LinkedIn has surpassed one billion users and solidified its position as the world's largest professional network. This growth coincides with a significant cultural shift in consumer behavior. A report by Matter Communications highlights that trust in individual or influencer recommendations now outweighs brand messaging for a vast majority of consumers, with 69 per cent trusting individuals and influencers and only 39 per cent preferring brand marketing.
In this article, we spoke with Joe Kevens, the former director of demand generation at PartnerStack, to gain his insights on the key advantages and challenges of using LinkedIn and best practices for success. Let’s dive in.
Why LinkedIn is a key platform for B2B go-to-market strategies
Social media has become the primary channel for consumers to discover, research and review products. And LinkedIn, in particular, has emerged as a leading channel for B2B go-to-market strategies. However, leveraging LinkedIn effectively requires expertise.
The role of LinkedIn in B2B sales and marketing
LinkedIn’s platform is uniquely positioned as a tool for B2B sales because of the nature of the content and its audience. LinkedIn is made for professionals and users are logging on with a business mindset, so convincing them of the usefulness of your SaaS product is not a tall order.
Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn is the top choice of business decision makers, with The Financial Times reporting a 35 per cent increase in the number of US-based C-suite leaders on the platform in 2024. That’s a lot of potential for B2B marketers looking to close deals.
LinkedIn’s strengths in lead generation and thought leadership
Successful lead generation is directly linked to a thoughtful go-to-market strategy. LinkedIn is one of the best platforms for generating high-quality leads, with HubSpot reporting that LinkedIn is three times more effective for lead generation than Facebook and Twitter.
As Kevens sees it, the main reason is that LinkedIn users add trust and authenticity to brand messaging or paid promotion. For example, if a customer or B2B influencer posts positively about your company, your demand gen team can utilize that post into a paid ad.
Combined with the extensive targeting capabilities and network, this creates an ideal environment for high-quality lead generation.
The pros of using LinkedIn for GTM strategy
There’s a reason 82 per cent of B2B marketers are seeing their greatest success with LinkedIn. Here are some of the most notable benefits of using LinkedIn for your go-to-market strategy.
Ability to target advertising to a professional audience and industry leaders
As a demand generation expert, Kevens emphasizes the extensive targeting options for paid advertising as one of LinkedIn's greatest strengths. Tailored messaging for specific ICPs is essential for optimizing ad spend and generating high-quality leads, especially in B2B.
The effectiveness of targeting is partly due to LinkedIn's profile structure. "With a professional profile, everyone fills in every detail. Job function, job title, current employer and every detail that enables you to target the right accounts," Kevens explains.
The granularity is powerful. LinkedIn reported that brands have seen a 33 per cent increase in purchase intent from ad exposure on the platform.
Related: 10 partnership leaders to follow on LinkedIn.
Strong thought leadership and co-marketing potential
If you use any social media platform, you most likely see co-marketing in action everyday with companies or thought leaders teaming up to increase their reach. Tags, content features or just resharing content allows similar businesses or individuals to work together to tap into new audiences and drive mutually beneficial business. This is particularly effective for go-to-market motions.
Kevens sees co-marketing as a major advantage of LinkedIn, especially for B2B partnerships. “If you're partnering with other companies to put on an event, you could tag each other and then the audience kind of becomes aware of all three,” he notes. This way, companies can further leverage partners for easy marketing wins on LinkedIn.
Employee advocacy and organic brand growth
Another benefit of LinkedIn is that because it’s where industry leaders are talking about their workflows — including the tools they love or what they’re working on — it becomes a hub of organic content that can convince your ICP of the value of your SaaS. Posts from customers and employees are more likely to convince a prospect that your tool is the right fit for them — and these can be amplified by your company’s account organically and with paid boosting. According to LinkedIn, the three per cent of employees who share posts about their company are responsible for a 30 per cent increase in engagement with the company’s page.
Advanced reporting and CRM integrations for granular tracking
Attribution is crucial for determining which go-to-market efforts contribute to pipeline and revenue. That's why Kevens highlights LinkedIn's analytics and reporting tools as another valuable asset.
He notes that LinkedIn’s reporting capabilities have significantly increased over time, calling their new CRM integration a game-changer. “If you connect it with your CRM, you can see how all your LinkedIn posts are influencing your sales opportunities and revenue. You can see what seems to be resonating with your audience and shape your go-to-market strategy from there.”
You might also like: The top courses and certifications to level up your career in partnerships.
The challenges with using LinkedIn
While LinkedIn offers significant advantages, it's essential to be aware of the challenges.
High advertising costs and limited organic reach
Keeping go-to-market costs low is key for maximizing ROI. Unfortunately, LinkedIn ads are considerably more expensive compared to other platforms.
Kevens notes that this is an important consideration for companies deciding which social channels to pursue. He explains, “LinkedIn is more expensive; you pay a premium for it. That added targeting, it comes with a cost.”
Time-intensive content creation and engagement management
LinkedIn’s platform isn’t magic — it’s your network that matters. The impact LinkedIn can have on your go-to-market strategy is directly related to the size of your network. If you rarely post on LinkedIn or have only connected with one off co-workers, building that network from the ground up can be a lofty time investment.
Kevens adds, “You can't just post once in a blue moon. You have to be consistent. You have to regularly post and show up.” He explains that posting is just one aspect of building your LinkedIn presence. It also requires daily engagement and great content, both time-consuming in their own right.
“Cultivating an audience, having the right content, making it work does take a lot of time, effort, and coordination with a lot of people,” he warns.
LinkedIn’s pay-to-play model for effective marketing
Like other social platforms, in order to see the best results, companies will likely need to spend some coin. Organic reach on LinkedIn has dropped approximately 65 per cent from 2024 to 2025 — meaning it will be harder to get your posts in front of the same number of eyeballs as you were just last year. On the other hand, engagement rate for individuals has gone up. While this is likely good news for individual thought leaders, it may mean that brands have to work harder to get seen.
Balancing opportunity cost of other strategies
B2B companies are notorious for running lean teams. Therefore, most channel strategies need to be assessed by their opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is the loss of other alternatives when one solution is chosen.
Kevens notes that to successfully run LinkedIn as a go-to-market channel, someone internally will be required to manage it. He explains, “Then there’s that opportunity cost. Is there something else that they could be doing that you could get more from?”
How to maximize LinkedIn’s potential for your go-to-market strategy
Now that you’ve got a better understanding of what benefits and challenges you can expect, Kevens shares some best practices to keep in mind as you get started.
- Optimize your profile. Your profile is the foundation for establishing your brand and legitimacy. Make sure both your personal and company profiles are complete, engaging and clearly convey your brand and value proposition.
- Create engaging content. Regular, high-quality content is key to growing your presence. Kevens suggests incorporating "hot takes" — opinions that spark discussion and encourage engagement. "Put something out that 80 per cent of your audience would agree with, but 20 per cent wouldn't," he advises.
- Identify strategic opportunities. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to LinkedIn. Tailor your strategy to your unique strengths and opportunities. This might involve thought leadership from company executives or turning positive customer feedback into paid promotions.
Is LinkedIn the tight GTM channel for your business?
LinkedIn can be a game changer for B2B companies looking to go-to-market. However, it requires a strategic approach and dedicated effort. By understanding the advantages, navigating the challenges, and implementing best practices, you can tap into LinkedIn to achieve your business goals in 2025.
This article was originally published in October 2024.
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