Everything You Need to Know About Linkedin Ads

This article will provide an overview of what LinkedIn Ads are, the different types of ads available, how to set up a campaign, and best practices for generating leads with LinkedIn Ads.

Table of Contents

Introduction

What Are Linkedin Ads?

Benefits of Using Linkedin Ads

Types of Linkedin Ads

How to Set Up Linkedin Ad Campaign

How Much Do Linkedin Ads Cost?

Best Practices For Linkedin Ads

Conclusion

Introduction

LinkedIn Ads have become a popular tool for marketing professionals looking to generate leads through digital campaigns. With over 700 million users, LinkedIn provides a powerful platform to reach a highly targeted audience. As the world’s largest professional network, it’s no surprise that LinkedIn Ads are becoming increasingly popular for lead generation. 

What are LinkedIn Ads?

LinkedIn Ads are a form of online advertising that allows businesses to target a specific audience with their ads. LinkedIn Ads are different from other social media ads, as they are only shown to users who are signed into LinkedIn.

This means that businesses can be sure that their ads are being seen by potential customers who are already interested in what they have to offer. These ads can be used to promote products or services, attract followers, or drive traffic from LinkedIn to other websites or landing pages. They should be designed to be engaging and informative so that users can learn more about what the firm can offer.

Benefits of Using LinkedIn Ads

Using LinkedIn Ads is an effective way to reach potential customers and build relationships with them. It allows you to target specific audiences based on job titles, industries, skills, and more so you can ensure your message is reaching the right people. 

LinkedIn Ads offer a number of benefits for businesses, including:

Diverse Audience Targeting

LinkedIn stands out with its unique audience targeting capabilities. Advertisers can target users based on their employer (past or present), job title, years of experience, education, industry, professional certifications, and more.

Easy to Get Started

Unlike other digital advertising channels that can be cumbersome to set up, LinkedIn makes it simple. You can have a basic campaign live in just five minutes.

Effective Retargeting

LinkedIn offers robust retargeting and remarketing options. You can choose from eight types of matched audiences to re-engage users who have previously interacted with your business.

Superior Conversion Rates

LinkedIn Ads boast an average conversion rate of 6.1% for converting users into leads, compared to 2.58% for B2B advertisers on Google search.

High-Quality Leads

Conversion campaigns using LinkedIn’s lead gen forms tend to attract more qualified leads. These campaigns, especially when using pre-filled forms, are more effective at converting users than standard website forms.

Types of LinkedIn Ads 

There are four main types of ads available on LinkedIn: Sponsored Content, Sponsored Messaging, Text Ads, and Dynamic Ads.

Sponsored Content

Sponsored content is a type of ad that appears in users’ feeds as posts from companies they follow or may be interested in following. These posts typically include images or videos with accompanying text that promotes products or services offered by the company. They also include links so users can learn more about what is being advertised. 

Sponsored Messaging

With Sponsored Messages, you can advertise directly to LinkedIn members in their inbox. LinkedIn has a limit on the number of members who will receive a sponsored message advertisement each month. For example, a member of your target audience will not receive one of your ads more than twice in a short period of time.

Text Ads

Text ads appear alongside other content on user profiles and group pages as banners promoting products or services offered by companies. They usually include headlines and short descriptions that give viewers an idea about what is being advertised without taking away from the actual content they are viewing on the page. 

Dynamic Ads

Dynamic ads are interactive ads that allow users to interact with them directly from their feeds by clicking on them or watching videos associated with them. These types of ads often contain visuals such as images and videos as well as text explaining what is being offered by the company advertising it. 

LinkedIn Ads Specifications and Sizes

When designing your LinkedIn Ads, it’s important to adhere to specific size and resolution guidelines to ensure your ads display correctly and engage your audience effectively. 

Single Image Ad

Single Image Ads display in the LinkedIn feed and can be targeted to specific audiences across desktop and mobile.

• Introductory text: Up to 150 characters
• Headline: Up to 70 characters
• Image size: 1200 x 627px

Document Ad

Document Ads allow you to promote gated or ungated documents directly in users' feeds. Documents can be read or downloaded without leaving LinkedIn.

• Introductory text: Up to 150 characters
• Headline: Up to 30 characters
• File types: PDF, DOCX, DOC, PPT, PPTX
• Limits: 300 pages or 1 million words, up to 100MB

Carousel Image Ad

Carousel Ads enable advertisers to tell an interactive story with a swipeable series of images, each with its own content and landing URL.

• Introductory text: Up to 255 characters
• Images: 1080 x 1080px, 2 to 10 cards
• Headline: Up to 45 characters for a landing page, up to 30 characters for Lead Gen Form CTA

Video Ad

Video Ads allow you to engage your audience with visual content directly in their LinkedIn feed.

• Introductory text: Up to 150 characters
• Headline: Up to 70 characters
• Duration: 3 seconds to 30 minutes (most successful ads are less than 15 seconds)
• File format: MP4

Text Ads

Text Ads appear at the top or in the right column of the LinkedIn desktop view. These simple ads consist of a brief headline, a description, and an optional image.

• Headline: Up to 25 characters
• Description: Up to 75 characters
• Image (optional): 100 x 100px

Dynamic Ads
Dynamic Ads are personalized based on LinkedIn profile data and appear in the right column of the desktop view. They dynamically update to show tailored content to each user.

• Headline: Up to 50 characters
• Call to action (CTA) text: Up to 18 characters
• Company logo: 100 x 100px

Message Ad

Deliver a targeted message with a single call-to-action.

• Sender: Up to 30 characters
• Subject line: Up to 60 characters
• Message text: Up to 1,500 characters
• Image size: 300 x 250px

Conversation Ad

Start a "choose-your-own-path" interactive conversation with multiple CTA buttons.

• CTA buttons: Up to 5
• CTA text: Up to 25 characters
• Message text: Up to 500 characters
• Image size: 300 x 250px

How To Set Up A Linkedin Ad Campaign 

Setting up a Linkedin Ad campaign is relatively easy but there are several steps involved in creating one successfully:  

Choose Your Objective

The first step when setting up an ad campaign on Linkedin is deciding what your goal is for the campaign – whether it’s driving traffic from Linkedin back to your website or generating leads through conversions such as filling out forms or making purchases from within Linkedin itself – so you know which type of ad will best meet your needs.

Set Your Target Audience

Once you have determined which type of ad will best achieve your goals, the next step is deciding who you want your ad to reach by targeting specific audiences based on job titles, industries, skillsets etc., so you know your message will be seen by relevant people who may be interested in what you have to offer.  There are different methods for targeting on LinkedIn:

• Targeting by Demographics: One of the simplest ways to target on LinkedIn is by demographics. This includes targeting by factors such as location, company size, and job function. By targeting specific demographics, businesses can increase the chances of their message reaching the right audience.
• Targeting by Skills and Interests: Another way to target on LinkedIn is by skills and interests. By targeting users based on their skills and interests, businesses can reach potential leads who are more likely to be interested in their products or services.
• Targeting by Job Titles: Targeting by job titles is another effective way to reach potential leads on LinkedIn. By targeting specific job titles, businesses can reach potential leads who hold specific positions within a company and are more likely to be decision-makers.
• Targeting by Industry: Targeting by industry is another effective way to reach potential leads on LinkedIn. By targeting specific industries, businesses can reach potential leads who are more likely to be interested in their products or services.
• Advanced Targeting: LinkedIn also offers advanced targeting options such as Matched Audiences. This allows businesses to target specific groups of people who have previously engaged with their website, email or mobile app. This can be a powerful way to reach potential leads who have already shown interest in the business and increase the chances of generating leads.

Create Your Ad Creative

After setting up your target audience it’s time to create the actual creative elements such as images/videos/text etc., associated with your ad which should be designed in order to grab viewers attention while also conveying key information about what you have to offer effectively within a short amount of time (as most people won't spend long reading/watching before moving onto something else).  

Establish Your Budget & Bidding Strategy

You then need to decide how much money/time/resources you want invest into this particular ad campaign before going live so having an idea of how much return-on-investment (ROI) you hope achieve beforehand can help inform this decision-making process too e.g., CPC (cost-per-click), CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions), etc.

Publish your ad

Once the ad has been created, you will need to publish it. LinkedIn will then review the ad and, if it meets their guidelines, will make it live.

How Much Do LinkedIn Ads Cost?

LinkedIn Ads cost can vary depending on a number of factors, including the type of ad, the targeting options, and the budget. LinkedIn Ads are typically charged on a pay-per-click (PPC) basis, which means that businesses will pay a certain amount each time their ad is clicked.

Best Practices For Linkedin Ads 

Ads on LinkedIn can be an effective way for businesses to target potential leads. However, it's important to understand the best practices for getting the most out of your ad campaigns. Here are a few tips for optimizing your use of LinkedIn Ads:

Create Relevant Content

Your ads should always feature relevant content that resonates with your target audience. This means researching what kind of content they respond to and creating adverts that reflect their values and interests. You should also make sure any images or videos used in your adverts are eye-catching and engaging.

Use Targeted Keywords

It's important to include targeted keywords in your ads, as this helps you reach people who have expressed an interest in the topic or product you're advertising. This can help you narrow down the people you reach with your ads and increase the chances of conversion.

Test Different Variations

Testing different variations of your ad campaigns can give you valuable insights into which strategies are producing results and which ones aren't working as well as expected. You should experiment with different copy, image combinations, targeting strategies, etc., until you find something that yields a good return on investment (ROI).

Monitor Results Regularly

Don't forget to monitor the performance of your ads regularly; this will help you identify which areas are performing well and which need tweaking or improvement. 

Utilize Multiple Platforms

It may be beneficial to run your ads across multiple platforms - such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads etc - as this will increase visibility and boost engagement levels. Just make sure that each platform is utilized effectively; research has shown that many audiences prefer certain platforms over others so have tailored campaigns accordingly.

Conclusion

Creating a successful LinkedIn Ads campaign requires careful planning and strategy. Having a clear goal and creating relevant content with strong call-to-actions are essential elements for achieving optimal results. At the same time, Linkedin Ads can be a good means of implementing, for example, an Account Base Strategy (ABM).  Additionally, testing different elements and monitoring the performance of your campaigns regularly is also key when using LinkedIn Ads. When used effectively, LinkedIn Ads can be a powerful tool for reaching potential customers or clients on this professional platform.

FAQ

1. What are LinkedIn Ads?

LinkedIn Ads are online advertisements that target LinkedIn users. They help businesses promote products, services, and drive traffic to websites.

2. What are the benefits of using LinkedIn Ads?

LinkedIn Ads offer targeted audience options, easy setup, effective retargeting, high conversion rates, and quality leads.

3. What types of LinkedIn Ads are available?

There are four main types: Sponsored Content, Sponsored Messaging, Text Ads, and Dynamic Ads.

4. How do I set up a LinkedIn Ad campaign?

Choose your campaign objective, set your target audience, create the ad content, set your budget, and publish the ad.

5. How much do LinkedIn Ads cost?

LinkedIn Ads are usually pay-per-click (PPC), with costs varying based on ad type and targeting options.

6. What are some best practices for LinkedIn Ads?

Create engaging content, use targeted keywords, test different ad versions, and monitor your results regularly.