Facebook is excellent for telling stories, Instagram for connecting through images while Twitter is excellent for engaging in conversations with customers, nothing comes even close to LinkedIn when it comes to promoting to corporates. If you are promoting a B2B brand, there is a possibility that a large number of your potential customers don’t use social media platforms actively. But if there is one platform that they use, it is LinkedIn.
Most people pass on filling in all the details on platforms like Facebook but in most cases you will find that they fill in the right details on LinkedIn, right from their job title to their work history. This makes it easier to reach out to the right people as compared to other platforms like Facebook and Twitter which don’t have as much information about their users. That is why, the B2B marketers can reach the right audience rather than the spray and pray effect on Facebook. Along with the ads, there are other ways to give your B2B travel brand a boost through LinkedIn
#1- Start a group
Groups are a great feature of LinkedIn. You can connect your business to an engaging topic and set up a group. As the discussions will primarily be around your industry, it is important to make sure people know about your business. That said, don’t try to sell through the group as it will not drive conversations.
#2- Engage in other groups
Creating your own community will be a slow process and it will take a while to grow. That is why you need to be a part of existing groups that relate to your area of expertise. Just like your own group, don’t take the sales approach but engage in meaningful conversations. There are multiple groups built around various segments of travel industry which you can join to expand your network.
#3- Use Pulse
Earlier reserved for well-known influencers, Pulse is a great way to reach outside your network. Publish articles related to your industry on Pulse, use the right keywords and tags and let LinkedIn give you more visibility. The audience see articles sorted by theme which means that you get the right kind of people reading your articles. Travel brands can utilise content from their corporate blog and reach different audience here.
#4- Talk about industry in posts
While it goes without saying that you have to post updates on your company page frequently, the kind of content also plays a major role. Instead of talking about your product or services, it is better to talk about the industry. For instance, if you are a travel marketer, you can share how an OTA can leverage a new marketing channel rather than inviting them to work with you.
#5- Buy sponsored updates
Sponsored updates on LinkedIn can have very specific targeting resulting in better click through rate. It allows you to target users by industry, job title and function. The cost per click is generally higher than other advertising options which makes it less relevant to B2C brands looking for higher volumes and more suited for brands looking for quality leads. While Starwood caters to a huge number of travellers, a large chunk of its revenues come from corporate travel and events. That is why the hotel chain invested in LinkedIn to launch the SPG Pro loyalty program.
#6- Use InMails
While the feature is available as a paid option, it boasts a nearly three times higher open rate which makes it an option worth exploring. If you want to get your pitch in front of selected few, give InMails a try. Travel startups looking to raise funds, here is a tip for you.
As a travel marketer, how else do you leverage LinkedIn? Do share with us. Join the discussions on travel marketing and get inputs from the topic experts here.
