With so many social media options out there, it’s important to discern which are best for your business. Of all the social media platforms out there, LinkedIn has proven itself to be particularly favored by business people. If that’s where your customers hang out, a strong LinkedIn strategy will set your business apart.

Now it’s true, LinkedIn isn’t the platform for reaching every customer. LinkedIn has a more professional tone and personality, but this distinction is why LinkedIn is particularly perfect in many B2B applications.

While many marketers may have a one-track social media mind (Facebook! Facebook! Facebook!), it turns out your LinkedIn strategy shouldn’t go on the back burner or become an afterthought. In fact, 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn and 94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute content.

Here are four ways your LinkedIn strategy will help you reach more customers.

1. Turn Customers into Advocates with Sharable Content

With shareable content, your customers go from patrons to fans and brand advocates. Marketers often think shareable content is just for Facebook, but the truth is, shareable content on LinkedIn gets you connected and noticed.

When considering shareable content, always weigh the value to current AND potential customers. Content like checklists, infographics, videos, and case studies are all popular sharing options. Content featuring company updates or important industry developments is newsworthy and also very helpful for attracting customers and giving them an easy method to spread the word.

While those cute kitten videos from other social media sites may not have a home on LinkedIn, posting high quality content that solves a problem for the audience in your industry will provide customers with an easy, shareable piece to pass on. Creating click-worthy, valuable, intriguing content should be a strong part of your LinkedIn strategy.

2. Generate Leads from Your Company Page

Your LinkedIn strategy helps you connect with more B2B leads right through your company’s profile page. It’s all about capturing your potential audience’s attention with great visuals and a compelling pitch right in your company description.

So many marketers ignore the opportunity to sway customers in their company profile language, instead opting for the typical yawn-inducing “about us” blurb. Think about the end goal and go for the conversion! If your customers miss your CTA in your description, hit them again with a clickable conversion-focused Recent Updates section.

Your company page on LinkedIn should explain what your brand will do for your customers. Target your audience with a complete, robust, eye catching LinkedIn profile page for your company.

3. Set Yourself Apart as an Industry Leader

If you aren’t using Linked to spread the word about your company, you’re missing out. LinkedIn offers a free tool for publishing long-form content right to your personal network. Best of all, the LinkedIn publishing platform (formerly known as Pulse and now known as “Follow Fresh Perspectives”), targets business professionals with similar interests so you show up in their newsfeed as well.

Sharing whitepapers and posts through LinkedIn is a great way to get your writing out there. If you have a blog on your company website, there’s no need to do twice the work, either. Simply paste in the first few paragraphs from your article and include a shareable link.

Posting about your knowledge establishes you as a leader in your industry. Rather than searching for your blog directly, customers and potential customers are more likely to click the link from the trusted source of LinkedIn. From there, they’ll be funneled to your website where you can really connect.

4. Give Your Sales Team a Professional Avenue to Connect with Leads

Your LinkedIn strategy should include a plan to stay regularly active and engaged on the platform. This means your sales team should become active members of LinkedIn groups, a great way to connect with and generate new leads.

Encourage your sales team to spend time in LinkedIn groups targeted to your industry and buyer personas. Take a look at the groups your existing customers (and your competitors) belong to and grow your search from there.

Before joining groups look at the size—your sales team should aim for groups that hit the sweet spot: not so big your message gets lost, but not so small the leads are limited. It’s also important to look at the rules of the group to ensure your sales team can share promotional content (some groups forbid any sales and promotion).

One important caveat when it comes to any social media strategy is to avoid “building your house on rented land.” In other words, always use your social media connections to drive your customers to your website and build connections on your own turf. Ultimately, your LinkedIn strategy should focus on driving traffic to you and building your list. LinkedIn should serve as a channel to get visitors to your website, where your company really shines!