October 8, 2023

The Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn Advertising

shehu

Unlock the full potential of LinkedIn advertising with this ultimate guide covering everything from targeting to formats and KPIs.

Need help with LinkedIn advertising? Learn more about my LinkedIn ads services.

Think in layers

A common mistake I see is companies expecting to drive conversions from LinkedIn ads in their first week.

Depending on your product, your ACV (annual contract value) might be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Customers don’t buy such solutions on a whim. There’s typically lots of planning and deliberation before a CFO or manager releases the budget.

Because of this, it’s important to see your LinkedIn ad campaigns not as a way of converting leads immediately, but as a way of helping your prospects build a business case to buy your product.

It’s rare for someone to marry you after meeting you once by the grocery aisle. You typically need to go on a few dates to get to know each other.

LinkedIn ads are no different. Think of each ad as a ‘date’ your prospect goes on to learn more about you.

As such, thinking in ‘layers’ helps immensely. Here’s how that works over time:

Layer 1: Activating cold audiences

Audiences are ‘cold’ when they don’t know much about the problem your brand or product solves.

This first round or ‘layer’ of ads is meant to warm them up to you and agitate that problem.

At this stage, don’t expect any conversions — merely awareness.

You want to share content around the problem you solve in-feed (preferably) or on your website (for example, as blog articles).

Track how many people click through to your landing page or consume your content, such as videos, articles, or carousels.

This is the ‘saying hi’ phase of your campaign. You’re not proposing just yet.

You merely want them to see your face, hear your voice, and know your name.

Layer 2: Building trust

At this stage, they might know who you are and the problem you solve, but aren’t quite sure why they should trust you or your products.

This is where trust-building ads come in. Think of this phase as them meeting your friends and family.

In this layer, you share case studies, testimonials, and other such content to show that you know your stuff, and to display the cost of not working with you.

Again, they might not be ready to buy from you specifically, but they’re now problem-aware and open to solutions.

At this stage, track metrics like case study downloads, webinar registrations, template downloads, and newsletter signups.

They’re getting warmer, and you might get a trickle of demo requests or calls booked, but the tap isn’t flowing yet.

Layer 3 onwards: Pushing for the sale

At this stage, the prospect is problem-aware and solution-aware, but needs a little convincing as to why you are the best option.

This is where you go in with product comparisons, ROI calculators, awards, and case studies.

You want your customer to raise their hand and request to speak to Sales. At this point, they’ve probably spent 30-90 days absorbing your content and ads.

They’re pretty warm at this stage, and your job is to make it easy for them to ‘say yes to the dress.’

***

Thinking in layers is a measured approach to activating cold audiences into requesting more information about your product.

It helps you align your budget and timelines so you’re not rushing to source leads in the last week of the quarter.

Layered thinking with LinkedIn ads is about efficient, long-term planning that generates a consistent pipeline throughout the year.

Types of LinkedIn ad objectives and KPIs

When you’re setting up a LinkedIn ad campaign, the platform gives you various objectives to pick from.

These objectives help guide what you want to achieve with your ads.

After you’ve chosen your objectives for your LinkedIn ad campaign, the next step is to figure out how you’ll measure success.

This is where key performance indicators, or KPIs, come into play. Depending on your objectives, your KPIs could vary widely.

Here’s a bit more detail on each objective and its KPI(s):

Brand awareness

If you’re looking to get your brand name out there and make more people aware of what you do, this is the objective for you.

It focuses on reaching a broad audience to increase your brand’s visibility. KPIs for brand awareness include:

Impressions: The number of times your ad is displayed.
Reach: The number of unique users who saw your ad.

Website visits

Whether you want people to read a blog post, check out a product, or explore your services, this objective helps you get more clicks to your site.

KPIs for website visits include:

Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of people who clicked on your ad after seeing it.
Bounce rate: The percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one page.

Engagement

If you want people to interact with your LinkedIn sponsored content in-feed, like sharing, commenting, or liking your posts, then choose the engagement objective.

This helps to create a community around your brand and content. KPIs for engagement include:

Engagement rate: The total number of interactions (likes, shares, comments) divided by impressions.
Time spent on content (dwell time): How long users interact with your content.
Followers: How many of your ideal customers follow your page.

Video views

If you have a video that explains your product, shares customer testimonials, or offers educational content, this objective will help you get more eyes on it.

It’s designed to increase the number of times people watch your video. KPIs for video views include:

Video completion rate: The percentage of viewers who watched your video to the end.
Average watch time: The average amount of time people spend watching your video.

Lead generation

If you’re looking to collect information from potential customers, like email addresses or phone numbers, this objective is designed to help you do that.

It usually involves a form that users can fill out directly on LinkedIn. KPIs for lead generation include:

Conversion rate: The percentage of users who completed the desired action, like filling out a form.
Cost per lead: The average amount you spent to acquire each lead. While lower is generally better, you might have to spend more to convert higher-quality leads.

Job applications

If you’re hiring, this objective can help you attract qualified candidates. It directs users to your job postings and encourages them to apply.

KPIs for job applications include:

Application rate: The number of applications received divided by the number of times the job ad was shown.
Quality of applicants: A more subjective measure, often based on how well applicants meet the job requirements.

Each of these objectives aligns with different business goals, so choose the one that best fits what you’re looking to achieve with your LinkedIn ad campaign.

Budget implications

Your objectives will also influence your budget. It’s not cheap to advertise on LinkedIn.

If you’re advertising in USD, the minimum spend per campaign is $10/day. Read my guide on the cost of LinkedIn ads.

If you’re looking for quick conversions, you might opt for a higher budget to reach a broader audience faster.

If you already get high traffic to your website, consider starting with a retargeting campaign to website visitors. This may score you some quick wins.

On the other hand, if your objective is long-term brand building, you might spread your budget over a longer period to maintain a constant presence. I advise 1-3 months minimum.

Understanding LinkedIn ad formats

Each LinkedIn ad format has its unique strengths and weaknesses. Your choice will significantly impact your campaign’s effectiveness.

Here’s a breakdown of the different types of LinkedIn ad formats based on the official LinkedIn Ads Guide:

Lead Gen Forms

These are pre-filled forms that make it easy for people to give you their information without leaving LinkedIn. You’ll need a privacy policy page to link to when creating this type of ad.

There are different takes on how long you should make your lead gen form be. Most of the data like name, company, title, and email should already be pre-filled by LinkedIn based on the user’s account.

Err on the side of fewer questions. You can always fill in the gaps on the discovery call.

LinkedIn Text Ads and Dynamic Ads

These ads appear in the right rail of the LinkedIn homepage and are generally less intrusive.

Text Ad: Simple, pay-per-click ads. Great for staying top of mind, though CTR tends to be low.
Spotlight Ads: Highlight your product, service, or event.
Follower Ads: Encourage people to follow your LinkedIn page.

LinkedIn Dynamic Ads change based on who’s looking at them. They use details like your photo or job to make the ad more personal.

You can use these ads for different goals like getting your brand known, bringing people to your website, or turning them into customers.

Each format serves a different purpose and offers unique benefits. Your choice will depend on your campaign objectives, target audience, and the type of engagement you’re looking to drive.

Targeting options

In your LinkedIn campaign manager, you can target your audience based on different factors, including:

Age: An estimate of how old a LinkedIn user is, based on their profile’s listed graduation date
Company name: An audience member’s listed employer
Company size: E.g., 2-10 employees, or 11-50 employees.
Degrees: What they graduated with, e.g., Bachelor of Arts
Field of study: What subject they studied, e.g., Communication or Law
Gender: Male or female, inferred based on the member’s name
Geographic location: Where they’re based — this field is mandatory
Groups: Based on what LinkedIn Groups they’re a part of
Industry: Their main domain, e.g., Manufacturing or Construction
Interests: Based on the content they engage with, e.g., Sales & Retail
Job function: Based on standardized groupings, e.g., Marketing or Sales
Job seniority: Their rank within the org, e.g., CXO, Director, or VP
Job title: Their current or previous role, e.g., Marketing Manager
Language: The main language used on their profile
School: Where they graduated or matriculated
Skills: Profile-listed skills like “Email marketing” or “Account management”
Years of experience: Based on their career history

Such granular targeting ensures your ads reach the most relevant audience, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversion.

I’d stick to less than 4 attributes per campaign, as getting to restrictive reduces your reach and may drive up CPMs significantly.

Layering targeting options

LinkedIn offers the ability to layer different targeting options on top of each other.

For example, you can target IT managers (role) in healthcare companies (industry) with more than 500 employees (size) located in the Midwest (geography).

This level of specificity ensures your ad budget is spent reaching the most qualified prospects.

Again, it’s tempting to use every targeting feature possible, but hyper-targeting your campaigns may hurt your scale.

Add only two or fewer additional targeting options in addition to the Location option.

Excluding irrelevant audiences

Just as important as knowing who to target is knowing who not to target.

LinkedIn ad targeting allows you to exclude specific companies, job titles, or industries from your campaign group.

For example, if you’re promoting a professional platform for female executives (like CHIEF) through LinkedIn video ads, you might not want to include any male LinkedIn member in your content ad.

This ensures you’re not wasting ad spend on audiences unlikely to convert.

Building an ideal customer profile (ICP) using CRM data

Your customer relationship management (CRM) system is a treasure trove of data that can help refine your LinkedIn targeting.

Analyzing your closed-won deals can help you identify common characteristics among your best customers.

For example, you might discover that most of your closed-won deals come from Technical Directors working at UK companies with 500-1000 employees.

Use such data to target similar professionals on LinkedIn and wherever else you do social media marketing.

The power of custom audiences

Custom audiences let you retarget people who’ve already interacted with your brand, increasing the chances of conversion.

They’re a common part of any data-driven digital marketing strategy.

LinkedIn allows you to create custom audiences based on:

Website visits
Engagement with previous ads
A list of specific companies you want to target

To target audiences by website visits, you need to install a LinkedIn Insight Tag on the website you want to track visitor data on.

Budgeting and bidding

Allocating your budget for a LinkedIn ad campaign is more than just throwing money at the platform and hoping for the best.

You must first understand LinkedIn’s bidding options and how they align with your campaign objectives.

LinkedIn’s bidding options

LinkedIn offers the following bidding options when building out your ad specs:

Cost-per-click
Cost-per-mille
Cost-per-send
Automated bidding
Cost cap bidding

Cost per click (CPC)

In this model, you pay each time someone clicks on your ad.

This is ideal for campaigns focused on driving website traffic or encouraging specific actions like form submissions.

Cost per mille (CPM)

Here, you pay for every 1,000 impressions your ad receives (‘mille’ means ‘thousand’ in French).

This option is well-suited for brand awareness campaigns where the goal is to get your message in front of as many people as possible.

Cost per send (CPS)

This is specific to LinkedIn’s Sponsored InMail ads. You pay each time your message is successfully delivered to a user’s LinkedIn inbox.

It’s useful for more personalized, direct engagement with potential customers or clients.

Automated bidding

LinkedIn’s algorithm automatically sets your bid to get the most possible engagements based on your budget and campaign objectives.

This is a hands-off approach that leverages LinkedIn’s data to optimize your ad spend.

Automated Bidding charges by impression, and currently only supports Sponsored Content.

Cost cap bidding

With cost cap bidding, you set a target cost for each result you want, like a click or a lead.

LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager uses this as a guide to pick the cheapest options first when bidding for ad space.

The actual cost might vary from your target, especially when the campaign is new.

For the first week, the cost is more likely to change a lot as the system learns from the auction data to improve your campaign’s performance.

Each of the above bidding options has its own advantages and drawbacks. The best choice depends on your specific campaign objectives and budget constraints.

Setting your budget

LinkedIn ads cost more than ads on other platforms, Like Facebook ads, and Instagram ads, or a Google ad. If you’re new to LinkedIn ads, start with a smaller budget to test the waters.

Your budget should align with your campaign objectives and the bidding strategy you choose. As you gain insights and optimize your campaign, you can adjust your budget accordingly.

Daily vs. lifetime budget

LinkedIn allows you to set either a daily budget or a lifetime budget for your advertising campaign.

A daily budget is useful for ongoing campaigns where you want to maintain a consistent presence.

A lifetime budget is more suited for short-term, high-impact campaigns, like a product launch with a defined end-date.

Optimizing for ROI

Your return on investment (ROI) is the ultimate measure of your campaign’s success.

To optimize for ROI, monitor your key performance indicators (KPIs) closely and adjust your bids and budget in real-time.

If a particular ad is performing well, you might want to allocate more budget to it. Conversely, you may need to pause or adjust underperforming ads.

Review ad and campaign performance every 7-14 days.

Campaign quality score

A Campaign Quality Score is a rating that shows how likely people are to interact with your ads compared to similar ads from others.

This score is based on how often people are expected to click on your ads and the expected clicks on similar ads from others targeting the same group.

LinkedIn assigns a quality score to your campaign based on its relevance and engagement. It helps you understand how good your ads are in getting attention.

A higher quality score can lead to lower costs and better ad placements. To improve your quality score, focus on creating ads that are:

Highly relevant (match your audience’s needs)
Well-targeting (aim at the right people)
Creative (stand out in the feed)

Pacing your spend

LinkedIn offers automatic pacing, which spreads your budget evenly across your campaign’s duration to ensure more consistent performance.

While this is generally a good practice, there may be specific times when you’ll want to manually adjust your pacing, such as during a key industry event when you expect higher engagement.

Budgeting and bidding are not set-and-forget aspects of your LinkedIn ad campaign.

They require ongoing attention and adjustment to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck.

The ad learning phase on LinkedIn

When you start a new LinkedIn ad campaign, it goes through a learning phase. Timelines vary, but use 7-14 days as a benchmark.

During this time, LinkedIn’s system is collecting data to figure out the best way to run your ads.

This phase helps the system understand what’s working and what’s not, so it can get you better results.

The learning phase is ongoing as long as your campaign is active, but the most changes usually happen in the first week.

After that, the system has enough data to more effectively manage your ads.

Changes to cost cap bidding audiences, audience attributes, budget, bidding strategy, or creatives will reset the learning phase. Don’t change your campaigns too much once they’re live.

Types of LinkedIn campaigns: TOFU, MOFU, BOFU

TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU stand for ‘Top of the Funnel, Middle of the Funnel, and Bottom of the Funnel, respectively.

Each stage represents a different level of customer engagement and requires a different approach in your LinkedIn ad campaigns.

Let’s explore how to tailor your campaigns for each stage.

TOFU: Top of the Funnel

At this stage, your audience is likely unaware of your brand or the solutions you offer.

The goal here is to create awareness and attract potential customers.

Campaign objective(s): The best LinkedIn campaign objectives for the Awareness stage are Brad awareness, Website visits, Video views, and Lead generation.

Content types: Educational content like blog posts, industry reports, and how-to videos work well at this stage. Also consider using specific landing pages, guides, checklists, cheat sheets, industry stats, infographics, and e-books.

Ad formats: Sponsored content and video ads are effective for TOFU campaigns, as you can use them to share valuable content directly in the user’s feed.

Targeting: Broad targeting options like industry, job function, and location are more appropriate at this stage.

KPIs: Focus on metrics like impressions, click-through rates, and engagement rates to measure the effectiveness of your TOFU campaigns.

MOFU: Middle of the Funnel

Your audience at this stage is aware of their problem and is actively looking for solutions.

Your goal is to position your brand as the best solution for their needs.

Ads in the Consideration stage focus more on specific products, their benefits and features.

Campaign objective(s): Choose Website visits, Lead generation, or Website conversions as your LinkedIn campaign objectives at this level.

Credit: StableWP

Content types: Case studies, reports, white papers, success stories, quizzes, surveys, demos, free trials, and webinars can help you demonstrate your value in the Consideration stage.

Ad formats: Message ads can be effective for MOFU campaigns, as they allow for more personalized and direct communication. Video ads also work, and simple image ads can be a cost-effective way to drive further consideration.

Targeting: More specific targeting options like job titles, skills, and years of experience can help you reach a more qualified audience. Consider also using retargeting and custom lists at this stage.

KPIs: Leads generated and conversion rates are key metrics to focus on at this stage.

BOFU: Bottom of the funnel

At this stage, your audience is ready to make a decision. Your goal is to convert them into customers.

Campaign objective(s): Choose the Website conversions and Website visits objectives when setting up your BoFU LinkedIn ads campaign.

Credit: StableWP

Content types: Product demos, customer testimonials, and special offers can help tip the scales in your favor. Also consider offering consultations, quotes, free trials, plan upgrades, and purchases.

Ad formats: Dynamic ads and carousel ads can showcase multiple aspects of your product or service, making them ideal for BOFU campaigns.

Targeting: Use custom audiences and contact lists (e.g., from offline events) to retarget individuals who have engaged with your brand in the past. These could be those who have previously converted on high offers or visited key pages on your website, e.g., those who have downloaded your white paper and visited your contact page.

KPIs: Cost-per-conversion and ROI are the metrics that matter most at this stage.

By tailoring your content, ad formats, targeting options, and KPIs to TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU, you can guide potential customers through the funnel more effectively.

The importance of compelling creative

In LinkedIn’s crowded feed, standing out is crucial. Your ads must grab attention, convey your message, and drive action.

Here’s why compelling creative is so crucial for your LinkedIn ad campaigns.

First impressions matter

The first few seconds are critical in capturing your audience’s attention.

A compelling headline, striking visuals, or an engaging video can make all the difference between a scroll past and a click-through.

Your creative elements are your first and sometimes only chance to make an impression.

Storytelling as a tool

People remember stories far better than they remember dry facts or statistics.

Use storytelling in your creative to make your brand or product relatable.

Whether it’s a customer success story or a narrative around how your product came to be, a good story can elevate your campaign from forgettable to memorable.

Emotional resonance

A sense of urgency, a touch of humor, or a tug at the heartstrings can evoke an emotional response and make your brand more memorable and engaging.

Consistency is key

Your creative elements should be consistent with your brand’s overall look and feel.

Consistency builds trust and makes your brand easily recognizable in a sea of content.

Make sure your colors, fonts, and ad copy align with your brand guidelines.

A/B testing for optimization

What you find compelling may not resonate with your audience. That’s where A/B testing comes in.

Testing different creative elements lets you determine what truly engages your target audience.

Add a strong CTA

A compelling call-to-action (CTA) is as important as any visual element.

Make sure your CTA is clear, concise, and encourages the user to take the next step, whether it’s visiting your website, downloading a resource, or getting in touch.

Tracking and analytics

Tracking and analytics give you the insights you need to understand your campaign’s performance, optimize your efforts, and prove your ROI.

Let’s explore the key aspects of tracking and analytics for LinkedIn ads.

Set up tracking pixels

Before launching your campaign, make sure to install LinkedIn’s Insight Tag on your website.

This pixel tracks conversions and provides valuable data on how users interact with your site after clicking on your ad.

It’s key to any data-driven LinkedIn campaign strategy.

Add UTM tags

UTM tags can provide granular insight into what drove a click, visit, or conversion.

They’re the extra bits you sometimes see at the end of links, like so:

website.com/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=q4

The above example suggests the user came from LinkedIn after clicking on a paid ad in the brand’s Q4 campaign.

You can customize your UTM tags to help you understand which channel (e.g. organic vs. paid), platform (e.g. LinkedIn vs. Google), campaign, or even headline is driving the most results.

Using this data helps you double down on the winners.

Understand LinkedIn analytics

LinkedIn provides a robust analytics dashboard that offers a wealth of information, from basic metrics like impressions and clicks to more advanced data like click-through rates and conversion rates.

Familiarize yourself with these metrics to understand what they mean and how they relate to your campaign objectives.

Monitor and adjust key performance indicators (KPIs)

Your KPIs are the metrics that matter most to your campaign objectives.

Whether it’s lead generation, brand awareness, or sales, make sure you’re tracking the KPIs that directly relate to your goals.

Use your analytics data to identify underperforming ads or targeting options and make immediate changes.

Such agility can significantly improve your campaign’s performance.

Advanced strategies

Once you’ve mastered the basics of LinkedIn advertising, it’s time to take your campaigns to the next level.

Advanced strategies can help you outperform competitors, maximize ROI, and achieve more complex business objectives.

Let’s explore some of these high-level tactics.

Account-based marketing (ABM)

LinkedIn is a fertile ground for account-based marketing, where you target specific high-value companies rather than broader audience segments.

By creating custom audiences based on company names or even individual decision-makers within those companies, you can tailor your messaging to resonate with these high-priority targets.

Sequential messaging

Instead of a one-off ad, consider creating a sequence of messages that guide the user through a carefully planned journey.

For example, you might start with a sponsored post that introduces your brand, followed by a message ad that invites them to a webinar, and finally a dynamic ad offering a product demo.

Lookalike audiences

If you’ve had success with a particular audience segment, use LinkedIn’s lookalike audiences feature to find other users who share similar characteristics.

This can help you scale your successful campaigns without diluting the quality of your leads.

Multichannel integration

LinkedIn shouldn’t exist in a marketing silo.

Integrate your LinkedIn campaigns with other marketing channels like email, SEO, and even offline events.

This creates a more cohesive and effective overall marketing strategy.

Advanced analytics and attribution

While LinkedIn’s native analytics are powerful, you might also want to integrate third-party analytics tools like Google Analytics or Hockeystack in your LinkedIn Ads strategy for a more comprehensive view.

These tools can provide additional insights, such as user behavior on your landing pages or how your LinkedIn campaigns compare to other marketing channels.

Dynamic personalization

Use LinkedIn’s dynamic ad format to automatically personalize ad content based on the user’s profile data.

This can include their name, job title, or even their company’s name, making the ad more relevant and engaging.

Advanced strategies like these require a deeper understanding of both LinkedIn’s advertising platform and broader marketing principles.

However, when executed correctly, they can significantly elevate the performance and impact of your LinkedIn ad campaigns.

Conclusion

LinkedIn advertising is a powerful tool in the B2B marketer’s arsenal.

From setting clear objectives to choosing the right ad formats and targeting options, each step in the process plays a crucial role in the success of your campaign.

Additional resources

Below are some additional resources that can help you deepen your understanding and improve your LinkedIn ad campaigns.

LinkedIn Learning courses

LinkedIn offers a range of courses on its own platform, covering everything from the basics to advanced strategies.

These courses are often led by industry experts and offer actionable insights. Examples include:

Advertising on LinkedIn by AJ Wilcox (link)
B2B Marketing on LinkedIn by Viveka von Rosen (link)

Industry blogs and publications

Websites like Dreamdata, Hootsuite, and HubSpot regularly publish articles on the latest trends and best practices in LinkedIn advertising.

Check out these guides for further reading:

Dreamdata: How to build killer LinkedIn Ads for B2B (link)
93x: Everything you need to know about building a B2B LinkedIn Ads campaign (link)
Gripped.io: LinkedIn Advertising: The Ultimate Guide for B2B Marketers (link)
Hootsuite: The Complete Guide to LinkedIn Ads in 2023 (link)
LinkedIn: A B2B Marketer’s Guide to Every LinkedIn Ad Type (link)
StableWP: LinkedIn Ads Funnel for Account-Based Marketing (link)
The B2B House: How To Create Effective Linkedin Ads To Grow Your Business (link)

Webinars and podcasts

Many marketing agencies and software providers offer free webinars and podcasts featuring LinkedIn advertising experts.

These can provide in-depth knowledge and often include real-world case studies.

I recommend following Justin Rowe and Johnathan Bland on LinkedIn for more LinkedIn advertising insights.

LinkedIn’s own resources

LinkedIn’s marketing resource center can help you find answers to specific questions or issues you may encounter.

Networking events and conferences

Industry events, both online and in-person, offer opportunities to learn from experts and network with peers.

These events often feature sessions or workshops specifically focused on LinkedIn advertising.

FAQs

What’s the minimum budget for a LinkedIn ad campaign?

LinkedIn requires a minimum daily budget ($10 USD, differs by currency), which varies depending on the ad format and bidding strategy.

However, it’s advisable to start with a budget that aligns with your campaign objectives and allows for meaningful data collection. I advise setting aside $600 minimum.

How long should I run a LinkedIn campaign?

All advertising platforms (including Meta and Google) incorporate a learning phase for new campaigns, which is typically 7-14 days.

As such, always run your ads for at least 7 days before making any changes.

How do I improve my campaign’s quality score?

LinkedIn’s campaign quality score is influenced by factors like expected and actual click-through rate and engagement.

To improve it, focus on creating relevant and compelling ads and targeting them to the right audience.

How do I track conversions?

You can track conversions using LinkedIn’s Insight Tag, which you install on your website.

This lets you track actions like form submissions or purchases that occur after someone clicks on your ad.

What are the best practices for A/B testing?

At the campaign level, swing big. You can test a campaign that features video demo ads versus another that features customer testimonials.

At the ad level, change only one variable at a time, whether it’s the headline, image, or call-to-action.

This ensures that you can accurately attribute any performance differences to the variable you changed.

How do I retarget users who have interacted with my ads?

LinkedIn offers retargeting options that allow you to create custom audiences based on user behavior, such as visiting your website, engaging with your LinkedIn page, or engaging with your previous LinkedIn ads.

What metrics should I focus on?

The metrics you should focus on depend on your campaign objectives, ad type, and funnel stage.

For brand awareness, impressions and reach might be key. For lead generation, focus on conversion rates and cost-per-lead.

Can I pause my LinkedIn advertising campaign?

Yes, LinkedIn allows you to pause your advertising campaign at any time. This can be useful for making adjustments or reallocating budget.

How do I measure LinkedIn marketing ROI?

Measure ROI by comparing the value of conversions generated by your LinkedIn marketing campaign to the total ad spend.

This can be tracked using LinkedIn’s analytics and additional third-party tools.

Should I expand my targeting to include the LinkedIn audience network?

We typically don’t recommend expanding your reach to the wider LinkedIn audience network, as this may introduce poor-quality results from low-intent leads. Rather, stick to direct sponsored content within LinkedIn.

Where can I find great LinkedIn ad examples?

We recommend checking out the LinkedIn ad library for examples of a good LinkedIn ad example you can run for your brand.

How do LinkedIn’s dynamic ads work?

Dynamic ads are personalized ads tailored to each member based on their own LinkedIn profile data, such as profile photo, company name, or job title. Each LinkedIn member sees personalized information not displayed to other members. You can set up dynamic ads in LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager.