How to Use LinkedIn for Account Based Marketing

We have spilled a lot of digital ink about account based marketing (ABM) on the blog recently. And for good reason: ABM is rapidly shaping up to be one of the most powerful tools in the B2B marketer’s toolkit. SiriusDecisions reports that clients who have mastered the art are seeing 20% larger deal sizes and a 30% boost to their customer health scores.

ABM starts with the best of old-school personalized sales and marketing, then adds a dose of 21^stcentury technology to make it manageable and scalable. It empowers marketers to identify and focus on key accounts, working in tandem with sales to generate interest and move buying committees through the decision-making process.

If you’re still kicking off your ABM initiative, start with this overview of account based marketing strategy. For this post, we’ll focus on how you can use on LinkedIn to scale your efforts.

Create an Account Target Segment

The first step is to find your key accounts and individuals on LinkedIn. Our new service, LinkedIn Account Targeting, takes the guesswork out of the process. With LinkedIn Account Targeting, you consult with a member of the LinkedIn account team to match your key account list with existing LinkedIn Company Pages, and identify your target audience.

Once the account team finds your matches, you can further narrow down the targeting with additional criteria such as seniority and job function. This process creates a custom-targeted audience you can use for your content campaigns.

Engage with LinkedIn Sponsored Content

As part of the LinkedIn Account Targeting service, your account team will help set up, test, and launch your Sponsored Content campaign. You provide the content and creative assets personalized for each of your custom segments.

Make sure the copy for your Sponsored Content intro is concise, with a clear call to action that leads to a customized landing page. Craft your content from the perspective of your target audience, seeking to provide value that compels a click.

Here are a few tips on making great Sponsored Content:

Reach the Previously Unreachable with LinkedIn Sponsored InMail

Sponsored InMail has been called an ABM “silver bullet” for its ability to reach audiences that are hard or impossible to reach via email or other content. LinkedIn has worked to ensure that InMail is high-quality and low-frequency for our members, so they value these messages more than yet another email in their crowded inbox.

With LinkedIn Account Targeting, your account team will also help setup, test, and launch your Sponsored InMail campaign. Here is a brief overview of how to craft an effective Sponsored InMail:

Account based marketing, like content marketing, is a respected traditional practice that’s been supercharged through technology. With a network of over 400 million professionals and over 8 million Company Pages, LinkedIn is uniquely qualified to be your ABM assistant. Use the data in LinkedIn’s network to create and engage with your key accounts, and then scale your efforts to achieve incredible results.

For more ABM advice from top marketing minds, download The Sophisticated Marketer’s Crash Course in Account Based Marketing.

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