B2B LinkedIn Marketing Tips: Balancing Brand Recognition and Direct Response

In digital marketing, it’s often said that customers don’t buy from brands they don’t know. This notion holds especially true when diving into the dynamic waters of B2B marketing on LinkedIn. Establishing a strong brand presence can make all the difference in your quest to generate valuable sales leads.

Here, MSPC senior director of digital strategy Anthony Englund explains how a 60/40 split between branding and direct response tactics for B2B marketing has led to higher conversion rates on LinkedIn.

Finding the balance between brand-building and driving immediate customer action is what we’re all after. Research from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) presented in the LinkedIn Marketing Playbook reveals that a harmonious 60/40 split between branding and direct response is the ideal balance to make your mark in this competitive space.

The IPA says this is true of digital and traditional marketing. This research reinforces that successful marketing is a delicate dance between cultivating brand recognition and encouraging immediate customer action.

Synchronizing Brand and Demand on LinkedIn

But here’s where it gets even more intriguing—synchronizing your brand and demand objectives within a single campaign on LinkedIn Ad Solutions has proven to be a game-changer for us and our clients at MSPC by significantly increasing campaign conversion rates.

Recent findings underscore that this strategic fusion leads to significantly enhanced performance compared to keeping them separate.

The IPA’s Marketing Effectiveness in the Digital Era study revealed a remarkable insight: Campaigns focused solely on acquisition tend to have an average conversion rate of just 0.2%. However, when you simultaneously activate both brand and acquisition ads, that conversion rate experiences a substantial boost, jumping to 1.2%.

This revelation is more than just a statistic; it’s a testament to the transformative power of combining brand recognition and direct response within your B2B LinkedIn marketing strategy. It’s a shift in perspective that demonstrates the importance of crafting a cohesive narrative that builds brand equity and compels prospects to take action.

Several of our clients have found success with brand plus demand on LinkedIn. One technology services provider, in particular, puts this concept into practice.

The client regularly runs brand campaigns to raise awareness of new services and to amplify existing products and offerings. They couple this with LinkedIn form-fill campaigns driving to strategy papers and other content that move prospects deeper into the buyer funnel. The client’s campaigns regularly perform 3-5 times the benchmark for LinkedIn campaigns.

End Result: Streamlined Conversions

When you can deliver thought leadership or subject matter expert content directly to the decision-makers who matter most, it significantly streamlines converting them.

We have helped many clients achieve strong results with LinkedIn campaigns. Try it to see if this strategy lifts engagement in your demand-generation activities. We think you’ll be glad you did.

To learn more, email Anthony Englund, senior director of digital strategy, at [email protected].