Why (and how) you should grow your LinkedIn for B2B marketing

In our day-to-day lives, we may flock to social media platforms like Instagram, X and TikTok to pass the time with whatever new content appears on our feeds. Our work lives, however, require something a little different. While Instagram, X and TikTok can play a role in B2B marketing when implemented correctly, the people you’re trying to reach in this market are primarily using one platform: LinkedIn.

With over 1 billion members as at January 2025 (that’s 12% of the planet, or one in eight people) LinkedIn offers a vast audience of business-focused users. 134 million people actively use the platform every day, and every minute, LinkedIn sees –

• Over 1.6 million feed updates

• 2 million pieces of content published

• 13 thousand connections made

Somewhat surprisingly, data suggests that LinkedIn is used sparingly with an average of 46 minutes per user, per month. Perhaps this is because LinkedIn is used with more focus and purpose, further emphasising why it' such a crucial tool for B2B marketing.

Below, we share some of the biggest returns you can expect to see for time spent on your business’ LinkedIn marketing strategy. Then, we’ll explain how you might achieve these returns.

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Why you should use LinkedIn for B2B marketing

In a B2B context, LinkedIn presents an ideal platform to consistently meet the right people, in the right place, at the right time. If you have a clear strategy, and you’re willing to put in the time you’ll get a lot back for your efforts, including:

1. Boosted brand recognition: LinkedIn is a powerful platform to establish your brand’s presence. By consistently sharing valuable content and engaging in relevant industry discourse, you ensure that people remember your brand, and you’re front of mind when potential clients are considering new partnerships.

2. Powerful lead generation: LinkedIn is home to over 65 million decision makers, and over 180 million senior-level business influencers (Social Pilot, 2025). This is why the platform is more effective at generating leads than Facebook and X, with 40% of B2B marketers reporting LinkedIn as their most effective channel for driving high quality leads. There are two main avenues for lead generation on LinkedIn – paid ads and organic lead generation through engagement. With tools like LinkedIn Ads, InMail and Sales Navigator, businesses can reach out directly to decision makers to shorten sales cycles and improve conversion rates. LinkedIn’s conversion rate is twice that of other platforms such as Google and social media platforms (WebFX, 2025). It’s important to keep in mind however that conversions on LinkedIn don’t always equate to a sale. A variety of conversions can be earnt including form submissions, content downloads and event registrations.

3. The ability to reach, and speak to, your target audience: While some organic strategies like SEO optimisation can be a little complex to navigate, 77% of marketers say LinkedIn does provide quality, organic results (The Social Shepherd, 2025), meaning the right people are seeing what you put out there, whether that’s potential clients, business leaders or industry-influencers. With LinkedIn, you’re empowered with the ability to connect by targeting specific industries, job roles and companies, whether through paid ads or organic content.

4. Ads that actually work: 75% of B2B marketers advertise using LinkedIn Ads because it’s the perfect place to reach business decision-makers — 80% say those ads provide better results than anywhere else, and more than 33% of buyers who see a business ad on LinkedIn go on to research the company with the purpose of possible purchase (Cognism, 2025).  

5. Enhanced authority: Engaging in industry discourse and sharing valuable insights, such as thought leadership content, helps build your brand’s credibility and positions your business as an authority in your industry, fostering trust with potential clients and partners.

6. The ability to attract quality talent: Beyond marketing, LinkedIn is one of the most popular job-seeker platforms out there. Thanks to a streamlined process 14.9 thousand people submit job applications every minute (The Social Shepherd) – that’s around 21.4 million job applications every day. And every minute, seven people are hired. A strong LinkedIn presence not only boosts your marketing efforts, but also attracts skilled professionals, more likely to be aligned with your company’s values and goals. This is supported by the fact that 67% of recruiters say that talent hired via LinkedIn is of higher quality than candidates they find via alternative platforms. By posting about your company culture, employee achievements and industry insights, you can simultaneously enhance your B2B marketing, while portraying that you’re a desirable place to work.

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How to set up LinkedIn for your B2B marketing

Now that we've covered why you should utilise LinkedIn for your B2B marketing strategy, here is how. While this is not an exhaustive list of techniques, here are the main pointers you need to get your LinkedIn marketing strategy off the ground.

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Optimise your profile

On average, optimised profiles will receive 21 times more views and 36 times more messages than incomplete profiles (Cognism, 2025). Ensure your LinkedIn profile is complete by adding an informative description, contact details, a profile picture, a banner image and a powerful headline. Website links, social media pages, and professional photos are also important touches. You want your profile to provide a clear, concise explanation of who you are, what you stand for, what you offer, and who you’re hoping to reach. To support your SEO efforts, find the most appropriate keywords for your business and industry (using online tools like SE Ranking or Semrush), then sprinkle them throughout your profile.  

Employee profiles are also important. Ensure your team members, particularly your salespeople and key decision makers, have well-optimised profiles, reflecting your brand’s values and expertise.

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Define your target audience

Identify the key decision-makers that you want to target. You can use LinkedIn’s targeting tools to define your ideal customer profile, filtering by industry, job title, company size and geographical location.

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Follow relevant industry trends and competitors

Staying up to date on industry trends and following your competitors, ensures that you can meaningfully contribute to discourse (enhancing brand awareness), while also gaining insight into what your audience is interested in, and engaging with.

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Publish consistent updates

Maintaining your audience's interest requires frequent updates. Share business updates, insights, and news from your industry. But ensure what you’re contributing to the conversation is valuable – this is where your thought leadership can really shine. Companies that post on LinkedIn at least once a week see twice the engagement rate (Cognism, 2025), even more so when various media types are used: video, articles, and photography in particular. Whether you’re posting an industry update, opinion piece on a trending topic, case study on a recent success story, or survey results, content should always address one of your audience’s pain points and offer solutions.

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Join LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn Groups is a dedicated space for professionals to share expertise, seek advice, and build meaningful relationships. Trends show that social media is moving towards far more intentional, self-selected communities, so they’ll become more important over time. They’re a targeted opportunity to build your brand and grow a professional network. According to a study by LinkedIn, members who join groups on the platform see up to a 5 x increase in profile views compared to those who join none at all.

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Try LinkedIn Ads

Organic content isn’t the only way to grow your presence on LinkedIn, you can also use LinkedIn ads. With LinkedIn ads, you have the ability to reach a specific audience to generate leads. This is supported by over 82% of B2B marketers, who say that paid ads on LinkedIn provide the best results.  

Among the advertising choices available on LinkedIn are display ads, sponsored InMail, and sponsored content. According to a study (The Social Shepherd, 2025), businesses that advertise on LinkedIn can see up to a 33% increase in purchase intent – over one third of buyers who see a business ad on LinkedIn research the business with the intention of purchasing a product or service.

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Engage with your network

Don’t just post content, engage with your audience by actively commenting on, liking and sharing posts from industry leaders and potential clients to strengthen your presence and expand your reach. Engagement helps you stay visible and foster meaningful connections that can lead to future business opportunities. It also gives you an opportunity to show off your expertise and ability to deliver value. To enhance engagement further, you can ask your employees to share your company’s content or engage with your posts to expand your reach.

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Use LinkedIn Analytics to track performance

Regularly review LinkedIn’s analytics to understand how your posts, profile and ads are performing and find out what works and what doesn’t. By tracking key metrics such as engagement rates and follower demographics, you can adjust your content strategy to better align with your audience’s interests and business goals, refining your strategy.

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Key takeaways

In a B2B context, LinkedIn’s benefits are clear: powerful networking opportunities, enhanced brand awareness, the ability to connect with business leaders and decision makers to generate high-quality leads and the ability to attract top quality talent.  

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Need a hand?

We work with lots of clients on their LinkedIn and B2B marketing strategies. We are much more than just a marketing function — we’re your creative collaborators, critical friends, sounding board, and external experts. Find out more about who we are and get in touch if you’d like some support with your approach to LinkedIn, or your broader B2B marketing strategy.

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