LinkedIn expands B2B marketing toolkit with enhanced event and measurement solutions

In a move to streamline virtual and hybrid event marketing, LinkedIn has rolled out new capabilities for LinkedIn Events, giving marketers end-to-end control—from creation and promotion to measurement and lead capture. The updates integrate with ON24, Cvent, and other marketing platforms, enabling precise audience targeting and improved ROI tracking.

According to Sachin Sharma, director of marketing solutions at LinkedIn India, the event product is built to make the entire lifecycle—from awareness to conversion—seamless.

“Pre-event, it helps generate leads and sign-ups with intelligent targeting. During the event, it supports live and web streaming directly within the platform. Post-event, it enables follow-ups through videos, snippets, and thought leadership content, all integrated into the same flow,” he says.

Sharma emphasises that in the new marketing landscape, events must be hybrid. “Field events remain crucial, but virtual extensions are equally important. B2B event attendance has actually grown by 57% post-COVID. Marketers now see events as one of their most effective engagement tools.”

Instead of treating events as one-off moments, LinkedIn’s platform aims to help marketers build continuous engagement that drives participation, attendance, and ultimately, pipeline growth.

The latest updates to LinkedIn Events are designed to help marketers scale events of any size, reach the right audience, and measure impact across the funnel—on or off LinkedIn.

A new whitepaper by LinkedIn’s B2B Institute, titled Easy to Find: Being Where B2B Buying Happens, highlights how expanding into underleveraged channels such as events can unlock incremental reach and revenue. By ensuring their brands are “physically available” through events, marketers make it easier for audiences to find and choose them.

LinkedIn data shows that trusted brands that spark conversations and create buzz convert more leads, with events ranking among the most powerful tools for relationship-building. In fact, 95% of B2B marketers say in-person events are among their most effective tactics for driving direct sales, followed by online events (97%).

Globally, LinkedIn is seeing strong adoption of its event solutions across tech and even select B2C-facing sectors such as financial services, government, and education.

“Within B2B specifically, the biggest momentum is in technology—IT services, SaaS, and cloud—along with professional services such as consulting and cloud advisory. These are highly event-driven industries,” Sharma notes.

Tackling B2B measurement and attribution challenges

LinkedIn has also launched several new tools to help B2B marketers measure impact and tackle attribution complexity — a long-standing challenge in the sector. New enhancements to its Conversion API and a revenue attribution solution now enable marketers to link online engagement to offline conversions, including sales made through factories or workshops.

“In B2C, attribution is relatively straightforward because sales cycles are short and decisions are quick,” Sharma explains. “In B2B, where cycles stretch from six months to a year, it’s far more complex to connect marketing impact to revenue.”

The new tools let businesses share CRM signals directly with LinkedIn, enabling smarter targeting and campaign optimisation. “Using AI and machine learning, we analyse CRM data to understand who typically buys, when, and how — then use those insights to automate and optimise campaigns for better efficiency and profitability,” Sharma adds.

LinkedIn has also introduced Conversion Value Optimisation, allowing businesses to focus on deals above a chosen threshold, and Lead Quality Optimisation, which prioritises high-value leads based on CRM insights.

On the media side, the company has rolled out Brand Link and expanded its Connected TV (CTV) solutions — currently available in North America, with plans to bring them to India soon. These allow advertisers to use LinkedIn’s audience data to target full-screen TV ads across apps and OTT platforms.

Why B2B needs a different playbook

Sharma underlines that B2B marketing requires a distinct approach — one that reflects longer buying cycles, group decision-making, and the need to prove value at every stage.

“In B2B, there isn’t one buyer but a committee of decision-makers. Every purchase must be justified in terms of ROI, payback period, and overall business impact,” he says.

The number of stakeholders involved in each deal has risen from seven to as many as thirteen, extending sales cycles to as long as twelve months in some categories.

That complexity fundamentally changes how performance should be measured. “With B2B advertisers, impressions are just leading indicators. The real metrics are different at every stage,” Sharma explains.

• Top of the funnel: Measure brand lift and awareness among target audiences.

• Mid-funnel: Track engagement quality — document downloads, whitepaper reads, website revisits after ad exposure, or interactions with sales teams.

• Bottom of the funnel: Focus on lead quality, not just volume — whether they’re marketing-qualified, sales-ready, and aligned with your ideal customer profile.

“Ultimately, B2B measurement is less about volume and more about value and velocity — how effectively marketing contributes to real pipeline impact,” Sharma says.

The human side of B2B buying

New research from LinkedIn and Bain & Company, conducted over the past two years, explores what drives "viability" in B2B— or why a brand is ultimately chosen from a shortlist. The findings reveal that emotional and relational drivers outweigh rational ones.

“Most B2B brands focus on logic—cost, efficiency, and ROI—but decisions are often made based on defensibility,” Sharma says. “The biggest emotional driver we found was the confidence to say, ‘I can justify this decision if questioned.’ This, more than price or performance, significantly influences the decision-making process in B2B buying."

As marketing budgets tighten, the need for a full-funnel strategy that builds trust, accelerates decisions, and delivers measurable impact is stronger than ever.

LinkedIn data shows that maintaining a consistent brand presence with high-value audiences drives a 10% lift in conversions, while brand-building content makes lead generation 1.4x more effective. Today, 88% of marketers say earning audience trust is as important as reach.