Company Targeting with LinkedIn: A New Era of Account-Based Marketing

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) has become a pivotal strategy in the B2B marketing landscape, and Velocity, a leading South African marketing agency, is at the forefront of this revolution. As a Platinum HubSpot partner, we are excited to introduce our new service offering that leverages the power of ABM to drive growth and success for our clients. In this article, we will delve into the concept of Company Targeting with LinkedIn, a key component of our ABM strategy.

Covered in this article 

The Power of LinkedIn in ABM
How Company Targeting Works
Integrating LinkedIn with HubSpot
Success Stories
Real-World Application: A Theoretical Scenario
An Overview of Company Targeting 

The Power of LinkedIn in ABM

LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network, offers a unique platform for executing ABM campaigns. With over 13 million company pages, LinkedIn provides an unparalleled opportunity to target specific companies and reach the decision-makers within these organisations. This is achieved through LinkedIn's Company Targeting feature, which allows marketers to run ABM campaigns by matching their target companies against LinkedIn's extensive database.

How Company Targeting Works

The process begins with the preparation of a list of target companies. This list, formatted as a single column with one company per row, should include details such as the company name, website, industry, stock symbol, and company country. LinkedIn allows for the upload of up to 300,000 company names, providing a vast scope for your ABM campaign.

Once the list is prepared and saved as a CSV file, it's time to set up Company Targeting for your LinkedIn ads. This is done on the audience creation page in LinkedIn's Campaign Manager. After uploading your file, it may take up to 48 hours for the list to match and become available for targeting.

Integrating LinkedIn with HubSpot

To further enhance your ABM efforts, LinkedIn can be integrated with audience partners like HubSpot, Adobe, Marketo, Bombora, or G2 Crowd. This integration allows for a more orchestrated approach to your ABM campaigns, ensuring that your marketing efforts are aligned and effective.

Success Stories

Here are the success stories of several companies that have utilised Company Targeting on LinkedIn, presented in terms of the challenges they faced, the solutions they implemented, and the outcomes they achieved:

1. Adobe:

   • Challenge: Adobe was seeking to enhance the focus and clarity of its Account-Based Marketing (ABM) efforts.
   • Solution: Adobe implemented LinkedIn's Company Targeting feature to refine their marketing strategies.
   • Outcome: As a result, Adobe achieved a higher level of precision and clarity in its marketing campaigns.

2. Genesys:

   • Challenge: Genesys needed a structured approach for their marketing and sales teams to pursue accounts strategically.
   • Solution: Genesys employed LinkedIn targeting to provide the necessary structure for their teams.
   • Outcome: This approach enabled Genesys to strategically and effectively pursue its target accounts.

3. Alida:

   • Challenge: Alida was looking to scale its digital programs to drive more conversions as part of its ABM strategy.
   • Solution: Alida leveraged LinkedIn targeting to enhance and scale its digital programs.
   • Outcome: Alida successfully increased its conversion rates by scaling its digital programs using LinkedIn's Company Targeting.

Real-World Application: A Theoretical Scenario

Let's consider a theoretical scenario involving a fictional company, "TechNova," to better understand the practical application of LinkedIn's Company Targeting feature in an ABM strategy:

• Company Profile: TechNova is a South African tech startup specialising in AI-powered cybersecurity solutions. They have identified that their ideal customers are medium to large-sized financial institutions.

• Target Identification: TechNova's marketing team decides to implement an ABM strategy, focusing their efforts on a list of 50 financial institutions they've identified as high-value targets.

• Data Preparation: They gather necessary information about each institution, including the company name, website, industry, stock symbol, and company country, and prepare a CSV file.

• LinkedIn Company Targeting: They upload this file to LinkedIn's Campaign Manager, setting up Company Targeting for their LinkedIn ads. After a 48-hour matching period, TechNova's marketing team can now target their LinkedIn ads specifically to decision-makers within these 50 financial institutions.

• Integration with HubSpot: To enhance its ABM efforts, TechNova integrates its LinkedIn campaign with HubSpot. This allows them to orchestrate their marketing efforts more effectively, aligning their LinkedIn ads with their email marketing, content marketing, and sales outreach initiatives.

• Monitoring and Refinement: Over time, TechNova's marketing team monitors the performance of their ABM campaign, using the insights gathered to refine their strategy.

• Results: They notice an increase in engagement from their target accounts, leading to more qualified leads and, ultimately, an increase in sales conversions.

This theoretical scenario illustrates how LinkedIn's Company Targeting feature can be effectively used in a real-world case. By focusing its efforts on a select group of high-value accounts, TechNova was able to maximise its marketing impact and drive business growth.

An Overview of Company Targeting 

Account-Based Marketing is a powerful strategy that allows businesses to focus their efforts on high-value accounts, driving more conversions and ultimately leading to increased revenue. LinkedIn's Company Targeting feature is a key tool in this approach, providing a platform for businesses to reach their target companies effectively. As a Platinum HubSpot partner, Velocity is excited to bring this innovative approach to our clients, helping them to achieve their marketing goals and drive business growth.