Engaging Professional Audiences on LinkedIn

How Brands Can Unlock First-Party Data and Connections

Report by Jillian Ryan  | Jan 30, 2020
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
LinkedIn in 2020
Implementing a Robust Organic Approach
Advertising on LinkedIn
Best Practices for Using Sales Navigator
Key Takeaways
eMarketer Interviews
Read Next
Sources
Media Gallery
About This Report
With a wealth of first-party professional audience data, LinkedIn is sitting on a valuable asset. This report explains how marketers and advertisers can best use LinkedIn’s tools to reach and engage users on the social network.
Topics
Social Media Marketing
B2B Marketing
B2B Sales
United States
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
LinkedIn in 2020
Implementing a Robust Organic Approach
Advertising on LinkedIn
Best Practices for Using Sales Navigator
Key Takeaways
eMarketer Interviews
Read Next
Sources
Media Gallery

Executive Summary

Considered a slow follower when pitted against Facebook, LinkedIn has made strides in recent years. New offerings across organic, paid and sales can help brands reach and engage LinkedIn’s audience of professional users.

How many people use LinkedIn?

We forecast that LinkedIn will have 62.1 million adult users in the US in 2020, up 6.2% from 2019.

What are LinkedIn Pages?

For marketers looking to build an organic strategy on LinkedIn, Pages serve as a starting place to gain followers, build a community, and share relevant company updates and content.

Which companies use LinkedIn ads?

Though LinkedIn isn’t the most popular social network for advertising, nearly half of agency and marketing professionals worldwide invested their ad budget into the platform, according to May 2019 research from Hanapin. In 2020, LinkedIn will net $1.59 billion in US ad revenues, according to our October 2019 estimates. B2B companies are more likely to use LinkedIn, but some B2C brands with a high consideration period or lifetime value are finding success on the platform.

How do advertisers target audiences on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn generates audiences for advertisers based on campaign objectives. But advertisers can also build their own audiences and layer in various attributes to customize the segment with demographic, firmographic and behavioral data. When targeting professionals, interviewees said LinkedIn has the most unique data on professional audiences.

How can companies best use LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator?

Sales Navigator is a paid tool that companies purchase for their sales teams to research and engage with prospects on LinkedIn. Sellers should use this tool as a supplement to a CRM and other marketing communication and automation tools within a larger B2B sales strategy.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report will cover best practices for organic, paid and sales strategies on LinkedIn.

Share of US Marketers Using LinkedIn, 2017-2021 (% of total)
E-Mail ChartDownload

KEY STAT: Half of US marketers from companies with more than 100 employees will use LinkedIn this year, according to our January 2020 estimates.

Here’s what’s in the full report

2files

Exportable files for easy reading, analysis and sharing.

14charts

Reliable data in simple displays for presentations and quick decision making.

25expert perspectives

Insights from industry and company leaders.

Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. LinkedIn in 2020
  3. Implementing a Robust Organic Approach
  4. Advertising on LinkedIn
  1. Best Practices for Using Sales Navigator
  2. Key Takeaways
  3. eMarketer Interviews
  4. Read Next
  1. Sources
  2. Media Gallery

Charts in This Report

Share of US Marketers Using LinkedIn, 2017-2021 (% of total)What Channels Do US B2B Marketing Decision-Makers Use to Consume Information and Research Vendor Solutions? (% of respondents, Dec 2018)
Which Social Media Platform Do US Millennial B2B Professionals Trust the Most to Receive Job/Industry Info? (% of respondents, Sep 2019)Role of Social Media in US* Millennial B2B Professionals' Research Process, Sep 2019 (% of respondents)
What Social Media Platforms Do US B2B Marketing Professionals Use? (% of respondents, Sep 2019)UK & US B2B Lead Sources, by Social Network, Oct 1-Nov 1, 2019 (% of total)
Best Social Media Platforms for Lead Generation According to US B2B Marketers, Sep 2019 (% of respondents)Leading Social Media Platforms B2B Marketers in North America Use for Organic vs. Paid Content Marketing, July 2019 (% of respondents)
How Do Marketers Worldwide Plan to Change Their Organic LinkedIn Activities over the Next Year? (% of respondents, Jan 2019)US LinkedIn Ad Revenues, 2017-2021 (billions and % change)
In Which Social Media Platforms Are Agency/Marketing Professionals Worldwide Currently Investing Their Ad Budget? (% of respondents, by platform, May 2019)How Do Marketers Worldwide Plan to Change Their Use of LinkedIn Ads Over the Next Year? (% of respondents, Jan 2019)
Most Effective Ad Formats on LinkedIn According to Agency/Marketing Professionals Worldwide, May 2019 (% of respondents)Which Version of LinkedIn Are US B2B Sales Professionals Using? (% of respondents, Feb 2019)

Interviewed for This Report

Julbert Abraham
Abraham Global Marketing (AGM)
CEO
Interviewed October 18, 2019
Rob Balasabas
Thinkific
Social Media and Community Manager
Interviewed October 30, 2019
Vincent Barr
Stokefield
Founder
Interviewed October 18, 2019
Doug Camplejohn
LinkedIn
Vice President, Product Management, Sales Solutions
Interviewed October 24, 2019
Phillip Chan
Wells Fargo
Digital Marketing Consultant
Interviewed October 16, 2019
Yuri Daniels
Zenefits
Director, Performance Marketing
Interviewed October 29, 2019
Hannah Elemary
gyro
Search Strategist
Interviewed October 15, 2019
Beth Granger
Beth Granger Consulting: Intrepid Social
CEO
Interviewed October 16, 2019
Matt Hutchinson
WhiteHat Security
Vice President, Marketing
Interviewed October 18, 2019
Rishi Jobanputra
Senior Director, Product Management
LinkedIn
Interviewed December 19, 2019
Jessi Link
gyro
Senior Search Strategist
Interviewed October 15, 2019
Andrea Moe
Senior Director, Marketing
Videa
Interviewed October 18, 2019
Lucy Moran
Dun & Bradstreet
Vice President, Integrated Marketing, Brand and Digital
Interviewed October 30, 2019
Heike Neumann
Oracle
Senior Director, Oracle Marketing Cloud
Interviewed October 16, 2019
Lee Odden
TopRank Marketing
CEO and Co-Founder
Interviewed October 10, 2019
Keith Richey
LinkedIn
Senior Director, Global Marketing
Interviewed September 19, 2019
Abhishek Shrivastava
LinkedIn
Senior Director, Product Management
Interviewed January 23, 2020
Mike Stocker
Vice President, Strategic Partnerships
RollWorks
Interviewed January 16, 2020
Alex Stolarski
DWA, a Merkle Company
Director, Paid Social
Interviewed October 9, 2019
Jamie Taylor
Vendasta
Director, Enterprise Marketing
Interviewed October 22, 2019
Kieley Taylor
Managing Partner, Global Head of Social
GroupM
Interviewed November 7, 2019
Ryan Wenstrup-Moore
gyro
Associate Director, Social Media
Interviewed October 18, 2019
AJ Wilcox
B2Linked
Founder
Interviewed October 18, 2019
Tim Williams
Onalytica
CEO
Interviewed October 24, 2019
Yael Wissner-Levy
Lemonade
Vice President, Communications
Interviewed October 28, 2019

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authors

Jillian Ryan

Contributors

Eric Haggstrom
Forecasting Analyst
Nazmul Islam
Junior Forecasting Analyst
Oscar Orozco
Senior Forecasting Analyst
Nicole Perrin
Principal Analyst
Melissa Rosenberg
Senior Researcher
Debra Aho Williamson
Principal Analyst