How to Harness Intent Marketing on LinkedIn

People’s lives are full of interruptions and distractions, both online and offline. No one likes being interrupted, so why let that be the first impression your advertising leaves? On the other hand, being too on-the-nose with your marketing can give customers the feeling that they don’t have any privacy left.

There is a middle ground: intent-based marketing.

Intent-Based Marketing

The purpose of intent-based marketing is to enhance the user’s experience online by delivering your message to the right customer, right when they need to see it. Your message arrives in front of the user almost as if in answer to them wondering, “How do I solve this problem?” This may seem like a feat of prescience, but it really comes down to partnering with services who offer the very best in intent-based data and analytics tools.

Before we look at some of these partners, here are the key characteristics of an intent-based marketing strategy:

Context

It’s important to bear in mind the context of your advertising — what is the platform you’ll be working with, and what is your user’s mindset while engaged with that platform? This will help you streamline your messaging in a way that flows seamlessly with the rest of the user’s online experience. LinkedIn's marketing partners offer integrated services that are designed to help you market directly to the LinkedIn user.

Targeting

Targeting is an integral part of intent-based marketing. LinkedIn serves users from across all industries, so it is vital that you clearly define who it is you are trying to reach with your advertising. Consider the  location, role, seniority, and other key aspects that define your specific audience. A quality partner will offer tools that give you insight into where users are on their purchasing journey, so you can target your messaging to meet them where they are at.

Behavioral Insight

Online behavior goes well beyond click-through rates on ad campaigns. Intent-based data analysis also tracks user behaviors such as what companies they are interacting with, what changes in these interactions, and what services are users already engaged with. While there is still a great deal of value in analyzing how users interact with your content, the right intent-based marketing partner will take it a step further and offer insight into behaviors that touch on your industry as a whole, giving you a leg-up on your competition.

LinkedIn Marketing Partners have tools designed for intent-based marketing and integrate with LinkedIn’s APIs.  Here’s a look at a few of these partners, and what sets them apart.

TrustRadius

Intent data providers like TrustRadius help marketers understand the research behavior of key accounts, providing valuable insights into where accounts are in their buying journey and which businesses, products, or services they are researching.

TrustRadius dynamically feeds downstream intent data into LinkedIn, so customers can seamlessly launch ad campaigns to nurture accounts down the funnel for a bottom of the funnel touchpoint. They provide two tiers of intent data; category intent representative of anyone searching for a solution in a named category and product intent for anyone who comes to your product listing to learn more about your offering.

G2

G2 specializes in connecting companies with ultra-warm buyers: users who are already looking at your product category, sales partners, and even competitors. G2’s integration with LinkedIn Matched Audiences utilizes Buyer Intent data to offer rich targeting opportunities. You’ll discover which companies are researching your product  and be able to tailor your messaging to speak to their unique needs. G2’s insights also alert you to when current customers are starting to look elsewhere, so you can quickly intervene.

Bombora

Bombora is a leader in intent-based data analytics. Bombora’s Company Surge delivers the data marketers need to keep their campaigns relevant and targeted. By knowing where the customer is in their buying journey, your team can craft messaging that leads them through the discovery process for your product. Bombora’s LinkedIn Campaign Manager will give you the data you need to tailor your LinkedIn Sponsored Content so it gets in front of users who are already interested in what  you are offering.