For most marketers, LinkedIn is a misunderstood platform. Not because it’s not worthy of digital spend, but because there’s a general lack of knowledge about how to optimize successfully. Don’t be afraid to include LinkedIn in your growth marketing strategy. We’ve got the best practice tips and tricks you need to get the most out of this channel.
[Read more: How to Analyze the Success of an Advertising Campaign?]
Why LinkedIn?
If you’re looking for a new channel to find traffic, generate quality leads and customers, LinkedIn is one of the best places to look. With 550 Million active professional users, it’s the ultimate platform for B2B marketing. If your product or service benefits business owners, LinkedIn ads are a no brainer.
Think about it. When you sign up for LinkedIn, the amount of information you willingly provide is enormous. Information like this allows advertisers to get granular, specifying things like industry, company size, and job title. With account-based marketing, you can improve your targeting. It’s a platform made up of networkers, people who are genuinely interested in career-related topics. Understand and utilize this, and LinkedIn marketing will become one of your favorite media.
Best Practices For Paid Media Success
- Set Up Goals
Setting up goals should be the first step to any paid media advertising. Take a moment to define what you want to achieve. The types of objectives suitable for LinkedIn include:
- Building a contact list: By offering information reports or white paper articles, you can create and grow your contact list.
- Getting new leads: Offering a promotion or a free product trial is one of the easiest ways to gain new leads.
- Brand awareness: Create ads that promote your brand or product. Event posts or blog articles tend to generate the most exposure, focus on your content marketing efforts.
- Target Effectively
When it comes to targeting, platforms like Facebook offer a variety of personal demographics. LinkedIn specializes in career-related filters, taking your targeting to the next level. You can market directly to influencers, decision-makers, and executives who jump at new opportunities. LinkedIn targeting includes:
- Company & Job Targeting: You can run your account-based campaigns through here, focusing on reaching key companies or individuals.
- Demographics: Create a new audience list based on age, location, and interests.
- Contact & Email Targeting: Upload an existing list of contacts or connect to your contact management system to target existing users and prospects.
- Retargeting: Segment your audience, delivering unique content based on their behavior.
- Choose The Right Ad Type
If you’re looking to optimize your performance, you need to consider the right ad type for your objectives. Are you unable to create your own content? Perhaps a text ad makes the most sense. Do you want to focus on engagement? Then sponsored content should be on your list. It’s about understanding how each format works and deciding the best way to deliver your message for the best results.
LinkedIn offers several ad formats.
- Single Image Ad
- Video Ad
- Carousel Image Ad
- Message Ad
- Text Ad
- Dynamic Ad
- Sponsored Content
- Monitor, Track, And Mix It Up
Like most platforms, LinkedIn’s ad space is at capacity. What does this mean? Bidding is everything. To remain competitive, you need to monitor this consistently. Download the Insight Tag so you can track performance, gaining access to demographic reporting.
Linkedin’s average CPC is sitting at $6.50. It’s substantially higher than other platforms, but if you’re implementing the right strategy, your ROI will be worth it. You can use tools like conversion tracking to help create a conversion action. Similar to the Facebook pixel, this allows you to find out more about your customers.
If something isn’t working, swap it out. Use the information on hand to find the sweet spot for your brand. Like all paid media, A/B testing and trialing ads is crucial. Adjust your creative monthly, making a concerted effort to replenish your ads continuously.
- Feature A Clear CTA
It’s amazing how many marketers overlook this step. You can select the right ad type, create your goals, and target to perfection, but without a clear CTA, your paid media will fall short. Let your audience know what you want them to do. Whether it’s “start a free trial,” “shop now,” or “find out more,” make sure it’s front and center.
Get Started
If you’re looking to reach new prospects or explore a new platform, LinkedIn is undoubtedly a great place to start. If your company is in the B2B space, it should be a priority. Don’t let the platform intimidate you, stick to these basic principles, and you’ll soon see the results!
