We all know that LinkedIn is no longer just an online CV database, but as a marketer or comms professional in a B2B business, are you really up to speed with how to harness the power of this global professional platform?
If your leadership team is active on LinkedIn (and you aren’t), or you’re aware there’s a “winging it” approach to what you’re all doing there (including what’s being shared on the company page), maybe it’s time to take a fresh look at things.
Fact. LinkedIn has now evolved into the world’s leading professional networking platform, with over 1.3 billion members globally. For marketers and communications professionals, it should be a priority, with 85% of B2B marketers saying it offers the best value.*
Ultimately, LinkedIn offers you something pretty unique: direct access to decision-makers, industry peers, and potential clients in a credible and professional context. But, (and this is the tricky bit), LinkedIn isn’t particularly straightforward, and it’s where most of us definitely don’t want to be seen to be making mistakes – right?
So, read on my marketing friend for all the reasons why you need to find the time to build LinkedIn into your marketing strategy.
LinkedIn statistics B2B marketers need to know
With over 1.3 billion members worldwide**, LinkedIn remains the most influential professional network on the planet, and it’s the only one talking business daily.
More importantly for busy marketers:
- 4 in 5 users are involved in business purchasing decisions***
- LinkedIn is consistently rated the most trusted social platform****
- Organic engagement is growing — just recently LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky reported a 24% rise in commenting on the platform – proving that platform conversations are increasing.
Your audience isn’t just scrolling here though — they’re researching, learning, and deciding on services, suppliers, and opportunities. If I had £1 for every professional I’ve spoken to who has told me they scroll and search for people, services, and the suppliers they need daily, even if they don’t visibly show up on the platform themselves, I would be a very wealthy woman!
For any B2B brand that’s a gold opportunity to tap into, and what’s more, you don’t necessarily need to invest in paid advertising to achieve it, a strong organic strategy executed well will optimise reach and conversations!
Buyers are searching on LinkedIn, and trust people more than logos!
B2B buyers now do the bulk of their research before they ever speak to sales, and they’re doing it on social networks.
- 71% of consumers prefer to gather information themselves when researching a product or service, according to HubSpot’s 2024 State of Sales report
- LinkedIn also tells us that 75% of B2B buyers use social media to make buying decisions,
And here’s the important bit: people trust people more than brands.
Employee posts on LinkedIn get 8x more engagement than company posts alone*****. So, if your leadership team and subject matter experts aren’t visible on LinkedIn, your brand risks being invisible during the early discovery stages of the buying process.
It’s the age-old saying of people do business with people, not logos. Nowhere is this more of an opportunity than in LinkedIn execution!
Bringing your leadership team on board with LinkedIn is critical to success
When senior leaders show up and engage on LinkedIn — even occasionally — the impact is huge:
- It’s estimated that company posts get 2–10x more reach when leadership interacts with them
- Leaders’ own content builds credibility and trust for the brand.
- It supports recruitment — candidates research company leadership before applying for roles.
- And it humanises your business, making it “approachable”, and known as a business with both a personality and a culture that shines through the content being shared from leadership profiles and the company page.
Despite not finding credible data sources to support some of these claimed facts, it is without a doubt true that buyers, partners, and future employees all pay attention to how leaders show up online. The problems occur when leaders aren’t used to using the platform, lack the skills and knowledge in knowing how to optimise it professionally, and ultimately then shy away from having a presence. I can certainly concur from my own client work that content shared from leaders’ profiles will travel significantly further through the LinkedIn network, and their support for company page content will also enhance the reach of the company content being shared.
Whether we like it or not, LinkedIn is now part of a company’s public reputation — whether it’s managed intentionally or not. Investing in training and support for leadership teams and employees to become professionally visible on LinkedIn is absolutely worthwhile in the long term.
Your LinkedIn Company Page is the showcase of your brand
Think of your LinkedIn company page as the showcase for your brand on the platform.
Optimised well, it can help you:
- Showcase your expertise, company values, and USP
- Rank highly in Google and LinkedIn search results.
- Share important business updates that your team can amplify
- Share behind the scenes of your business – ultimately amplifying its values and culture
A well-executed company page acts as the central hub for employee advocacy and brand storytelling, but it only really works when the wider team and leadership actively support it.
Optimising LinkedIn is about company pages AND educating employees
If you want to turn LinkedIn from a nice-to-have into a growth driver, it starts with three key actions:
- Refresh your company page strategy — you’ll need to create a mix of thought leadership, behind-the-scenes stories and content that showcases the personality of the business. Invest in the content it needs to stand out.
- Train your leaders and subject matter experts — help them understand what they can post, and help them create the content! Help them understand how to engage, and how it fits into your broader brand narrative.
- Activate your employees — help them understand the platform, and make it easy for them to share and engage with company content in authentic ways that work for them.
With a little structure and support, you can turn LinkedIn into a genuine business asset that builds awareness and trust in your business. Research shows that content shared by employees will get far higher engagement than the same content shared by a company page.
This creates trust, amplifies reach, and shows your organisation as more than just a logo by highlighting the people behind it. Don’t underestimate how challenging this can be for some though! Training, support, and a hand-holding approach will be needed, with leadership involvement from the top down. If your senior-level employees aren’t committed to the strategy, or shying away from it, how can you expect your employees to get involved?
Marketers need to equip employees with the knowledge to engage with and share company updates, and support senior leaders in building their long term personal presence.
A final reminder of why marketers should optimise LinkedIn
LinkedIn isn’t just a recruitment platform or a place to post job updates anymore. It’s where your brand reputation, authority, and buyer relationships are built, long before any sales conversations start. So, if you’re serious about growing visibility, trust, and the organic opportunity in B2B, I hope you’ll now agree LinkedIn deserves more time and attention in your marketing mix.
Of course, if you need a helping hand with that, then take a look at my services here. If you’ve enjoyed reading this blog, I would love for you to come and connect with me on LinkedIn here, and on Instagram here.
Sources – *Content Marketing Institute, ** & ***LinkedIn data ****Emarketer’s Digital Trust Benchmark *****Socialinsider – Feb 25
