By Richard Broughton, Brand and Marketing Director, The MTM Agency
When you think about LinkedIn, what springs to mind? Unsolicited messages from recruitment consultants? An endless stream of ill-considered sales pitches? Tick and tick. Personally, my biggest bugbear is people treating the business-focused platform like a narcissistic therapy session in the hope that strangers reaffirm their worth with hollow platitudes. But I am old and curmudgeonly, and I digress!
For the energy and renewables sector, LinkedIn offers so much more than these clichés. With over 900 million users globally, the platform provides brands with a genuine opportunity to drive growth, build strategic partnerships, and position your brand as a thought leader in an industry undergoing rapid transformation. But only if your strategy is right.
In this article, we’ll explore how to strategically use LinkedIn to grow relationships and stay ahead in a competitive landscape.
Why LinkedIn matters for the energy sector
For senior decision-makers within the energy and renewables sectors, LinkedIn offers a unique space to engage with peers, potential partners, and clients. According to a 2024 HubSpot report, LinkedIn generates 80% of B2B leads from social media, proving it’s not just a place for professional chit-chat but an actual growth driver.
This is particularly relevant in this sector, where building trust and long-term relationships is critical. The decision-making process is often complex and involves a wide array of stakeholders, from policymakers and procurement managers to sustainability officers and engineers. LinkedIn allows you to engage with your audience at every stage of the buying journey, from awareness to consideration to decision-making.
Building a powerful LinkedIn strategy for B2B marketing in the energy industry
It’s not enough to simply have a presence on LinkedIn. In an industry as nuanced and global as energy and renewables, you need a well-thought-out strategy to ensure your business stands out. Here’s how to do it:
1. Optimise your profile to reflect expertise and innovation
Your company’s LinkedIn profile is your digital shop window. In this sector, where expertise, reliability, and sustainability are critical, your profile must project authority and credibility. Ensure that your company page clearly communicates your mission, vision, and values, but more importantly, emphasises your expertise and innovative approach to energy solutions.
Highlight your achievements in the industry, from case studies and partnerships to certifications and industry accolades. Use a mixture of media—videos, whitepapers, infographics, and thought leadership articles—to show that you’re at the cutting edge of the energy revolution. Don’t just talk about sustainability—demonstrate how your company is implementing it.
2. Leverage thought leadership content to build trust
In the B2B world, credibility is currency. Decision-makers across sectors, especially energy, seek partners who can demonstrate a deep understanding of industry challenges, trends, and regulations. Regularly publishing thought leadership content on LinkedIn is an excellent way to build that trust.
According to LinkedIn, companies that regularly post thought leadership content see 5x more engagement than those that don’t. Share insights on regulatory changes, emerging technologies, or the latest environmental policies to position your business as a thought leader. For example, explore how digital technologies like AI and blockchain are transforming energy supply chains or discuss the implications of the latest COP26 agreements on energy companies.
Real-world case studies are particularly compelling. Consider sharing how your company helped implement renewable energy solutions or managed complex energy transition projects. These stories not only provide valuable insights but they also position your brand as a trusted partner capable of delivering results in an evolving landscape.
3. Target the right audience with LinkedIn’s advanced tools
LinkedIn is a powerful advertising platform, and its targeting capabilities allow you to connect with the right people – whether you're looking to engage decision-makers in oil and gas or build relationships in the renewables sector. According to LinkedIn, advertisers using its targeting capabilities achieve 33% higher conversion rates than those using traditional methods.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator can be particularly effective for energy companies, allowing you to perform highly targeted lead searches. With filters like industry, job title, seniority, and even company growth trajectory, you can pinpoint key stakeholders involved in procurement, policymaking, or sustainability initiatives. Companies using Sales Navigator report close deals 45% faster than traditional methods.
This precision targeting ensures that your message reaches the decision-makers who matter most—whether they’re procurement managers in renewable energy or policymakers driving sustainability initiatives.
4. Use employee advocacy to amplify your brand’s reach
Building a reputation isn’t just the marketing department's job. Employee advocacy—where your team members share your company’s content on their own LinkedIn profiles—can significantly increase your brand’s visibility and credibility.
Encourage your employees to share thought leadership pieces, company news, or their personal insights into industry developments. This not only broadens your company’s reach but also humanises your brand. When employees are seen as trusted voices in the sector, it enhances your company’s reputation as a leader in energy and renewables.
5. Engage with your audience to foster relationships
LinkedIn isn’t a one-way street. Simply posting content isn’t enough to drive B2B growth. You must actively engage with your audience by responding to comments, starting discussions, and joining relevant LinkedIn Groups. The energy sector is filled with niche groups where professionals discuss everything from energy-related technology to sustainability initiatives.
Engaging in these groups by answering questions, sharing knowledge, or participating in discussions can help you build relationships with key industry players. In a sector as relationship-driven as energy, this level of engagement can significantly enhance your B2B efforts.
6. Use LinkedIn to supercharge your ABM campaigns
Account-based marketing (ABM) is particularly powerful in the energy and renewables sector, where deals often involve multiple decision-makers and long sales cycles. LinkedIn is an invaluable platform for executing ABM strategies because of its ability to offer hyper-targeted, personalised outreach to key accounts.
LinkedIn’s ABM capabilities allow you to build tailored campaigns that focus on specific companies or even individual decision-makers. By combining LinkedIn’s Matched Audiences feature with your CRM data or a list of target accounts, you can serve relevant, customised content directly to the people who matter most.
For example, if you are targeting large energy firms or government bodies involved in sustainability initiatives, you can use LinkedIn’s precise targeting tools to reach not only procurement officers but also sustainability executives, engineers, and policymakers who have an influence on purchasing decisions. Once you’ve identified the key stakeholders, use personalised sponsored content or InMail campaigns to deliver tailored messages that address their specific pain points and industry challenges.
According to LinkedIn, brands using their platform for ABM see a 42% higher engagement rate compared to traditional marketing approaches. By leveraging LinkedIn for your ABM efforts, you can build stronger relationships with key accounts, personalise your messaging, and drive higher engagement, ultimately leading to more successful deals.
Long-term success: Leveraging data for informed decisions
Finally, data is your friend. LinkedIn’s analytics tools provide insights into how your content performs, who engages with your posts, and what type of content resonates most with your target audience. This data is invaluable for refining your LinkedIn strategy over time to ensure you’re continuously driving engagement and growth.
For example, LinkedIn Analytics allows you to track the performance of specific posts, see demographic data on your followers, and measure the effectiveness of your sponsored campaigns. Energy companies should use this data to make informed decisions about where to focus their efforts and how to optimise their content for maximum impact.
Applying this principle to your LinkedIn strategy will help you drive long-term success by continually optimising your engagement with key decision-makers.
Final thought…
LinkedIn offers companies several opportunities to drive growth, build lasting relationships, and position themselves as leaders in a rapidly evolving sector. By following best practices – optimising your profile, sharing thought leadership content, using advanced targeting tools, and leveraging employee advocacy – your business can transform its LinkedIn presence into a powerful engine for growth.
The key takeaway? LinkedIn is not just a networking tool – it’s a strategic asset that can drive meaningful growth in the energy sector. In an industry facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities, the time to fully harness LinkedIn’s potential is now. Make sure your business isn’t just present on LinkedIn but leading the conversation, forging partnerships, and setting the standard for innovation.