Integrated Marketing
One of the most effective B2B marketing tools at your
disposal is customer references and testimonials. This kind
of third-party validation speaks volumes to prospective
clients and customers.
LinkedIn allows current and past customers to recommend
and review your company directly on your company page.
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LinkedIn Marketing: A Guide
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So viewers—and potential new business— can vet what
others think about your company providing critical third
party validation..
How can you encourage positive feedback? Here are a few
strategies to consider:
• Ask for feedback: If a customer makes a purchase
from your website, ask them to provide their feedback
on the post-purchase page. Include a but-
ton that links directly to your compa-
ny page on LinkedIn.
Many times in the B2B environ-
ment,however,personalrelation-
ships develop between buyers
and sellers. So if a customer or
client is pleased with your work,
ask them to recommend your
company on LinkedIn.
Remember our app company? Let’s say
one of their customers was able to increase
efficiency by 15% using the app software. Hard stats and
tangible results make for excellent review fodder. The
appcompanyshouldnotonlyaskthecustomertoposta
review on LinkedIn, but also serve as a guest moderator
for one their group discussions.
• Show your appreciation: Your business is just
one of many organizations and individuals consumers
interact with on a daily basis. Offering a discount
may not be the best tactic to encourage feedback
on LinkedIn. You don’t want prospective customers
to think you’ve “paid” for endorsements.
You can reward customers in other ways, such as
publicly highlighting customer reviews across social
channels or in newsletters. When other customers see
how much you value feedback, they’ll be more inclined
to offer their own.
• Don’t stop with your company page! LinkedIn
users can endorse individuals for different skills and
expertise. All employees, and especially management,
should have up-to-date LinkedIn profiles of their
own. This way, customers can endorse members
of your team for their good work.
Highlighting different employee strengths gives pro-
spective customers an idea of how much expertise your
businessbringstothetable.Andsinceyoucanbecertain
potential customers will look for the faces behind
your brand, it’s best to have those personal profiles
developed in addition to your company page.
Integrating LinkedIn with your overall
marketing strategy
To make the most of what the network has to offer, publicize
and promote your LinkedIn company page through other
marketing channels. After all, in order for your presence on
the network to be effective, buyers must be aware that your
business is on LinkedIn and offering valuable information.
How can you promote your company page outside of
LinkedIn and other social media networks?
1. Email Marketing Campaigns: As opt-in recipients
of your email newsletters, these individuals have already
demonstrated interest in receiving information about
your company. Devote a newsletter to introducing readers
to your company’s presence on LinkedIn. Let them know
the type of information they can expect to find
on your page, what material you will make
available on the network and encourage
them to join the discussion by connecting
with your brand on the network.
Ofcourse,provideadirectlinktoyourpage
at the end of the email to make it easy for
them to connect with you while it’s fresh in
theirminds.It’salsoagoodideatoreferbackto
yourLinkedIncompanypageinsubsequentnews-
letterstoshareexclusivenewmaterial,suchasavideodemo,
on LinkedIn.
2. Company Website: Clearly display the LinkedIn
button on your website along with buttons for your other
social channels so that visitors to your webpage can easily
navigate to LinkedIn.

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LinkedIn Marketing: A Guide
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Consider making some information, like certain demos or
presentations, available only through LinkedIn, and use
relevant keywords on your website to link directly back to
your LinkedIn page. If visitors to your website are looking for
customerreferrals,linktothereviewsandrecommendations
section of your LinkedIn profile.
3. Events: Many B2B companies attend tradeshows,
conferences and other industry events. Given the targeted
audience that attends these shows, they make for an ideal
opportunitytopromoteyourLinkedInpage.Theredesigned
LinkedIncompanypagesaremobilecompatible,soconsider
strategies like QR codes that people can scan on the go
with their tablets and smartphones to lead directly to your
LinkedIn page.
Next Steps
B2B marketing, as with all marketing, is about building rela-
tionships based on trust and credibility. As a platform that
embraces and facilitates transparent interaction, LinkedIn is
the social network of choice for business-to-business.
Use these tactical approaches to build thought leadership,
attract buyers and empower customers on behalf of your
brand on LinkedIn, boosting your marketing efforts and
generating solid results.
About Vocus
Marketing has evolved. To succeed in today’s world, mar-
keters need to make digital channels and ensure they work
together to generate brand awareness, demand and revenue.
Vocusoffersauniquesolution.Oursoftwareintegratespow-
erful features of digital marketing, including social, search,
email and publicity. It also sends real-time marketing oppor-
tunities directly to you in the form of leads, prospects, social
media conversations, curated content and media inquiries.
With our marketing consulting and services team ready to
help, Vocus delivers marketing success.
Find out more at www.vocus.com
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