Think LinkedIn is only for B2B? Think again.

With more than one third of all professionals on the planet on LinkedIn, there is a ripe opportunity for consumer brands to leverage the buying power of professionals. A new research report from LinkedIn (available here) highlights the opportunities for consumer brands on the platform but I've read the report so you don't have to.

Here's why LinkedIn thinks you should focus more attention on LinkedIn for your marketing activities:

A premium quality audience LinkedIn is a prime audience for high-consideration consumer products with 92% of members making the household decisions. They are also brand advocates with 86% of respondents to the research saying, "When I find a brand I like, I stick to it” and 78% saying, “I’m typically willing to pay more for high-quality items”. On top of all that LinkedIn professionals have more buying power than other social platforms according to the comScore Buying Power Index 2013.

In an aspirational mindset Opportunity for marketers to align their brands with members’ professional success in a trusted environment. Professional success drives their large purchase.

Influenced more by their professional networks Shared content among peers on LinkedIn impact personal purchase decisions. 51% of those surveyed trusted consumer information being shared on the platform compared to 23% on Twitter and 14% on Facebook. 58% said, “If someone on LinkedIn shared an update about a new product, I would be more interested in the product”.

A unique audience LinkedIn reaches more professional consumers than most other key business sites. Here in Ireland alone there is over 1 million people registered for the platform. 47% of Linkedin users read news or information from consumer brands on LinkedIn at least once a month. The study also finds that the youngest members – aged 18-24 – seek out the most content about B2C brands, and are particularly interested in upcoming innovations from companies.

In summary, consumer marketers on LinkedIn can...

• Align their brands with members’ professional successes
• Reach a prime audience of high-quality brand advocates
• Leverage an innovative platform for consumer product launches
• Raise consumer brand awareness in a trusted environment

Some of the world's most influential consumers are on LinkedIn. Here are just a few examples that might make you reevaluate your approach to LinkedIn. If you would like to improve your organisation's LinkedIn presence please contact me on [email protected]

Martyn is an Account Manager with Wilson Hartnell, the Irish office of Ogilvy PR. He blogs on all things PR here. You can follow Martyn on Twitter at@martynrosney.