Being a B2B business, it’s probably no surprise that our agency does quite a bit of content marketing on the LinkedIn platform. We publish to their platform, run ads on it and also run targeted organic campaigns (this form of marketing will be a topic I’ll be writing about very soon). I personally have been doing these types of campaigns for over a decade. I remember when LinkedIn had next to know ad platform at all (Spoiler: It was terrible), and I’ve been watching it ever since as it matures and changes.
One thing recently though that I’ve had literally dozens of conversations with business owners about in the past week or two is what a fantastic platform LinkedIn is for Business to Consumer companies as well. I know at first glance it sounds counter-intuitive, but it really is a perfect platform to command attention and build your brand.
If LinkedIn Is A Business Platform, Why Should I Market My B2C Company On It?
The easiest answer I can give to this question is that LinkedIn gives you access to attention. I write a lot about attention, but for those of you that haven’t read any prior articles I’ve written, attention is the currency your target audience spends so you can build your brand. Getting and maintaining attention is everything when it comes to a solid brand strategy.
The thing about LinkedIn that I think is so amazing is that from a social marketing perspective, it’s really in its infancy. Organically, if you have a great value-added piece of content you publish on their network, you are going to get lots of eyeballs and engagement. LinkedIn isn’t just the platform where people go to post their work experience and network their way into a new job anymore. It’s an active social network where business professionals spend time and consume content. For that very reason, even if you are a B2C company, there are plenty of ways you can capitalize and take advantage of the engagement on the platform.
Before You Jump In And Ruin It, Remember: Context Matters
Marketers (myself included) have this innate ability to want to take something and ruin it. I’ve written about things like Email Marketing, Ad Banners and Marketing Automation in the past. Eventually somebody will come around and completely mess up the opportunities LinkedIn currently offers. That is inevitable, but don’t be that person.
The way to avoid messing it up for everyone is you have to keep in mind that every digital platform works in a particular contextual framework. LinkedIn is no different. In fact, I would say this piece of the equation is the only thing that makes LinkedIn a bit more difficult than other platforms when planning an effective marketing campaign.
The context that matters most with LinkedIn content marketing campaigns is the fact that this is a business platform. You need to craft content based around corporate or business issues, challenges, desires or questions.
Adding Context To Your Marketing
So even though this is an extra step in the process and requires you tweak content you are creating, it is not impossible at all and really pays off. Here are a couple examples that explain what I am describing:
Example 1: Personal Trainer
This is perhaps my favorite example of a B2C business that should be crushing it on LinkedIn. Think about it. The service they offer is one that many average people cannot afford. They can target executives that are high-income earners and most likely to have expendable cash to spend on the types of services they offer.
The trick here though is all in how they present their services. Simply posting “Get in shape, hire me to train you” display ads is not going to hack it. That is nothing more than selling online and everyone should know that just doesn’t work.
What does work though is educating your prospect with answers to problems they may experience as a busy business executive. For instance, making a video blog or writing an article about 5 exercises you can do in any hotel when traveling for work, or 3 exercises an executive stuck in their chair all day can do to increase their core strength will not only be of interest to them, but it will likely be exponentially more engaged with as it not only addresses an issue they are experiencing, but it approaches the issue from a business angle.
Example 2: Nutritionist
I suppose this is somewhat similar to a personal trainer, but again, think of things in context of a professional corporate environment. A nutritionist, rather than running content that says “Hit your target weight this year and take control of your health” instead should focus on challenges a corporate executive faces.
For instance, maybe write an article about tips and tricks you can follow to stay true to your Keto diet while you are on a business trip. Or how about a video that shows them walking through a large company’s corporate cafeteria and describing in detail how to seek out the things that are the healthiest and will most help you hit your weight loss goals?
This Literally Works With ANY B2C Company
The truth of the matter is this approach will work for practically any B2C company or service provider. It just requires the all important step of considering context when putting your marketing strategy together.
This amazingly low barrier of entry of grabbing attention won’t last forever. Trust me, marketers will eventually cannibalize this great platform. Move fast, be useful and generate business while the iron is hot.
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