We are fortunate to work with interesting clients across a range of different industries.
Today we are sharing with you the LinkedIn Marketing journey we have been on with one of Australia's leading agricultural investment companies. This company's initial goal was to raise funds via LinkedIn, however through a clever LinkedIn Marketing strategy we have been able to deliver so much more.
CASE STUDY - Laguna Bay Pastoral Company
Tim McGavin - Chief Executive Officer & Investment Director
Q1. Was your initial intention to utilise LinkedIn to build brand awareness for LBPC or was it to connect with investors to raise capital for your most recent fund?
Initially, it was to build brand awareness and for networking but it soon became evident that LinkedIn is a brilliant tool for finding target investors and being able to approach them in a way that allows them to filter incoming inquiries by reading your profile. So it has definitely become a terrific way to gain access to institutional funds.
Q2. Did you outsource the fundraising to any external marketing agency?
To start with 5 years ago we did engage an external advisor, this did not work so we went it alone and have since engaged an advisory firm.
Q3. How did you come to use LinkedIn as part of your strategy?
I identified the opportunity LinkedIn offered and after speaking with Lucy Bingle, we embarked on a very successful targeted marketing campaign. On the back of this a further $300M was raised.
Q4. Will you continue to use LinkedIn Marketing at capital raising times in the future?
Most definitely. However, I have also come to appreciate LinkedIn as a powerful marketing tool. We are able to build brand awareness, share knowledge and engage with our network. Doing this all year round keeps Laguna Bay top of mind with potential investors, which no doubt converts to investment dollars in future raisings.
The global finance industry has changed since the global financial crisis as it has brought about less trust in traditional distribution channels, more regulation which in some cases makes it illegal for an advisory or placement agent to approach institutions (the so called "pay to play rules"), therefore LinkedIn has become a very valuable replacement tool to approach these institutions.
Q5. Are you satisfied with your ROI with regard to your LinkedIn Marketing spend?
It’s pretty simple. We needed to raise a fair sum of money, and LinkedIn has played a very important role as a prospecting tool. The on-going monthly retainer we spend to continually amplify our brand is far less than hiring a marketing employee. So long as we’re getting more investors through the door we’re more than satisfied.
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I have an upcoming LinkedIn marketing workshop, Sydney CBD on Thursday 5th November 2015. I would be delighted to HELP you put your "best brand" forward on LinkedIn.
You can register for this event HERE.