Marketing for B2B will continue to be led by LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the best place to market your business, and it's getting better every day.

Here are five reasons why:

LinkedIn offers better targeting than Google or Facebook.

LinkedIn offers the best targeting for B2B marketers. LinkedIn is the most trusted source for professional content, and this plays a key role in their dominance as a marketing platform. The network's users are more likely to make buying decisions than Facebook or Google users.

They're also far more likely to be decision makers or influencers in organizations. With its massive network of professionals, LinkedIn offers marketers access to hundreds of millions of people who fit their target audience profile (and with access to premium data sources like Sales Navigator, it's easier than ever before).

LinkedIn is the best place to find professional audiences, who are more likely to make buying decisions.

When you're looking for a place to find professional audiences, LinkedIn is the best.

Because it has the most professional audience of any social platform, it's also easier to find decision makers on LinkedIn than on any other platform. And because decision makers are more likely to make buying decisions, using LinkedIn as your go-to resource for B2B marketing makes sense.

You can also use LinkedIn to reach out directly—and with purpose—to individuals who have already made purchasing decisions and purchased products and services from you in the past. This will help you achieve more sales leads from your existing customers and their networks through targeted messages sent through email or direct mail campaigns.

LinkedIn is the most trusted source for professional content.

You know how, when you ask someone for a recommendation on where to get a good haircut, they almost always tell you to go see their friend? That's because their friend is the one with the best hair. Or at least, that's what they say.

LinkedIn is no different. It’s the most trusted source for professional content because it's the best platform to find professionals who are interested in your product or service. And by “interested in your product or service," I mean interested in buying it—because that’s what LinkedIn users are there for: prospecting new clients, leads and partners (or more likely all three). They're not just “fans" looking at pictures of kittens; they're people who can help your business grow if you find them first—and then do something useful with this information once you do find them!

LinkedIn video is accelerating its share of social-media video views and hours watched -- including sponsored videos with paid reach -- at a faster rate than YouTube.

LinkedIn's video strategy is going gangbusters. The company's share of social-media video views and hours watched -- including sponsored videos with paid reach -- is growing faster than Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.

The company’s growth in video views may be partly due to its ability to reach the right audience at the right time with the right message: LinkedIn’s high-quality content allows users to build their brand through thought leadership discussions on topics relevant to their industry or profession.

LinkedIn ads can be more affordable to buy and manage than Facebook, Twitter or Google ads, especially if you use automation.

When you think of B2B, you probably think of LinkedIn. It’s not just because you’re a millennial trying to avoid being a middle-aged man who wears shorts and has a golf club in his hand.

LinkedIn is the biggest professional network on the planet with over 500 million members worldwide, many of whom are qualified buyers or sellers that you can reach with LinkedIn ads.

These ads cost less than Facebook and Google but more than Twitter—especially if your budget is smaller and/or if you use automation.

The preceding points show that LinkedIn will remain the social networking platform of choice for B2B marketers.

If you've read this far, then you're probably convinced that LinkedIn is the best social media platform for B2B marketing. But before we go off into the sunset with our happy ending and happily ever after, let's quickly cover some of the reasons why other platforms are also effective for B2B marketing:

• Facebook - While it's a great place to connect with customers, it can be difficult to get much engagement out of them. In fact, there's even research that shows email is more effective at engaging customers than Facebook!

• Twitter - Although it's not as much of a direct sales tool as LinkedIn or Facebook, Twitter has still proven itself to be an effective way to build relationships with influencers and brand advocates who are willing to share your content across multiple platforms and networks.

Conclusion

We’ve just seen the numbers and they don’t lie. LinkedIn is the best social networking platform for B2B marketers because it offers more targeting options, better content and more opportunity for video.

If you haven’t started using LinkedIn yet, there’s no time like the present! Click here to schedule a free consult and get started on creating a company page and learn about the marketing tools that can help your business grow.