New to LinkedIn ads? You want to spend money but are not quite clear on how to make the LinkedIn advertising platform work effectively for your Business Page? Have no fear, you are not alone. While LinkedIn is the most powerful B2B social media channel around, few have mastered sound strategies that allow you to leverage its full potential.
While the details can get granular and can become a fairly intricate discussion, we do feel that there are some fairly simple concepts that, when implemented, can have a substantial impact on the effectiveness of a LinkedIn ad campaign.
Although LinkedIn may not have the user base of Facebook and has high costs associated with paid advertising, this social network is an excellent advertising medium. This is especially true for brands that are looking to tailor their advertising efforts to reach an extremely targeted audience. One benefit to LinkedIn is that vast majority of its users are there for business purposes and networking (as opposed to other social media networks). This means that for B2B companies and businesses that are targeting professionals LinkedIn is by far the most effective platform.
Below, we have outlined 5 effective tips on how to make LinkedIn advertising work for you:
The 5 Methods of Paid Advertising on LinkedIn
LinkedIn offers 5 ways for B2B companies to advertise on their social network:
• Sponsored Content
• Sponsored InMail
• Text Ads
• Dynamic Ads
• Programmatic Display Ads
For more information about each product and how to get started with LinkedIn advertising please go to this link: https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/how-to-advertise-on-linkedin
Tip #1: Be Specific When Targeting
Pay careful attention to the “targeting” features on the platform. The more targeted your ads are, the higher the chances for engagements or conversions. For example, if you are selling CRM tools for small to medium sized businesses in the United States and Canada you could target users with skills related to customer service, sales management and project management or have a job title related to one of the specific fields. Perhaps even be more specific with keywords like CRM management and productivity tools. The key is to narrow down your ad targeting as much as possible.
Tip #2: Test it out
In digital marketing, we encourage you to try things out and experiment. That’s because you will never know whether or not something works unless you try it out…meaning you have tested it out using multiple variations of headlines, creative, calls to action, visuals etc. During the trial “test” period, you should be monitoring the performance of each ad to see which ads bring the best results.
Tip #3: Include Actionable Call to Actions
LinkedIn encourages its advertisers to use strong “calls to action”. Be mindful of the character limit on the ads in both the ad copy and the headline. As much as you want to come across as actionable, you do not want to overdo it and come across as repetitive. The most effective CTAs are the ones that direct users instead of demanding that something be done. A few examples are “Show me all the available homes” or “Send me a Discount Code”. Remember, most LinkedIn users are not coming to the social network for the ads.
Tip #4: Add Your Own Tracking Code
Unlike Facebook or Google AdWords, LinkedIn does not have a built in conversion tracking code, so you will need to add tracking parameters to the end of your ad’s URL. It’s important to add a different tracking code for every ad/targeting variation which will enable you to keep track of the best performing ads.
Tip #5: Avoid the Use of Stock Images
Rule of thumb, use stock images as a last resort. Images that are unique, bright, energetic and supportive of your content are key. Be sure to update your messaging and imagery at least once a week. As previously mentioned, your audience will settle on different messaging and images, so you may find that launching new campaigns as opposed to revising existing ones may bring optimal results.
LinkedIn advertising is a fairly comprehensive topic and like anything, you get better at it the more you use it. The above tips are only meant as a starting point. Stay tuned. We will be providing further posts focusing on the LinkedIn platform.
About iRISEmedia
iRISEmedia.com is a Toronto based digital and social media marketing agency, specializing in social media management, digital marketing and online branding. Feel free to contact us today if you would like to discuss LinkedIn advertising https://irisemedia.com/.
