Top 5 B2B marketing brands on LinkedIn image

Top 5 B2B brands on LinkedIn

Hailed as the most effective social media network for B2B brands – according to B2B Marketing’s latest Social Media Benchmarking Report – it’s vital marketers understand how to use this professional platform and the services it offers effectively.

To ensure your brand is getting the most out of LinkedIn, we have scoured the web for the B2B companies shining on this social network. Whether it’s nurturing relationships, becoming a thought leader or running an effective employee advocacy scheme, you can learn something new from the five examples below:

Agree with the list? Or did we miss anyone out? Get involved in the discussion @MarketingB2B using the hashtag #TopB2BLinkedIn.

Deloitte UK

46,040 followers

Why it rules: Thought leadership

Deloitte LinkedIn Page

Deloitte uses LinkedIn to showcase its industry expertise and awareness around the latest business issues, as well as nurturing relationships with members. The organisation is an excellent example of how B2B brands can use social media marketing to position themselves as thought leaders in their sector.

The professional services company’s reports covering key industry trends and predictions tend to generate the most interest on the platform. One of the most popular pieces of content is an economic briefing written by the company’s chief economist, Ian Stewart. Meanwhile, Deloitte ensure content resonates with its audience by discussing news-worthy issues. For instance, its Company Page is currently filled with articles concerning the subject of Brexit and the latest UK budget.

Annabel Rake, CMO at Deloitte, explains the brand’s main objectives for using LinkedIn: “Whereas other networks like Twitter can be useful for extending reach, we tend to see focused engagement on LinkedIn, whether that’s through comments or clicks through to our reports. For our latest Impact Report, a single LinkedIn post generated nearly as many comments and about half as many engagements as 20 posts elsewhere.

Additionally, the business uses LinkedIn’s other tools, including groups and its publishing platform, Pulse, to nurture relationships with members across a range of industries. David Sproul, CEO at Deloitte, began publishing blogs on LinkedIn last year, and his latest post concerning trust and leadership has received nearly 5000 views. This blog alone underscores the importance of the c-suite being visible and actively using social channels to promote and reinforce brand values.  

Hays

1,265,905 followers

Why it rules: Brand community

 

Hays’ Company Page proudly highlights ‘we are the #1 recruiter on LinkedIn’. This doesn’t mean its consultants are continually stalking and messaging potential candidates (no-one likes being hounded by recruiters on LinkedIn). Instead, the organisation is spending time building a brand community by sharing valuable content. This allows Hays to develop trusting relationships with members.

The recruitment company posts content on a range of subjects, from big data to interview tips. It recently published a Global Gender Diversity Report to mark International Women’s Day. The study included responses from over 11,500 people from across 25 countries and was positively received on LinkedIn, with the update amassing over 200 likes. 

Since its release, Hays can be seen repurposing content from the report to share with followers. This has included news stories on third-party sites, blogs and a SlideShare presentation containing the results.

When embarking on your next research project consider the various ways you can repurpose content to make it easier for your social audience to consume. PDF whitepapers no longer cut it on social media, instead marketers need to focus on breaking down larger pieces of content into easily digestible insights. These can be anything from a six-second Vine to a graphic of top-line takeaways.

Oracle

1,705,533 followers

Why it rules: Simplification

B2B tech giant Oracle uses LinkedIn to simplify its vast and complex service offering by drawing attention to individual product types. The brand links its main Company Page with 10 product-centric Showcase Pages with the aim of creating and nurturing a targeted community of users.

Oracle Marketing Cloud’s page is the largest, with over 18,000 followers. The business uses the page description to clearly define the product and its capabilities:

 

So, instead of following the corporation, individuals can choose the specific service they use regularly to ensure the updates they receive, and interactions they have, are targeted and relevant. The account shares a range of content to inform the modern marketer and ensures professionals are up to speed with latest digital developments by highlighting research as well as relevant news stories.

Additionally, the community aspect of Oracle’s social media marketing is driven by its updates on the ‘Modern Marketing Experience’. This three-day summit brings Marketing Cloud customers together to learn and share. Using this social network to nurture a specific group of customers and help bring those conversations offline shows how powerful LinkedIn is as a brand engagement tool.

Aon

113,978 followers

Why it rules: Employee advocacy

Aon understands that employees hold significant power on LinkedIn and, as a result, it is focusing on enabling its staff to become brand advocates on the professional platform.

In order to do this, the company focuses on transparent (as well as consistent) communications with employees. The marketing department ensures staff are aware of upcoming product launches, campaigns and events through daily, weekly and monthly emails. The marketing team arms employees with a range of content, as well as graphics to make sharing information easier. 

Steve Goldhaber, global senior director of interactive marketing and brand at Aon, explains how to make employee advocacy programmes successful: “We always feel authenticity is an important thing on all social channels. We encourage people to use their own voice, and we don’t mandate every employee uses it. We use a nurturing approach by educating people and making sure they have their voice.

“We might have six pieces of content we ask people to share every week, but someone might share one or two because those are items that fit within their role. We give them content, but they can add a personal perspective to it.”

Meanwhile, the brand understands the growing significance of bitesize content. Aon has moved away from focusing on just creating long-form reports, instead electing to focus on using snappier visuals on social media. The brand is reviewing its enormous library of content to see what can be repurporsed to link to real-time events. Goldhaber adds: “Curation is just as powerful as creation.”

Microsoft

1,810,28

Why it rules: Inspirational stories

Bill Gates’ famous computer software company’s LinkedIn presence draws attention to people – not only its employees and customers, but also inspirational stories about individuals using its products across the globe. The content and updates shared across the platform, from the company and its staff, reinforces its brand message:

“At Microsoft, we aim to empower every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more — and we empower our employees the same way.”

Stories range from personal accounts of the organisation’s new hiring programme that opens doors to people with autism, to how technology can assist education and schooling. As well as being inspiring and motivational, these updates illustrate Microsoft’s dedication to CSR and transforming the workplace to make it fit for the modern era. For instance, it discusses the benefits of flexible working in the UK by sharing persuasive stats. For example, did you know employees could save £3.8 billion and 533 million hours a year in commuting time if more business adopted flexible working hours?

This human-centric approach to social media marketing draws attention to the faces behind the brand, allowing the giant corporation to become more approachable and friendly.

Want to find out how to get the most out of LinkedIn’s marketing features, and engage employees in the process? Our Beginner’s Guide to LinkedIn will show you how, from the basics, through to creating a killer LinkedIn content schedule.

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