3 Tips for Running an Effective LinkedIn Advertising Campaign
Although LinkedIn advertising is among the more expensive social advertising platforms (on a click basis), for many B2B organisations it can also be really effective for reaching a high-quality, targeted audience. This often translates into improved ROI.
When I’m running a large-scale international LinkedIn advertising campaign for a B2B brand there are three main rules that I stick to get the best possible results.
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Know your ‘Who’
Yes, you could say this for any advertising platform, but I would argue that it’s even more crucial with LinkedIn. You have so many options you can filter through and include/exclude from your targeting. In order to get the most impact for your budget you really need to focus on your core audience.
The options you have available are more detailed than most other platforms. I have listed below the four that I feel can bring the most benefit to your advertising:
- Company Name
- Job title
- Job function
- Company size
Note: LinkedIn also recently broadened their targeting options and bought out an ‘Interests’ tag. We are still testing this, so I’ll blog about that next month.
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Check the ‘Demographics’ analytics when optimising
Looking at analytics for your ads is an obvious task, but LinkedIn also enables you to breakdown your audiences to identify those that perform the best.
For example, say you have targeted people who work for OST Marketing, Coca Cola, and Nike. You then see that you received a higher Click Through Rate (%) from your OST Marketing audience. We would recommend using this information and creating new ads specifically for your OST Marketing audience – because now you know you’re focusing on your most receptive audience.
You will learn a lot about your original ad set. You may also find you are getting a lot of junior staff interested in your ad, while you’re wanting to reach senior staff. How did that happen? Check your ads – it may be that senior staff have shared the post with their junior colleagues, which may be a good sign!
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Different Advertising Formats
Try to avoid getting stuck in the cycle of ‘I’ll do what I’ve always done’. LinkedIn offer a wide variety of advertising formats, such as Carousel, InMails and more recently, Video Ads. By testing these out you might find that some work better, but you’ll also mix up formats for your regular audiences – which might make your content that bit more engaging.
Hopefully these tips are helpful, but if you’re struggling, don’t despair! It takes time to run great LinkedIn advertising campaigns. I work on these platforms every day and I still discover new features. LinkedIn have just updated their Campaign Manager tool again – so I’ve had to spend time re-learning that all over again!.
If you need any support with your social media advertising, B2B content marketing or other aspects of your social media strategy, please contact us.
