8 Great LinkedIn Groups for B2B Marketers
It is no secret that LinkedIn is a valuable social media platform for B2B marketers. According to a recent report released by Regalix, 91 percent of respondents said that LinkedIn was the most effective channel in terms of helping them reach their target audience.
And according to the “LinkedIn Ads Benchmark Report Q3 2015” published by Marketing Mojo, 79 percent of B2B marketers said that LinkedIn was “effective” at generating leads.
LinkedIn Groups – participation and ownership – can be part of the mix of when it pertains to B2B social media marketing.
Earlier this year, my colleague Phoebe Fasulo wrote a post highlighting several ways B2B marketers can get the most out of LinkedIn Groups. This included best practices for LinkedIn Group management, participation, and establishing a consistent level of communication and engagement.
Here are 8 examples of LinkedIn Groups we have found critical for B2B marketing professionals, based on their coverage of a range of digital marketing strategies, technologies, and discussion opportunities.
Take a look at the following groups and determine how your marketing initiatives could benefit from becoming a member or as an example of successful LinkedIn Group management.
eMarketing Association Network
From the group introduction: Largest and most active Marketing Group with 700,000+ members. Managed by the eMarketing Association, the worlds largest Internet marketing association and open to all interested in Internet Marketing.
Why it’s great: Quite simply, it is one of the largest LinkedIn marketing groups available, run by an experienced team of marketers and supported by the eMarketing Association, an international association of marketers, companies and governments committed to the advancement of marketing in the digital era.
Inbound Marketers – For Marketing Professionals
From the group introduction: A community those looking to reach their best customers online through techniques like inbound marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) and social media.
Why it’s great: The Inbound Marketers group is run by a team of HubSpot members providing guidance on tactics, tips, and best practices around all facets of inbound marketing.
B2B Technology Marketing Community
From the group introduction: With over 80,000 members… this group is designed for marketing professionals to get the latest digital marketing news, enable networking, sharing of ideas, best practices and opportunities.
Why it’s great: This group primarily focuses on the technological aspects of digital marketing, including investment and assessment, implementation, and future trends as it pertains to campaign execution.
Google Analytics
From the group introduction: Google Analytics is widely used in the web analytics industry and is becoming more and more extensive. This group is for all your questions, answers and tips.
Why it’s great: The description is a bit of an understatement since as many as 50 million websites deploy Google Analytics as of late 2015 (source). This LinkedIn group provides support and guidance for the platform and can be used in conjunction with the Analytics Help Center and YouTube channel.
Search Engine Land
From the group introduction: Search Engine Land is a must-read hub for news and information about search engine marketing, SEO, PPC, and how search engines work such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft’s Bing.
Why it’s great: Search Engine Land’s LinkedIn Group is a go-to destination for discussions on all facets of search engine marketing but specifically aspects of search technology, campaign execution, and news related to conferences and events run by Third Door Media (the organization that runs Search Engine Land).
Salesforce.com
From the group introduction: Salesforce.com. Salesforce app ecosystem. Future trends. CRM. Data Science. IoT. Mobile. Highly Selective. Extremely High Readership.
Why it’s great: No I am not a member (yet) but I seriously appreciate the level of management invested in this group’s success. Admin Stephen Cummins runs the Salesforce.com group like a high quality magazine, carefully vetting submissions so engagement, dialogue, and value for members can be better realized.
B2B Sales, Marketing, Social Media & Lead Generation
From the group introduction: Tips and content from the world of B2B appointment setting, B2B lead generation, and general sales & marketing.
Why it’s great: At the end of the day, successful B2B marketing campaigns generate leads and sales opportunities. This group focuses on the connection between sales and marketing, as it pertains to lead generation, outreach, and broader sales-oriented best practices.
BtoB Marketing
From the group introduction: This is a group for everyone involved in B-to-B (aka B2B or business-to-business) marketing, advertising and PR – a place to discuss market developments and opportunities, compare strategies and techniques, and share ideas and experiences.
Why it’s great: The Arketi BtoB Marketing group maintains active conversations on all facets of B2B marketing, as discovered through relevant articles and blog posts from contributors and administrators of the group.
Final Thoughts
This is by no means an exhaustive list; we are confident that there are many more groups that would positively impact B2B marketers, both generally and individually. Consider your own alumni network, industry affiliations, and vendor-specific resources.
That said, we have found the LinkedIn groups outlined above to be some of the most helpful in terms of engaging with experts in the industry and attaining credible information.
If you have had a valuable experience with other LinkedIn groups for B2B marketers, we would love to hear your recommendations and perspective via comments below.