The way social media is guiding businesses today is fascinating. Every online marketing strategy today is around social media. It’s just a matter of which social media.

I remember it just like yesterday, I used to conduct events and workshops almost every month, helping businesses understand how to use Facebook as a lead generation tool. Facebook used to be the centre of our marketing universe.

This wasn’t a long time ago. It was just before 3 years.

Slowly, the Facebook magic began dropping, just as every hero becomes a bore at last. My audience was B2B Companies and Facebook was becoming more like a virtual social gathering venue and an overcrowded market. Things did not quite add up. Facebook Fatigue was a real deal.

My clients were NOT on Facebook!!!

For my clients – the serious business professionals – it was just a distraction they wanted to avoid.

I observed the market trends and found my Holy Grail – LinkedIn.

Facebook may be the current largest social media platform there is with over 2.3 billion active users and monthly visits of 1 billion on average. With these stats, it’s easy to assume that this is where you can target and find your clients for your business. Right?

Not really!

I found that LinkedIn is a more effective social media channel when it comes to B2B marketing.

Why? Because that’s where my focused audience is, and that’s where I should be communicating my message.

The numbers of LinkedIn though, do not stack up against Facebook. They have over 600 million users and the number of minutes spent per day is considerably less compared to Facebook. But that does not mean reduces effectiveness. Actually, I found this to be the advantage of LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Vs Facebook

While on paper Facebook may seem to be the obvious choice for marketing with its huge audience, the fact is the mindset in using both platforms are different. Facebook focuses on connecting with friends and family as well as finding content that is interesting on a personal level. LinkedIn, on the other hand, focuses on a professional atmosphere and business.

It’s simple as this: Which place do you think will get you clients by handing out your business cards; in an office building or in a theme park?

The point is, Facebook is primarily for fun while LinkedIn is primarily for business. LinkedIn has proved time and again that it is a more powerful tool in a B2B setting. It has even been reported that 50% of all social traffic that goes into B2B websites or blogs come from LinkedIn. In terms of Lead Generation, LinkedIn (2.74%) surpasses the conversion rate of Facebook (.77%) and even Twitter (.69%). Studies have even shown that 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn.

I see LinkedIn as one of the best sources for leads for me and my clients, and 79% of other marketers agree as well. The next step now is to find and connect with your client on LinkedIn.

Finding your Client on LinkedIn

While this platform offers one of the best ways to generate leads, it is, however, not a magic wand that we simply wave, and you get results. It takes time, determination, and focus on order to achieve the desired results.

Connect on your Terms

First thing you need to do is to connect with people that matter in your business. You can do this by first connecting with the leading people in your industry and move forward from there. Of course, you need to have a proper profile first which should show all your relevant information that might be important to a potential lead.

Keep in Touch

Share your promotions, ideas, and articles about the industry. Do not forget to interact with your followers and connections especially those who comment on your posts. It is also ideal that you participate in commenting on other people’s posts.

You can also use LinkedIn to keep on top of industry leaders and even your competitors, so you know what they are up to.

Be a Thought Leader

Create your voice and be a leader in the industry. Create content around what is happening in the industry and you can use this to show your point of view or your take on it. Be a thought leader. C-suite executives and business decision makers’ admiration of an organisation increase when they engage with thought leadership content.