Five reasons why LinkedIn should be one of your primary B2G marketing tools

LinkedIn has become become an integral part of the GovCon ecosystem, inserting itself seemlessly into our everyday activities.

While nearly everyone uses LinkedIn to some degree, only a small percentage use it effectively. 

It is now common practice for virtually everyone in our market to vet people by looking at their LinkedIn profiles, checking out shared connections and groups, and taking a quick look at their previous positions.

Still, that small percentage take it to a higher level.

Here are a few things you should know so you can take better advantage of what LinkedIn offers.

1) Your audience is here. 

There are over 2 million Feds on LinkedIn: 15%+ with IT titles; 40%+ with management, program or project management titles; and 5%+with senior management tiles.\

2) It's affordable- it fits ANY budget. There are many things you can do on LinkedIn that don't cost anything.

3) It is a great content and news sharing venue. 

You can blog (post) on LinkedIn, share articles from other sources, post them in your groups, send them directly to key influencers, and more.

4) You can develop SME platforms. 

If you or someone on your team is a legitimate SME, their profile can (and should) reflect this area of expertise in several ways.

5) It's easy to expand your reach with current accounts (ABM). If your business focuses on one or just a few agencies, you can develop an agency-focused marketing program using LinkedIn.

As the GovCon universe continues to evolve, especially in these turbulent times, it is important to use all of the available tools to position your company for stability and growth.

If you are interested in seeing how LinkedIn can help you and your company, drop me a line- mark@federaldirect.net

My Top Articles, LinkedIn & Blog Posts from 2017

I write every day. 

In 2017, I published 50 newsletters, 15 blog posts, 12 articles on www.WashingotnTechnology.com , and 8 posts on LinkedIn. And as many of you know, I also host a weekly show on www.FederalNewsradio.com  

In 2015 I started listing my top LinkedIn posts for the previous year. I did this based on views. As I am writing less frequently on LinkedIn (see the reason below), I am including my WashTech articles and my blog posts in my list for 2017.

I have selected the top five from my blog and WashTech, and four from LinkedIn, each source listed separately and by date published.

I have included a short recap for each. When you have time, I hope you will take a look at a few.

Top five 2017 posts from my blog- http://blog.federaldirect.net/

http://blog.federaldirect.net/2017/02/why-era-of-big-govcon-shows-is-past.html   (3/7/17; 1.058 views). Small, focused events have replaced the larger, expensive conferences in the government community.

http://blog.federaldirect.net/2017/03/some-thoughts-on-gwacs-amtower-off.html (the return of my Off-White papers. 2nd of 2 posts on GWACs; 3/4/71; 2,121 views). Why GWACs and other IDIQs have become more important and hotly contested.

http://blog.federaldirect.net/2017/05/var-wars-continues-art-richer-moves-to.html (the GovCon VAD wars just got more interesting; 5/3/17; 820 views). Why Art richer moving to DLT is important event for channel players in GovCon. An under-reported event.

http://blog.federaldirect.net/2017/06/social-selling-as-end-of-fy-and-year.html  (6/4/17, 2,680 views). LinkedIn and social selling have become part of the GovCon ecosystem, and why those not utilizing social selling are missing out.

http://blog.federaldirect.net/2017/08/are-you-small-contractor-in-need-of.html  (8/27/17; 2,991 views). Oddly enough, my most viewed post from 2017 was an advertisement for my small biz marketing program.

My Top Five 2017 Articles from WashTech

https://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2017/01/31/insights-amtower-goals-strategies.aspx  (1/31/17). The difference between goals and strategy in GovCon, and the importance of setting attainable goals.

https://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2017/05/02/insights-amtower-mythbusting.aspx (5/2/17). Sever myths that persist in the GovCon arena for those new to the market and a warning to be aware!

https://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2017/09/21/insights-amtower-fiscal-2018-strategy-tips.aspx (9/21/17). Five tactics to help any company grow marktshare.

https://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2017/11/02/insights-amtower-account-based-marketing.aspx (11/2/17). Five steps to launching an agency/account-based program.

https://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2017/12/19/insights-amtower-lessons-learned.aspx (12/19/17). A look back over my 33 years in the GovCon market with a few observations.

My top 2017 LinkedIn posts

I write less frequently on LinkedIn for a couple reasons, the main one being LinkedIn’s algorithms favor selected types of content.  Here’s the post that explains it: (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-new-linkedin-algorithm-determines-what-content-goes-ed-escoto/?published=t

BUT, I still post on LinkedIn, occasionally recapping what I have written on my blog or at WashTech.

Here are my top 4 posts from 2017, in chronological order.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-do-you-want-people-after-read-your-profile-mark-amtower/ (4/20/17). What do you want people to do after they look at your LinkedIn profile? If you don’t indicate an action, they will move on.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/simple-act-being-linkedin-marketing-take-2-mark-amtower/  (7/11/17). My second version of this topic drives a simple message: being on LinkedIn in any capacity is marketing for yourself and your company. Your choice is do you look good, bad or just plain ugly…

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/building-subject-matter-expert-platform-mark-amtower/ (9/14/17). This has a link to a video interview on thought leadership. I recorded this as part of Mitchell Levy’s Thought Leader Life series.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/real-value-gain-mark-amtower/  (10/18/17). After the second annual Government Marketing University GAIN conference, I reflected on the overall value of this event. It offers both great information and networking for GovCon marketing professionals, and I hope to return as a presenter for year 3.


I write both to share and to better understand my own thoughts on a particular topic.

And I love feedback!