If you are considering whether LinkedIn ads would work for your business, it is important to understand the platform and the opportunity it presents.
LinkedIn Ads offer powerful targeting capabilities and access to a professional audience, making them particularly effective for B2B marketing. However, the higher costs, complexity, and focus on top-of-funnel activities may not suit every business. Weighing these advantages and disadvantages can help you decide if LinkedIn Ads are the right fit for your marketing strategy.
Let’s look at the factors influencing whether LinkedIn ads would work for you.
Advantages of LinkedIn Ads
Reach A Professional Audience
LinkedIn is primarily a professional network, making it ideal for B2B marketing. Users are often decision-makers or influencers within their organisations.
Advanced Targeting Options
LinkedIn’s targeting options allow you to reach the right people where they are most engaged. This is the really exciting part about LinkedIn ads.
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- Job Title, Industry, and Location: Target specific job titles, industries, and locations to reach the most relevant audience.
- Professional Groups and Qualifications: Engage with members of specific LinkedIn groups and those with certain professional qualifications.
- Company-Specific Targeting: Focus on employees of particular companies, useful for account-based marketing and targeting key decision-makers.
Build Relationship & Trust
By sharing your knowledge and expertise you can build reputation and trust.
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- Educational Content: Sharing blogs, whitepapers, and infographics to establish your company as a thought leader.
- Webinars and Events: Promote industry-specific webinars and events to engage and educate your target audience.
Capture Data
Lead forms and traffic campaigns to dedicated landing pages can allow you to build a picture of your
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- Lead Generation Forms: Use LinkedIn’s built-in lead gen forms to capture high-quality leads directly from your ads.
- Detailed Analytics: Access detailed analytics to track ad performance and refine your targeting strategy based on real data.
Disadvantages of LinkedIn Ads
Higher Costs Than Other Social Ad Platforms
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- Cost Per Click (CPC) and Cost Per Impression (CPM): LinkedIn ads tend to be more expensive compared to other platforms like Facebook or Google Ads.
- Minimum Spend: Requires a minimum daily spend of £8, which can add up quickly for small businesses or those with limited budgets.
Less Flexibility in Creative Testing
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- Rigid Testing Options: Limited flexibility in testing different ad creatives and formats. You may need to spend more to test multiple ad variations effectively.
- Creative Formats: Fewer options for creative testing compared to platforms like Facebook, where you can easily test various ad types and formats.
Top-of-Funnel Focus
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- Limited for Direct Conversions: LinkedIn is more effective for building awareness and driving initial engagement rather than direct sales conversions. This can be a drawback if your primary goal is immediate sales.
Complexity in Setup and Management
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- Learning Curve: Setting up and managing LinkedIn ads can be more complex and require a deeper understanding of the platform’s tools and capabilities.
- Ongoing Management: Requires continuous monitoring and optimisation to ensure ad performance and ROI.
Smaller Audience Size
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- Niche Audience: While LinkedIn’s audience is highly professional, it is also smaller compared to platforms like Facebook or Instagram, potentially limiting your reach.
How To Make LinkedIn Ads Work
For LinkedIn ads to work, you need a clear idea of who your customers are, where they hang out, and what they do.
It’s crucial to have a product with a strong customer lifetime value, a good starting benchmark being over £10,000.
Without this, it can be challenging to justify the investment in LinkedIn ads at scale. It is also important to make sure that LinkedIn fits within your marketing and sales funnels. LinkedIn ads are particularly strong at the top of the funnel, helping to generate awareness and early engagement. Here’s how they can be utilised at different stages of the funnel:
Top of the Funnel: Awareness
At this stage, your goal is to introduce your brand to potential customers. LinkedIn ads are excellent for this because they can reach a highly targeted professional audience. Use LinkedIn ads to:
- Build Targeted Brand Awareness: Introduce your brand to new audiences who are likely to be interested in your products or services.
- Promote High-Value Content: Share valuable content like blog posts, whitepapers, and infographics to educate your audience and establish thought leadership.
- Video Views: Utilise engaging video content to capture attention and explain your value proposition succinctly.
Middle of the Funnel: Consideration
Once potential customers are aware of your brand, the next step is to move them into the consideration phase. LinkedIn ads can help here by:
- Driving Website Traffic: Use content to drive users to your website or landing pages where they can learn more about your offerings.
- Webinar Sign-Ups: Promote webinars and events to engage your audience and provide deeper insights into your expertise.
- Lead Generation Forms: Collect contact information through LinkedIn’s built-in lead gen forms, making it easy for users to express interest without leaving the platform.
Budget Considerations
LinkedIn ads require a minimum spend of £8 per day.
However, effective campaigns typically require a higher budget. We advise clients to start with a budget of around £600 to £1,000 per month.
This allows you to test different creatives and target audiences effectively. Keep in mind that LinkedIn’s cost per click and cost per thousand impressions are higher than other platforms, but the quality of the audience justifies the cost.
Key Questions To Work Out If LinkedIn Would Work For You
Is Your Business B2B?
LinkedIn is most effective for business-to-business (B2B) marketing. If your primary audience is other businesses or professionals, LinkedIn Ads are likely a good fit.
Can You Clearly Identify Your Target Audience?
Do you know the job titles, industries, and geographic locations of your ideal customers? LinkedIn’s advanced targeting capabilities are best utilised when you have a clear understanding of who you need to reach.
Do You Have A Clear Marketing Funnel
LinkedIn Ads are excellent for top-of-the-funnel activities like building brand awareness and generating initial interest. If you’re looking to introduce your brand and engage potential customers early in their journey, LinkedIn is a strong option.
Is Your Product/Service High-Value
LinkedIn Ads tend to be more expensive than other platforms. To justify the investment, it’s ideal if your product or service has a strong customer lifetime value, preferably over £10,000.
Are You Prepared to Invest in a Minimum Budget and Continuous Optimisation?
LinkedIn requires a minimum daily spend of £8, but effective campaigns often need a monthly budget of £600 to £1,000. Additionally, you’ll need to commit to monitoring performance and optimising your ads regularly.