As a long-time LinkedIn power user, I've seen firsthand how a strategic presence on the platform can transform your business. When I started my agency years ago, LinkedIn was still relatively new. But I could see the potential for lead generation if used the right way.
Flash forward to today, and LinkedIn has become a crucial part of my client’s marketing strategies. The capabilities have grown exponentially—especially with Sales Navigator. However, I’ve also seen businesses struggle to tap into LinkedIn’s full potential on their own.
That’s why I wrote this post. I want to share the specific ways an agency can help maximize your impact on LinkedIn. From optimizing profiles to executing sophisticated campaigns, there are so many advantages to having specialized support.
At our agency, we live and breathe LinkedIn marketing. We work with mid-size companies looking to scale. Our entire approach is tailored to generate more qualified leads and drive revenue through social selling.
I hope this post gives you a clearer understanding of LinkedIn’s possibilities along with the benefits of partnering with an agency like ours.
4 out of 5 people on LinkedIn "drive business decisions"
- Hootsuite
The Power of Social Selling on LinkedIn
Sales has changed. Buyers are more independent in their research process. In fact, 59% of B2B buyers make their purchase decision before even contacting a sales rep.
This is where social selling comes in. Social selling allows you to identify, connect with, understand, and nurture prospects until they are sales-ready. As the top professional network, LinkedIn is the ideal platform for social selling.
An effective social selling strategy on LinkedIn includes:
- Establishing a professional brand and profile. Make sure your profile is complete with a professional photo, headline, description, and media content. This builds authority and trust.
- Expanding your network. Connect with prospects, clients, industry influencers, and subject-matter experts. Aim for quality over quantity of connections.
- Providing value. Share useful insights, media, and content. Comment and interact meaningfully with others. Be helpful without pitching.
- Identifying sales opportunities. Use LinkedIn's advanced search to identify prospects based on criteria like job title, industry, location. Sales Navigator makes this even more powerful.
- Personalized outreach. Once you've identified prospects, reach out through customized connection requests and InMail messages. Share value and start relationships.
The problem is: Most businesses don't have the time or expertise to implement an effective social selling strategy. This is where partnering with a LinkedIn marketing agency pays dividends.
Why You Need a LinkedIn Marketing Agency
A LinkedIn marketing agency brings strategic expertise to grow your brand, network, and leads on LinkedIn. Here are some of the key reasons partnering with an agency is beneficial:
1. Save Time with Specialized Expertise
It takes time to keep a LinkedIn profile and sales process optimized. From writing content to designing ads, it's a lot for an in-house team to handle alone.
A LinkedIn marketing agency focuses solely on excelling at LinkedIn marketing. They already have proven processes, templates, and content mapped out. This expertise saves you significant time compared to figuring things out on your own.
2. Gain an External Perspective
An outside agency provides an unbiased perspective on your LinkedIn presence. They can perform a LinkedIn profile audit and identify gaps in your social selling process.
With in-the-trenches experience across diverse clients, they have insights into what works on LinkedIn and what doesn't. A marketer close to your business may have blind spots.
3. Increase Capacity for Outreach
Expanding your network and nurturing prospects takes consistent, scalable outreach. An agency has the systems to efficiently conduct:
- Targeted connection requests
- Warm, personalized InMail messages
- Follow-up communications to generate leads
They can test different outreach cadences and messages to determine what converts best for your audience. This level of capacity is challenging for an in-house team.
4. Implement Best Practices for Your Goals
There are always new LinkedIn features and algorithm changes. An agency stays on top of LinkedIn's roadmap and tests new offerings as soon as they are available.
Based on your goals, they can determine how features like LinkedIn Events, Polls, Stories, and #Hashtags may (or may not) make sense for your strategy. Their insight ensures you use LinkedIn effectively.
5. Drive More Conversions with Retargeting
LinkedIn now offers sophisticated targeting and retargeting capabilities through Campaign Manager. An agency can set up audiences and pixel tracking to retarget your site visitors with relevant ads.
For example, if a prospect visited a pricing page but didn't convert, a special offer ad can entice them to re-engage. Retargeting through LinkedIn's extensive B2B data results in higher conversion rates.
Types of LinkedIn Marketing Services Offered
Reputable LinkedIn marketing agencies offer a wide range of services to drive results on LinkedIn. Here are some of the key services to look for:
LinkedIn Profile Optimization: Making sure your personal and company profile are complete, professional, and optimized with relevant keywords.
Content Creation: Developing blog posts, articles, white papers, and other content tailored for the LinkedIn audience.
Company Page Management: Growing followers and engagement for your LinkedIn Company Page through content, updates, and ads.
Thought Leadership Strategy: Building authority by consistently posting content and engaging your network.
Network Expansion: Identifying and connecting with relevant prospects and influencers.
Lead Generation Campaigns: Running targeted campaigns with content offers to generate inbound leads.
Ad Management: Creating and optimizing LinkedIn Sponsored Content and Text Ads to increase visibility.
Sales Enablement: Providing sales templates, tailored prospect lists, and training for social selling success.
The best agencies offer a comprehensive approach that combines content, organic networking, and ads for maximum results. Look for expertise across both B2B and B2C use cases.
Vetting a LinkedIn Marketing Agency
Not all LinkedIn agencies are created equal. When researching agencies, look for these key qualifications:
- LinkedIn specificity: They should specialize in LinkedIn marketing, not just general social media.
- Proven results: Ask for case studies, client testimonials, and examples of their work. Clear track record of success.
- Certified practitioners: The LinkedIn trainer program validates expertise. Leads with LIT certifications are a good sign.
- Employee LinkedIn profiles: Review team member profiles. Look for strong networks and social selling skills.
- Technical capabilities: Proficiency with LinkedIn Campaign Manager, Matched Audiences, Conversation Ads, etc.
- Reporting and analytics: Ability to demonstrate return on investment with detailed analytics.
- Enterprise experience: Extensive work with complex global organizations indicates scalability.
With the right agency partner, your business can execute a sophisticated LinkedIn marketing strategy at a fraction of the cost of building an in-house team. Consider your goals for LinkedIn and evaluate agencies based on their track record of driving measurable impact.
Start Driving Results on LinkedIn
Mastering LinkedIn is no longer optional. It's a must-have channel to reach B2B decision makers and execute social selling.
However, realizing LinkedIn's potential requires time, expertise, and resources. By partnering with a proven LinkedIn marketing agency, you gain an experienced team to maximize your impact and convert prospects.
From expanding your network to implementing sophisticated campaigns, an agency becomes a force multiplier for your marketing and sales teams. If done right, your investment in a LinkedIn partner pays dividends across your entire funnel.
Now is the time to take your LinkedIn presence to the next level. Reach out for a consultation to assess your current LinkedIn footprint and explore how an agency partnership can accelerate success.
