The complete guide to LinkedIn Ads

04/11/2024

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Welcome to this article that will help you discover a lot of things about LinkedIn Ads! 🔥 My goal is to help you choose the best tools based on your strategy on LinkedIn. 🎯 You will see that you have several options and the ideal one will depend on your needs. I’ll take you behind the scenes on LinkedIn to help you understand and take advantage of advertising on LinkedIn. 🤑 Let’s go!

Part 1: Theory – Formats, pricing, bidding

What are the advertising formats of LinkedIn Ads?

I’m not telling you anything new by saying that LinkedIn is THE professional social network

LinkedIn has 700 million members worldwide in 2020.
The network has the best free BtoB database.
It allows you to get qualified leads and to develop your notoriety.

Because of its success, LinkedIn has a great interest in using advertising as a way to make money, and it’s in your interest to use LinkedIn to do the same 😉 there are 4 paid options:

Sponsored messaging,
Text ads,
Dynamic ads,
Sponsored content.

LinkedIn’s algorithm is designed more or less the same way as other networks. That is, its goal is to keep users connected and engaged. This allows, among other things, to make them consume ads bought by advertisers.

LinkedIn has therefore bet on the optimization of the user experience, both for the advertiser (the one who offers the advertisement) and for the users (targets for which the advertisement is dedicated). As a result, LinkedIn focuses on quality ads, before quantity. This is where the Campaign Manager comes into play.

Knowing LinkedIn Ads Manager

The Campaign Manager is like the Swiss Army knife assistant for advertisers. It makes the whole process easier, so even a novice can get started with LinkedIn Ads. What’s pretty cool is that you can customize your data according to your goals with the Campaign manager.

It also allows you to launch your campaigns and track your results.

Let me explain how it works and what those famous options are 😏

1 – Sponsored content

The 3 offers are present in the news feed of your targets:

SINGLE IMAGE ADS ; visual with a hyperlink,

VIDEO ADS ; advertising videos,

CAROUSEL ADS ; interactive ads with a hyperlink.

You define yourself the amount you want to invest (I’llexplain this a little bit below 😉).

Should you use sponsored content, and what format should you choose?

To know if you should look into sponsored content (and all the others for that matter), you need to identify your goal in using the network first. That is:

Do I want to gain awareness and build my brand?
Do I want to generate leads and sell quickly?

Sponsored content is not bad if you want to develop your brand. The video format is our favorite, because it is extremely powerful. It’s clearly the format to go for if the goal is to get your business known. But if it’s about generating leads and you’re in B2B, it clearly lacks personalization, and in that case, I’m not sure it’s the right format for you.

2 – Text Ads

What is Text Ads according to LinkedIn? It is a version of sponsored content with a title, a short text and an image, on which you add a call to action (a button to visit your site, your landing page …). It appears in the news feed of your target.

The main goal is to generate more traffic to a website and more leads thanks to interactive features such as Lead Gen forms and automated calls-to-action.

Should I use Text Ads?

On paper, it’s interesting, except that text ads are less attractive than a video and less personal than a direct message. LinkedIn is a human social network, users need to feel that they are talking to an individual, that they share values and emotions. You can sell your brand or your product more easily by adding storytelling or providing context, whereas Text Ads are very short and impersonal.

I’m not telling you not to do it, but I invite you to use your LinkedIn account(s) to publish content. It is much more effective for you to develop your network by adding members corresponding to your target, then to publish on your news feed directly with your account. It will allow you to add a personal touch 😉 To do this, here are the two must-dos:

3 – Sponsored messages

This is a short text sent to your target’s email in order to arouse their curiosity and encourage them to find out more about the content. Generally, the format proposed by LinkedIn is not very popular, because your messages have the sponsored mention. The user knows that it is an advertisement sent automatically, which is not in line with the development of the network and the current social codes. LinkedIn users are looking for more authenticity and personalization of exchanges.

Should I use sponsored messages?

As I said, if you use LinkedIn you are obliged to have the sponsored mention on your message. Honestly, we have all received these messages in our LinkedIn messaging box and it would be a lie to say that we pay attention to them. Did you also not even read their messages because you just felt like you were being spammed? Admit it. 😜 Nevertheless, sponsored messages can be great tools to get in touch directly with the prospect and meet a growing demand from the network, that of having more personal exchanges.

Of course you need to know how to write your prospecting messages, but also have the right tool. If you are interested in sponsored messages, I am not going to tell you that you that you absolutely must use ProspectIn, it is up to you to choose the tool you prefer. However, I will tell you to not use LinkedIn sponsored messaging and to compare the tools on the market to find out which one suits you best.

4 – Dynamic Ads

Should I use Dynamic Ads?

Again, the answer will depend on your objectives and your target. Dynamic ads can allow you to generate leads in the moment. I find that off the bat, this type of plan is already more useful than the message Ads. Nevertheless, I always advise to have a medium/long term vision and to develop your network by using your LinkedIn account or that of your sales representatives. You can very well test several methods, but optimizing your profile and automation are essential steps.

If you really want to take advantage of LinkedIn 😉

LinkedIn advertising: what is the price?

The answer is a bit more complex than the question. LinkedIn works with a bidding system. As a result, you need to understand how it works to know how and how much to bid. 🤔

. Again, it depends on your goals:

Cost per mile; to build brand image. 📢
Cost per click; to generate leads. 🤑

Let me explain: First of all, you want to position yourself in front of a target. This one will be identical to that of other bidders.

LinkedIn, puts you in competition with them. Why?

Because there is not enough dedicated space to put all your pretty ads and LinkedIn has no interest in spamming its users too much, but to offer them ads that are as useful as possible. LinkedIn’s goal is twofold: to offer the best ads to users and to meet the needs of advertisers. First, you will choose a maximum amount you want to pay. This will be either cost-per-click or cost-per-mile, depending on your goals.

How do you win your bids on LinkedIn?

Two factors will make the key to your success 🔑:

The amount you want to bid per click or per thousand.

The higher the amount, the more likely you are to win the auction. Nevertheless, it’s important to understand your goals and estimate your budgets before setting the amount you want to pay per click. For example: If you win the auction with €12 CPC and you have a budget of €1,000, you will get 83 leads and then that advertising campaign is over.

The quality score: this is the interaction of users with your ad.

As I explained earlier, LinkedIn has a vested interest in offering relevant content to users, since when they click or view the ad you posted, LinkedIn makes money. LinkedIn’s algorithms will give you a quality score to measure the effectiveness of your ads. The higher it is, the more likely you are to win the auction. 🎯

How is the quality score calculated?

It is a combination of factors:

Your performance on your previous LinkedIn Ads ( click-through rate, user engagement),
Ad relevance: This is evaluated based on the relevance of your keywords to the content and message of your ads,
The relevance and usability of the landing page (of course, if you send users to questionable pages, LinkedIn will not help you),
Shares, likes, comments on your ads (user engagement).

Of course, LinkedIn is careful not to tell you what your score is, otherwise you might bid less money up front, and that doesn’t sit well with them. 😂 Moreover, just to add a little complexity to all this, the amount you bid is not the amount you will pay in the end. ❗ It is a pro-rata between the total score of the advertiser that came second and your quality score. (I warned you that it’s complicated 😂) Don’t worry, I made some cool little visuals to help you visualize it:

The total score of the second place bidder is divided by your quality score, and 🎉 Tadam 🎉 you only pay €5.34 CPM or CPC.

LinkedIn collects €5.34, it’s less money than what you bid initially, but according to LinkedIn, it’s a higher qualitaty and therefore it will be more appreciated by users.

It is therefore in your interest to choose your targets well and to splash out on the visuals and texts of your adverts if you want to win.

Part 2 – The practice: How to create your first successful campaign on LinkedIn Ads?

Hubspot Study: On LinkedIn Ads, the average click-through rate is 0.15% and the conversion rate is 6.1%. Now that you have an idea of the average, you know where you stand. However, we’re not going to settle with just the average and we’re going to look together at the mistakes you shouldn’t make to be able to double these percentages. 🎯

How to generate qualified leads with LinkedIn Ads?

So already, everything will depend on your target. Of course we’re talking about a Btob target here. If your prospects are not in the Business field, then this might not be your best acquisition channel. Even if, between us, I know from experience that it is a channel that should not be neglected. But in any case, when it comes to Ads, think B2b.

Professional targeting

The great thing about LinkedIn is that your target is there, you just have to target as precisely as possible. So first, you need to define a clear target. And LinkedIn helps you do that. Targeting your audience on the network is much easier than on others such as Facebook or Instagram. You can do it based on professional criteria including:

A prospect’s position,
The company,
The field of expertise,
The seniority in the company or in their area of expertise.
Demographic data: “age and gender”.
The studies carried out by the target.
Target ing a list of emails,
Targeting a list of companies,
Targeting a group or page members.

Retargeting

Retargeting (through the matched audience option) feeds the example machine. Basically, you tell LinkedIn:

“look, this guy, he likes what I do, so I want more guys like him”

Basically, you reach out to new people who have made a visit or taken an action on your site, and refine your targeting for the next step. Note that the similar audience is also used in LinkedIn Ads, using the same principle as the LinkedIn post algorithm. So think about retargeting by analyzing the profiles that respond to your ads. 🥳

Inclusion options

Consider including people from your lists. For example, if you search in a geographical area “France”, you can exclude some cities like “Marseille” or “Paris”.

How to promote your business on LinkedIn Ads?

There are several reasons to advertise on LinkedIn.

Improve your brand image and visibility.
Work on your branding.
Sell your products.
Generate a database that you will “nurture” and sell to later.

Each of these advertising campaigns will carry a different message and therefore should be done differently. To promote your business, consider advertising:

Be clear and precise with your message
Use quality visuals
Put forward your added value
The name and the logo of the company must be visible.
Opt for a button to your blog rather than your company page on LinkedIn – there is more info, it’s better for turning prospects into customers.
Avoid lengthy texts. Keep things short.
Follow your company’s graphic charter.

To promote your business on LinkedIn you can also:

Optimize your company page.
Publish quality content on LinkedIn (be consistent).
Use professional images.
Develop a multi-channel strategy.
Perform A/B tests – only you will know what works best for your campaigns!

How to optimize your LinkedIn Ads?

Even though the LinkedIn algorithm is powerful, you can’t just leave it running. In fact, you can, but you may not be maximizing your performance. The best thing to do is to regularly check your ads on LinkedIn Campaign Manager. You can edit and refine them along the way. To check your results, you have access to several KPI‘s (indicators):

Cost per click (CPC).
Click-through rate (CTR).
The number of leads (if you are running a lead generation campaign).

Optimization can be:

Changes in visuals and other graphic elements,
Improvements to the text,
Adjustment of the message and the value offered.

Article FAQ

How does inmail work on LinkedIn Ads?

Even though we don’t recommend LinkedIn Inmail at all, because it contains the word “sponsored” at the top of the message, which immediately depersonalizes the approach, here is a video that will explain how to set it up if you insist on using it. Here’s how to use Waalaxy to send LinkedIn Inmails paying less and without having the famous sponsored label. 😉

How to advertise on LinkedIn Ads?

Choose your format: sponsored posts, text ads, dynamic ads or sponsored content.
Go to LinkedIn and click on the “advertise” tab.
Start bidding.
Follow the steps of the campaign manager.
Analyze your performance and test.
Repeat.

How to set up LinkedIn Ads?

First of all, you need to define your objectives on LinkedIn, your budget and your target via the Campaign manager. Then, you just have to understand the 4 different offers on LinkedIn to select the one that best meets your needs, or find another tool that allows you to make the most of the network. That’s how you’ll win the auction so that LinkedIn publishes your ad and not your competitors’.

Which ad is more effective on LinkedIn?

Again, this will depend on your target audience and your goals. For example, the video format of the sponsored content can be useful to develop your brand image. Some features like the sponsored message are to be avoided. In this article, I explained how you can use an automated tool to create highly personalized prospecting messages, without going through LinkedIn’s sponsored message feature.

How much does it cost to advertise on LinkedIn (LinkedIn Ads)?

Several factors will determine the price of your ad. First, the budget you decide to allocate to it. Then, the maximum cost per click (CPC) or cost per thousand (CPM) you want to invest. Then, you will make a bid and you will be put in competition with other advertisers. The price you will pay if you win the auction is not what you originally bid. It is a pro rata between the score of the second place advertiser and yours. There you go, you now know everything about LinkedIn Ads! 🚀

Conclusion of the article

There are 4 types of LinkedIn Ads:

Sponsored messages (sponsored messaging),
Text ads,
Dynamic ads,
Sponsored content.

You can use them to build awareness or get leads. These ads are paid by bids. In this article you were able to see the advantages and disadvantages of the different option, how to win the bids to advertise on LinkedIn, as well as our tips to make the most of LinkedIn through automation tools. Ready to launch your first LinkedIn Ads campaign? 🔥