By: Cate Boller
First, let's define what B2B marketing is. B2B marketing, commonly known as business-to-business marketing, is when businesses are the target market rather than individuals. These types of transactions normally take place between wholesalers and retailers. A simplified example of this would be a company that makes breakfast sandwiches trying to get their product to sell inside Costco. Again, the individual consumer is not the target audience in this scenario, it is Costco. LinkedIn is the perfect platform to market for B2B companies because of the user's average age, positions within their companies, and overall intention for being on the platform.
LinkedIn, though labeled a social media platform, is highly educational and professional, with two of its main goals being to expand networking opportunities and discuss all things business. LinkedIn can be helpful for companies selling directly to consumers but is more geared toward connecting the wholesaler with a retailer where both parties will benefit.
To touch more on LinkedIn's specific demographics, there are 630 million registered users who are business professionals, and every four out of five members make business decisions. This is important to note because these are precisely the types of people B2B marketers are and should be interested in persuading. Business-to-business marketing is less interested in whether the product is reaching the individual consumer directly and more interested in persuading retailers to sell their product or service. How well the product or service does once in stores is to be worried about later.
This may still beg the question, why not any other social media platform? If you're beginning to market your product or service and are looking to get exposure, exhausting any and all social media channels is a smart idea. The type of attention companies like this need is going to primarily come from the platform that holds decision-makers. So, although it bodes well for a company to market itself far and wide, a more concentrated effort should be put into the platform that will yield the specific results a company is looking for.
Takeaway
LinkedIn is the best platform for B2B marketing. With the types of users LinkedIn has and the way the platform is geared towards business networking and promoting, it is B2B centered and should be the primary stream for companies in this arena. Overall, having a large social media presence is vital, but honing in and concentrating efforts where they will yield results is important, especially for business-to-business marketing.