LinkedIn is a popular social media site that helps build networks and connections. These connections can help your brand grow through word-of-mouth and that is the real power of LinkedIn.
With over 65 billion users,LinkedIn’s advertising platform is one of the top networks for lead generation. Not only does LinkedIn have influential members but also two times the buying power of the average crowd on the web.
Recently, LinkedIn revamped its advertising platform, Campaign Manager and added a few new tools to its marketer toolbox. The platform is now more of objective-based advertising, which means that advertisers can run campaigns clearly on goals such as lead generation, engagement and brand awareness.
Objective of your Ads:
As soon as you Start creating a Campaign through LinkedIn, it asks you a few questions to understand the objective of your campaign. The Linkedin Ad Type Objectives are:
1. Awareness: Currently, Awareness has only one Sub-Branch called - Brand Awareness. This category spreads out the word to a vast audience. It is similar to Facebook Reach Ads.
2. Consideration: Consideration Ad objective has 3 main parts:
a. Website Visits: If you want more people to visit your website to either buy your products or services, this is the tool for you! It will help build your audience and increase website traffic.
b. Engagement: There may be multiple reasons for you to increase engagement. You may want people to like, share or comment on your posts, or simply get some engagement on your company page. This Ad Type works the best.
c. Video Views: This needs no explanation! Simply upload your video and spread it to the right audience in your network or even other networks.
3. Conversion: This Objective type is for people to generate sales through LinkedIn Networks. There might be many companies waiting to get the right service and you may just close on a deal of your life! There are 3 sub-sections in this type of Ad:
a. Lead Generation: This is a campaign to generate the right leads for your business. This Campaign will help you connect with new clients and promote the existing services in a better way.
b. Website Conversion: Website Conversions brings traffic from LinkedIn to your website and thus Track the sales on your website. Do note that for this Ad to run, there has to be a mandatory Conversion tracking code that needs to be provided to LinkedIn to enable Tracking of the conversions happening through the campaign.
If you are not sure how to add a Conversion Tracking Code in Linkedin Ads, connect with us to know more!
c. Job Applicants: Linkedin is a professional network and people are always looking out for better job opportunities. This is a simple and cost-effective tool that will help you hire the right candidate without spending thousands of Dollars on HR resources.
Types of Linkedin Ads:
Now, as you have got a hang of the Objective types, let's have a look at some of the Ads that are visible to the end clients or to the people that you are targeting:
1. Sponsored ads:
These ads are promoted as LinkedIn posts. Sponsored ads are available in three formats- single image, video, and carousel. You can run the campaigns as native news feed ads and Lead Gen Forms.
Sponsored ads work great if your goal includes engagement with the audience.
Suggestions:
Make sure the headlines are under 150 characters
Descriptive copy should be less than 70 characters as text higher than 100 characters get truncated on desktop
LinkedIn study reveals that posts with fewer characters had 18% more engagement rate
2. Dynamic ads:
LinkedIn dynamic ads also appear on the right side and are similar in appearance as that of text ads. The only difference is that dynamic ads target a viewer with their profile photo and their name.
Suggestions;
Keep the messages short and concise and avoid secondary headlines if not required
According to LinkedIn, ads in tests with only a primary headline have a 25% higher CTR
3. Sponsored InMail ads:
Sponsored InMail ads deliver messages to the LinkedIn-member’s inbox. According to LinkedIn, these ads drive more conversions than emails. However, a member can opt-out of receiving these ads.
Suggestions:
Keep the messages below 1000 characters, including the link
According to LinkedIn, messages with less than 500 characters have a 46% higher CTR on average
4. Direct Sponsored ads
Unlike Sponsored content ads, these ads are not published on your LinkedIn page feed. However, they look just like a regular LinkedIn post.
Direct Sponsored ads let you tailor the ads to target a specific audience and test different iterations without making your page look a mess.
5. Sponsored InMail ads
Sponsored InMail ads deliver messages to the LinkedIn-member’s inbox. According to LinkedIn, these ads drive more conversions than emails. However, a member can opt out of receiving these ads.
Suggestions;
● Keep the messages below 1000 characters, including the link
● According to LinkedIn, messages with less than 500 characters have a 46% higher CTR on average
How to advertise on LinkedIn?
Here are a few steps you will need to follow to start your first LinkedIn ad campaign
1. Create an account or sign in to Campaign Manager. Click on the Create Campaign. Add a name by including these details;
● Business line or product
● Reference to the marketing campaign title
● Type of campaign (Webinar, whitepaper etc.)
● Region/Location
● A campaign ID that matches with other channels
● A date range for the campaign timeframe
2. Type your ad objective
3. Set your audience targeting parameters
While you can start your new campaign with an audience size of over 50,000 members, you can aim for more than 15,000 members for Sponsored InMail.
● Choose a permanent location
● Include locations you would like to add or exclude
● Choose the profile language of your target audience
● Add audience attributes such as education, company, work experience, demographics, and interests
● Use “or” to reach a wider audience. For instance, include “photographers” or “graphic designers”
● Use “and” to narrow down your audience. For instance, include “photographers” and “graphic designers”
● Enable Audience Expansion to show your ads to other LinkedIn audiences having similar attributes
You can add a Matched Audience that consists of website visitors, list of newsletter subscribers, etc. All you need to do is select Matched Audience and include a link to your website to retarget website visitors or add a list to create an audience.
Before you move to the next step, click on the Save as a template. This will help you retrieve your setting under “Saved Audiences” if you need to target the same audience later.
4. Select the ad format. Most formats ask you to enter your Company or Showcase Page before going forward.
5. Enable the LinkedIn Audience Network if available
6. Set your campaign schedule and budget
Depending on your goals, you can choose between cost-per-clicks and cost-per-impressions for bid type. In Sponsored InMail campaign, you can choose cost-per-send.
LinkedIn sees a 33% higher ROI on investment when advertisers place their bids within the recommended range.
7. Create a conversion (optional). It will help you track the actions visitors take on your site after viewing your LinkedIn Ad.
8. Create your ad
You will be able to preview your ad as you create it.
9. Review your campaign before making it live
LinkedIn will review your ads to make sure they meet the platform’s standard before they are launched.
It usually takes around 24 hours but sometimes it may take longer. You can check the Campaign Manager to see if your ads have been approved.
10. Optimize performance
Check Campaign Manager’s Performance Chart to track the metrics once you start your campaign. It will help you make informed adjustments as well.
Conclusion
LinkedIn allows members to make connections with other people, make sure that your content features people in the content. Ads with people can increase CTR by 160%. Also, avoid using low quality or small images. You may pause ads with lowest engagement and replace it with better creatives.