LinkedIn has become much more than a simple social media platform for professionals. With 500 million users, LinkedIn has morphed into a social media conglomerate. A desktop site redesign has changed user navigation, feed content selection, and profile recommendations. LinkedIn developers are also working on making the platform a news source for professionals and a lead-generation hub. With these updates, LinkedIn is no longer part of your marketing strategy: It is your focus.
Pulse and Trending Storylines
LinkedIn Pulse was designed to change the way professionals keep up with their industries. LinkedIn partnered with the Pulse creators to allow users to log into the app with their LinkedIn profiles and access relevant news stories.
The Trending Storyline feature has a similar purpose, but it does not require users to install a third-party app. Human editors craft short summaries so users can quickly catch up on the news that matters to them. The Trending Storyline section also features a selection of posts from LinkedIn users. Check the Trending Storyline feature to keep up with the latest industry news and create your own content on trending topics to grow your audience.
Mobile lead-gen forms and Matched Audiences
With 80% of sponsored content engagement happening on the LinkedIn mobile app, business leaders needed the clunky contact forms to be optimized for mobile users. The lead-gen form feature allows users to quickly submit contact forms pre-populated with their profile information. Advertisers can even display a page with a short message and link once users submit their forms.
The Matched Audiences program allows advertisers to show sponsored content to precisely the right LinkedIn users. LinkedIn is a superior choice for B2B marketers since users log into the site or app for professional purposes. Advertisers don’t have to worry about intruding on users’ timelines as is the case on Facebook. Matched Audiences allows business leaders to target users by websites visited, employers, or even email addresses.
Alternative lead generation methods
Despite — and in some ways because of — these changes, using LinkedIn as a lead-generation platform can still be expensive and time-consuming. Although time and attention investments are justified for B2B marketers, sponsoring content is more expensive than it is on other platforms. However, there are other ways excellent ways to generate leads from the large LinkedIn audience simply by being active in your niche. Share content, comment on relevant posts, create your own content, and reach out to influencers in your industry.
Lead-gen forms will soon be available on the desktop site and will eventually work with sponsored InMail campaigns. With these new features, LinkedIn leaders aim to turn the platform into a trustworthy source of information for professionals and into a powerful lead-generation platform for advertisers.
[cta]If you have questions about how you can use these latest updates to your business’s advantage, contact me, Mark McIntosh, RevGrow CEO and founder, today by calling 972-998-5132. I would be happy to help you discover how you could be using LinkedIn to generate leads.[/cta]
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