The B2B PR Agency Fight for ROI featuring LinkedIn and earned media

Written by Simpatico PR

Posted on 2025-07-22

Have you noticed a new class of B2B brand ambassadors whose sole job it seems, is to keep the business in the public eye by appearing in to-camera videos summarising endless conferences, webinars and podcasts.

Sometimes it feels like just being visible is the sole objective. “Hey, look at me, I’m at the airport on the way to…” A bit like Bez of the Happy Mondays, but for business.

The New York Times recently wrote a piece highlighting how B2C brands are increasingly creating their own employee content without investing in expensive “famous” influencers.

It seems B2B businesses are following suit. And this is noticeably so for tech companies, creative, media and advertising businesses. Both Digiday and AdAge have noted the trend.

The rise of the performative marketer?

Perhaps performative B2B marketers are the inevitable by-product of the digital content deluge encouraged by new editing and channel tools as well as AI. Or perhaps it’s a return to a more human form of influence. Video instead of lunch. If so, fair enough.

But are B2B businesses risking dumbing down their marketing output and industry presence with stuff that is conversational often skimming the surface of what’s happening and what buyers and clients want to know about you?

It’s hardly thought leadership is it?

A lot of it feels very much like a form of advertising. Social influence as a form of marketing content is obviously on the rise. We’re hearing a lot about why audiences prefer conversational, casual messaging over highly produced ads. But I wonder whether this is a temporary trend.

Is LinkedIn too dominant in the B2B marketing mix?

This is not to say that B2B social content is a bad thing – here I am doing it! If it’s part of a mix of B2B marketing including deep insight-based content (reports, webinars, insightful presentations), networking and yes, proactive ideas-based B2B PR, then it’s all good.

One end of the B2B funnel

Of everything that businesses could be doing in terms of business development and brand marketing strategy, LinkedIn visibility seems to be a priority over earned media.

I’ve argued and, I think the evidence supports the case that as AI increasingly dominates search, this is not wise, as articles secured in earned media are rate as highly credible by LLM bots.

So, if you are not securing highly valuable coverage in industry media – particularly articles on critical issues where you can influence clients, prospects, partners, and other sources of influence – your business brand might suffer.

LinkedIn after all is very much of the moment. An article that engages, lasts longer – it influences as a credible source and remains an online reference point.

It’s arguable that LinkedIn is a better lower funnel solution - short-term lead generation, (paid content + employee advocacy + partnerships) could deliver better ROI.

B2B PR and earned media however, is very much upper funnel (although our experience is it can be used to support specific sales activity). So, if your goal is to build long-term trust, market presence, and influence, earned media adds greater value.

A B2B marketing question for you

With this in mind, I thought it was worth asking my connections and our wider audience as a B2B PR agency a question.

In your opinion, which delivers better ROI – LinkedIn or quality exposure in earned media?

Click here to take part in our poll.

Before you answer you might want to skim ChatGPTs take – it gives you a good topline breakdown of the measurability and uses of both:

(The following is AI generated)

LinkedIn Content: Owned Media ROI

Strengths:

• Direct access to target audience: Especially effective for niche B2B audiences, decision-makers, and buyers.

• Control over messaging: You craft the narrative, tone, and timing.

• Engagement metrics are trackable: You can monitor reach, clicks, likes, comments, and leads.

• Scalable via employees and paid amplification: Employee advocacy and LinkedIn Ads extend visibility.

• Faster feedback loop: Test and learn what content resonates.

When it delivers best ROI:

• You have a solid following or employees who can amplify content.

• You produce high-quality, insight-driven content consistently.

• You’re targeting a well-defined audience (e.g. CIOs at mid-sized UK law firms).

• You support it with paid campaigns to overcome algorithmic limits.

Earned Media Exposure: PR ROI

Strengths:

• Credibility and authority: A third-party mention or quote in a trusted publication (e.g. The FT, TechCrunch, or a vertical trade mag) builds brand trust.

• SEO and brand visibility: Backlinks from high-quality sites improve discoverability.

• Longer shelf-life and prestige: A strong piece of earned media can be reused in sales decks, investor packs, and more.

• Lead influence (indirect): Especially useful for long sales cycles where brand credibility is key.

When it delivers best ROI:

• Your product/service is innovative, timely, or disruptive.

• You have a media-savvy spokesperson with credible opinions.

• You’re in a competitive space where trust is a differentiator.

• You integrate PR into your broader content and demand gen strategy.

Best Practice: Combine Both

The highest ROI often comes when the two work together:

• Use earned media as LinkedIn content. Share press hits and third-party endorsements to gain traction on LinkedIn.

• Use LinkedIn to build thought leadership that gets noticed by journalists, analysts, and event organisers.

• Align messaging across both to ensure consistency and brand reinforcement.

To find out more about our B2B PR agency approach to thought leadership visit www.simpaticopr.co.uk