I hope you had a great July 4 holiday weekend.

I wanted to share some research with you on LinkedIn, a tool you should make your best friend!

According to LinkedIn, 93 percent of B2B marketers say social media is their No. 1 tool for content creation and publishing. In government, a Market Connections’ 2015 study shows LinkedIn as the No. 3 most-used social media platform by executives. More than 46 percent of GovCon professionals use LinkedIn – making it one of the most efficient social networks to engage with thought leaders, decision makers and more.

via Market Connections

That’s a lot of folks. Here are four simple ways to create a robust LinkedIn marketing strategy for both B2B and B2G industries.

  1. Optimize Your Company Page with Content. Aside from having accurate information about your company, products and services, think about how to gain a visitor’s interest. The company page can be a lead generation tool by using an ad for an app, e-book or white paper as the header image. Include extra content to increase click-throughs to your company’s website.
  2. Utilize LinkedIn Publisher. In my last Executive Tip , I shared ways to get more out of LinkedIn Publisher, a great tool for content marketing and demonstrating thought leadership. Write about your areas of expertise and use your authentic voice. Try to include pictures, videos and other types of multimedia.
  3. Opt for Sponsored Updates. LinkedIn’s sponsored content updates receive a larger ROI than related Google AdWords campaigns – 6x greater! These updates allow you to place your content directly in front of decision makers and influencers, and increase your exposure to people outside your network. With LinkedIn analytics, you can determine the effectiveness of your paid updates. These metrics include impressions, clicks, click-through-rates, social actions and more.
  4. Stay Active in Groups. Participating in group discussions demonstrates your thought leadership and expertise. Make sure your posts are educational and not promotional.

I hope you find these tips helpful. Please let me know if you’d like to discuss this or other strategies to help your business.

Have a great rest of the day!

Joyce