Dear CMO, ever feel like you are flying blind with your data? You are not alone. As privacy regulations tighten and third-party data sources dry up, first-party intent signals have become the new competitive advantage. Today, we will explore how to collect those signals ethically and leverage LinkedIn-based ABM workflows to turn insight into pipeline. (Spoiler: It is all about using what you know about your buyers, not what someone else scrapes together.)
Why Intent Signals Matter More Than Ever
There was a time when marketing could rely on easy access to third-party data and cookies to find and target prospects. Those days are disappearing fast. Third-party cookies, once a cornerstone of digital tracking, are being phased out by major browsers due to privacy concerns. On top of this, LinkedIn has intensified its restrictions on data scraping, cracking down on tools that extract user information without permission.
This shift means marketers must rethink how they gather and use data. First-party intent signals are now the most valuable resource, offering insights directly from your audience’s interactions with your brand. Unlike third-party data, first-party intent data is proprietary. You own it. This gives you greater control, more reliable insights, and the ability to create highly tailored campaigns.
For Account-Based Marketing, this is transformational. The ability to identify and act on real buyer interest within your target accounts means more relevant engagement, stronger sales alignment, and a pipeline built on real demand rather than guesswork.
The First-Party Intent Advantage
- It is exclusive to you. No other company has access to the same insights.
- It is privacy-compliant. Collected through genuine engagement rather than backdoor data scraping.
- It is actionable. Enabling you to target the right accounts with the right message at the right time.
- It improves efficiency. Helping you spend marketing budget where it matters most.
In a world moving from third-party tracking to first-party intelligence, intent signals are your compass. Now, let us explore how to collect and use them effectively without breaking LinkedIn’s rules.
How to Collect First-Party Intent Signals Without Scraping
Rather than relying on outdated tracking methods, smart marketers are leveraging LinkedIn’s own ecosystem to encourage prospects to signal their intent. Here is how to build your first-party intent data strategy the right way.
1. Set Up Intent-Based Campaigns
Instead of scraping profiles, run intent-based LinkedIn ad campaigns designed to attract high-value engagement. The key is to create campaigns that draw in your ideal accounts using content aligned to their challenges and interests.
2. Track Engagement and Map it to Accounts
Once your campaigns are running, use LinkedIn analytics to track engagement and tie it back to specific companies. Because LinkedIn users are linked to their employer’s company page, it is possible to monitor account-level interactions at scale.
- Use LinkedIn’s Company Engagement Reports to see which companies are interacting with your content.
- Identify the depth of engagement. Are multiple employees from a target account engaging? Are they returning multiple times?
- Cross-reference this data with your CRM or marketing automation platform to build a clearer picture of intent.
This approach allows you to identify accounts with growing interest, making it easier to prioritise outreach and nurture sequences.
3. Retarget Engaged Users Effectively
Intent signals are most powerful when acted upon quickly. One of the best ways to do this is through retargeting campaigns on LinkedIn.
- Build a Matched Audience of users who engaged with your previous content.
- Serve them a second-stage ad tailored to their demonstrated interest.
- Guide them further down the funnel by offering deeper content, case studies, product comparisons, event invites.
If someone has clicked an awareness-stage ad, follow up with consideration-stage content. Retargeting engaged users ensures that marketing spend goes towards warming leads rather than constantly acquiring cold ones.
4. Use Direct Messaging for High-Intent Prospects
Some prospects will show clear intent. Multiple engagements, high interaction rates, repeat visits. These are prime candidates for a direct approach.
- Use LinkedIn’s Message Ads or personalised InMail to start a conversation.
- Reference their recent engagement to make the message feel natural and relevant.
- Offer something of value, an exclusive report, a meeting with a subject matter expert, rather than going straight for a sales pitch.
This approach fast-tracks engaged leads into sales conversations, shortening the time from intent to opportunity.
5. Leverage Thought Leadership to Build a Re-targetable Audience
A longer-term strategy for capturing intent is through consistent thought leadership content.
- Publish LinkedIn articles, posts, and videos that address industry pain points.
- Track who engages, comments, and shares. They are self-identifying as interested.
- Build a Matched Audience of those who engaged with your organic content and retarget them with paid campaigns.
Over time, this creates a self-sustaining pipeline of engaged prospects, making future targeting more efficient and cost-effective.
Driving Real Impact. The CMO’s Playbook for Intent Data
Collecting first-party intent signals is just the beginning. To drive real impact, you need to operationalise intent data across marketing and sales.
1. Connect Intent Signals to Revenue Outcomes
- Track how intent-driven leads move through the pipeline. →→ This helps measure their journey from engagement to conversion, providing insight into their buying behaviour.
- Measure conversion rates, deal velocity, and win rates for intent-qualified accounts. →→ Because this shows the direct impact of intent signals on sales success.
- Use these insights to refine budget allocation and campaign strategies. →→ Because data-driven decisions improve efficiency and ROI.
2. Align Sales and Marketing Around Intent Data
- Share intent insights with sales to prioritise high-interest accounts. →→ Because sales teams can focus on prospects who are more likely to convert.
- Set up real-time notifications for high-engagement accounts. →→ Because timely follow-ups increase the chances of securing a meeting.
- Develop a shared playbook for responding to intent-driven leads. →→ Because consistency in approach enhances conversion rates.
3. Operationalise Intent Signals in Your ABM Strategy
- Integrate intent data into your CRM and marketing automation platform**.** →→ Because streamlined workflows lead to faster response times.
- Create automation rules. Accounts with X engagement level get fast-tracked to sales. →→ Because automating priority leads reduces manual effort and ensures no opportunity is missed.
- Continuously refine scoring models to focus efforts on in-market buyers. →→ Because improving accuracy in lead qualification results in higher conversion rates.
First-party intent signals is the the future of B2B marketing to drive digital driven pipeline. As privacy regulations increase and data sources become more restricted, the ability to collect, interpret, and act on intent signals will define the success of modern marketing teams.
