Account-based marketing (ABM) is a strategic approach that focuses marketing efforts on targeted accounts rather than individual contacts. LinkedIn can be a powerful tool for implementing an account-based approach. Here are some tips on using LinkedIn to support ABM efforts:
Identify target accounts
The first step is to determine which accounts you want to focus your efforts on. Ideal target accounts are those that fit your ideal customer profile and have a high likelihood of doing business with you. Factors to consider include:
- Industry
- Company size
- Location
- Technologies used
- Business challenges that your product solves
LinkedIn Sales Navigator makes it easy to search for accounts using filters like these. You can save lists of target accounts to refer back to.
Research target accounts
Thoroughly research each target account to understand their business needs and challenges. LinkedIn is a great place to gather intel on an organization, including:
- Company overview, products/services, and news articles
- Organizational chart to see leadership and decision makers
- Updates and posts from employees that provide insights
- Groups and posts employees are active in
- Skills employees list on their profiles
This information helps you tailor messaging and solutions for each account.
Identify key stakeholders
Within each target account, you need to identify the key stakeholders you need to reach. These may include:
- Executive decision makers
- Influencers and recommendation providers
- Technical buyers
- End users
Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to research individual profiles and determine the role each person plays in the purchase process.
Craft personalized outreach
With an understanding of the account and stakeholders, you can craft messaging, content, and offers tailored specifically for them. Personalized, account-based outreach is much more effective than generic, broad-based marketing. You can personalize:
- Email subject lines and body copy with details about their company
- Content offers addressing their specific needs
- Website or landing page copy with language that resonates
- Ads targeting their demographics, interests, and needs
Distribute targeted content
Develop content tailored to the target accounts. Then, use LinkedIn to distribute content to key stakeholders. Options include:
- Sending InMail messages with relevant content
- Sharing or commenting on posts and asking for feedback
- Joining and participating in Groups related to their interests
- Leveraging employees and connections to share content into target accounts
Serving content specifically aligned to their needs establishes your company as a valued resource.
Engage on LinkedIn and in-person
Interact with key stakeholders where they are active on LinkedIn. Also look for opportunities to engage face-to-face, such as events, tradeshows, and conferences the company attends. Relationship-building is critical for account-based marketing. To engage target accounts:
- Comment on updates and post content they would find interesting
- Like and share their posts to establish reciprocity
- Offer to write guest posts for their company blog or publications
- Look for face-to-face opportunities to network and build rapport
Run targeted LinkedIn ads
You can run customized LinkedIn ads targeting the names of specific accounts or contacts within those accounts. This captures their attention more effectively than generic ads. ABM ads help you:
- Increase awareness within target accounts
- Promote content to accounts when you know they are active
- Engage accounts with retargeting after they’ve visited your site
- Display ads on LinkedIn Pages for visibility
Monitor clicks, engagement, and conversions from your account list to optimize over time.
Segment and personalize at scale
While account-based marketing starts very targeted, you can still scale your efforts to expand your reach. Leverage segments and personalized content to make individual contacts feel you are speaking directly to them. You can:
- Create segments in Sales Navigator based on employee demographics, interests, skills, and more
- Personalize content using merge tags with website personalization tools
- Craft targeted ads for different segments within your target accounts
- Send InMail messages with merge tags personalized for each recipient
Track target account engagement
To refine your approach, track engagement within target accounts to see what content and messaging resonates. Monitoring tools like LinkedIn Insights let you see:
- Who engages with your posts and content
- What interests and priorities your targets have
- When your targets are most active on LinkedIn
Use these insights to re-prioritize your outreach for maximum impact.
Measure target account impact
Ultimately, the success of your account-based marketing depends on sales pipeline and revenue influence. Make sure to track metrics like:
- Website traffic and leads from target accounts
- Sales qualified leads and opportunities from target accounts
- Closed deals and revenue attributed to target accounts
- Expanded spend in existing target accounts (upsell/cross-sell)
Continuously refine your account list based on results over time.
Conclusion
With LinkedIn’s targeting capabilities and depth of account data, it’s an invaluable platform for identifying, connecting with, and engaging decision makers at your most valuable accounts. An intelligent account-based approach fuels pipeline, revenue growth, and customer retention.
ABM Phase | LinkedIn Capabilities |
---|---|
Identify target accounts | Search based on filters like industry, size, tech stack |
Research accounts | Company Pages, employee profiles and activity |
Identify stakeholders | Research roles and responsibilities |
Craft personalized outreach | Tailor messaging and content |
Distribute targeted content | InMail, employee advocacy, Groups |
Engage accounts | Comment on updates, connect in-person |
Run LinkedIn ads | Target by account lists and contacts |
Personalize at scale | Audience segmentation and dynamic content |
Track engagement | LinkedIn Insights |
Measure pipeline and revenue | CRM attribution and reporting |