Currently ranking as the number one content marketing platform among B2B marketers, LinkedIn is enabling brands to reach the right consumers—and at a fantastic price point. Social media agencies across the country are taking note of the impressive statistics LinkedIn boasts. For example, brands that utilize LinkedIn for advertising can decrease lead generation costs by 69% when using LinkedIn sponsored content, and 90% of brands reduced their cost per lead by implementing LinkedIn lead generation forms. Not only does LinkedIn offer increased lead generation on a more competitive budget, it also supports up to two times higher engagement and conversion rates.

LinkedIn recently introduced innovative marketing solutions to help B2B companies generate leads, drive website traffic, and build brand awareness. They are now offering a revamped version of their campaign manager called LinkedIn Business Manager, a platform that uses objective-based advertising to help marketers manage their advertising accounts, target audiences, objectives, ad formats and campaign budgets and schedules, all in one centralized area. The platform also enables brands to target audiences based on specific demographics like location, age, gender, education, job experience and industry. So how can your brand take full advantage of LinkedIn’s superior results and lower costs? By approaching LinkedIn advertising with a strong social media strategy.

How To Advertise on LinkedIn

Any B2B company that is looking to reach larger audience segments with targeted content should consider marketing through LinkedIn’s ad platform. If your company has not already partnered with a social media agency for support or developed a LinkedIn social media strategy, there is no need to worry. The LEAP Amp social media agency team has been guiding our clients with actionable advice for years, and we are here to help you navigate the advertising capabilities of LinkedIn. Let’s look at our list of LinkedIn best practices to advertise effectively on the platform.

1. Keep ads and targeting relevant.
To connect with audiences and drive sales, your campaign and targeting needs to feel relevant to today’s consumers. One of the best ways to create relevant ads is to first look at who is in the room creating the messaging. Whether your brand is attempting to connect with a diverse demographic or a specific consumer segment, it’s imperative that the thoughts, feelings and needs of your target audience first be represented within your marketing team. Relevance and diversity in the marketing room will create relevance and diversity in your brand messaging.

2. Scale through focused targeting criteria.
LinkedIn offers targeting capabilities that allow you to target audiences based on location, company, industry, age, gender, education, job experience, job title and more. As a social media agency that works with large and small brands, LEAP Amp recommends starting with broader targeting options to scale your campaign reach, and then shifting your budget toward top-performing audience segments as the campaign continues.

3. Set campaign budget caps above $200.
Setting a low budget cap for your campaign will save you money, but it won’t give you an accurate read on how the campaign is performing. It is much more helpful to set a higher budget cap and reach a larger audience. Remember, the more impressions your campaign generates, the more relevant data you collect—so make sure to set your campaign budget caps for a minimum of $200 to allow the campaign to gather enough data to inform optimizations and expansions down the line.

4. Engage your audience with high-quality images.
Bright, crisp images capture your audience’s attention and make your ads look more professional. Appeal to your target consumers by including images in your campaign that connect with them on a deeper level than simply highlighting great products. Brands that successfully achieve growth through LinkedIn campaigns understand the importance of growing audience engagement through authentic, engaging images that are personally appealing to consumers.

5. Directly address your audience.
To stop the dreaded consumer scroll, your campaign needs to directly address your audience’s needs and wants. Grab their attention by creating campaign headlines that ask pointed questions and speak directly to each individual audience member, such as “Are You a Senior Project Manager?” or “Are You Searching for the Best Doughnut?” Creating an irresistible headline will help turn your campaign into a click magnet that generates more consumer interest.

6. Don’t forget a strong CTA (Call to Action).
The most effective campaigns include clear directives for consumers to follow. A clear CTA should lead and motivate consumers to sign up for a service, learn more about a product or visit another touchpoint within your brand ecosystem. Inviting your audience to “Subscribe Now” or “Register Today” through a strong, clear call to action will help shift them away from continuous scrolling and toward clicks and conversions.

7. Create ad variations.
Developing multiple variations of ad campaigns and testing each for performance will not only give your audience more variety and reduce ad burnout, but it will also provide you with tangible data that will allow you see which variations should be promoted and which should be adjusted or turned off. When creating ad variations, consider recent consumer research by industry group Ipsos and SeeHer, which found that ads promoting gender equality or depicting females in a positive light are significantly more likely to drive positive business results. Brands in the study that included positive female portrayals saw a 24% increase in short-term sales and a 28% increase in long-term brand relationships.

LEAP Amp is a social media agency that is always strategic in our approach to creating quality campaigns that thrive. We offer creative capabilities that support dynamic digital strategies and promote media that has a positive, valuable impact for brand communities. Are you interested in learning more about how LEAP Amp can support your brand with LinkedIn or other social media strategies and advertising? Reach out today!