LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million members worldwide. Many businesses and professionals use LinkedIn to connect with customers, generate leads, recruit talent and build their brand. One of the ways this is achieved is through advertising on LinkedIn. But is it necessary to have a LinkedIn page or account in order to run ads on the platform? Let’s take a closer look.
What are LinkedIn ads?
LinkedIn offers several advertising options that allow businesses to reach their target audience on the platform. Some of the main LinkedIn ad formats include:
– Sponsored Content – Appears in the LinkedIn feed similar to normal posts. Used to increase brand awareness and engagement.
– Sponsored InMail – Directly engages members via personalized messages in their LinkedIn inbox. Effective for contacting passive talent or hard-to-reach decision makers.
– Text Ads – Eye-catching text ads that appear on the right side of the LinkedIn feed. Ideal for promoting content, events or generating leads.
– Dynamic Ads – Customizable ads that showcase specific products/services to the right members. Helpful for driving traffic to your website or targeted landing pages.
Do you need a LinkedIn page to run ads?
The short answer is no – you do not need a LinkedIn page or account to run LinkedIn ads. LinkedIn allows anyone to advertise on their platform, even if they don’t have a presence there.
The LinkedIn ads platform is accessible to all advertisers and marketers through LinkedIn’s self-service advertising portal. All you need to get started is a business email address and credit card. From there, you can create ad campaigns, target your desired audience, establish budgets and track performance.
So if you want to tap into LinkedIn’s audience of 630+ million professionals, you can do so without having a company page, Showcase page or employee accounts on LinkedIn. Your ad campaigns will function perfectly fine without an official presence on the platform.
However, most marketers agree there are benefits to also having a LinkedIn presence when running ads. Let’s explore those advantages further.
Benefits of having a LinkedIn presence
While not absolutely necessary, creating a LinkedIn presence can maximize the impact of your ad campaigns in several ways:
Brand awareness & authority
A LinkedIn Company Page gives your brand an official presence on a highly reputable platform visited by millions daily. This helps establish credibility and authority for your brand. It also provides a hub for your employees, customers and target audience to engage with your brand.
Expanded organic reach
Alongside advertising, organic content promotion on a Company Page can expand your reach and increase engagement. Followers of your page may share and interact with your unpaid posts, giving you bonus exposure.
Retargeting options
Certain LinkedIn advertising features only work if you have a Company Page. For example, Website Retargeting allows you to target people who have visited specific pages on your company website. Similarly, Matched Audiences lets you retarget people who have engaged with your LinkedIn page.
Insights & analytics
Company Pages provide valuable analytics on your followers, post engagement levels, website referral traffic and more. These insights can inform your content strategy and help refine your ads.
Customer trust & relationships
An official, verifiable presence builds customer trust in your brand. They can directly engage with your company page to ask questions, make comments and establish a relationship. This human connection can positively influence conversion rates.
Employee branding & advocacy
A Company Page gives employees a place to connect, follow company updates and share content. This helps strengthen company culture and employee advocacy.
So in summary, having an owned presence on LinkedIn is not essential but can maximize advertising ROI. Even without a Company Page, you can run successful ad campaigns on LinkedIn and access core analytics.
Setting up your LinkedIn presence
If you do want to establish yourself on LinkedIn alongside your ad campaigns, here are some tips for getting set up:
Create a Company Page
Use your business name, logo, description and images to create a branded Company Page. Make sure to showcase your products/services, company culture, leadership team, customers and mission.
Optimize your page
Include keywords in your title, description and About section to help people find you in search. Use relevant hashtags and pin important posts to the top of your page.
Publish regular content
Post relevant articles, images, videos and insights to engage your audience. Use ads to promote high-performing posts.
Grow your followers
Proactively connect with customers, partners and industry influencers. Run follower campaigns to expand your audience reach.
Analyze performance
Use LinkedIn’s integrated analytics to see what content resonates best with your followers and website visitors. Continuously refine your strategy.
Interact & build relationships
Actively respond to comments, likes, shares and @mentions of your page. This builds meaningful connections with your target audience.
Encourage employee advocacy
Motivate staff to follow, share and interact with your page to amplify reach. They can help humanize your brand.
Types of LinkedIn pages
Beyond Company Pages, there are a few other types of LinkedIn pages you can create:
Showcase Pages
Highlight a specific brand, business unit or initiative under your company umbrella. For example, a software company may create a Showcase Page for a new product launch.
Employee Pages
Encourage staff to optimize their personal LinkedIn profiles. This establishes them as thought leaders and company representatives.
Influencer Pages
Thought leaders and industry experts can create their own dedicated pages separate from their profile to share insights, build authority and grow their audience.
So in summary, while a LinkedIn presence is not mandatory, it can be highly beneficial to amplify your advertising efforts. A Company Page should serve as the foundation for your organic and paid activities on LinkedIn.
Optimizing your LinkedIn ads
To maximize LinkedIn ad performance, here are some top tips whether you have an established presence or not:
Target by location, industry, job role & interests
Use LinkedIn’s robust targeting options to reach your precise audience based on professional and personal attributes.
Align with buyer journey stages
Tailor ad messaging for each stage – from awareness to consideration to decision making.
Highlight value propositions
Focus copy on how you solve customer pain points and deliver results vs features.
Leverage intent data
Target people who are actively researching products/services like yours or visiting relevant pages.
Rotate creative assets
A/B test different ad variations – image vs video vs carousel. See what resonates best.
Retarget website visitors
Remarket to people who have engaged with specific pages on your website.
Track & optimize performance
Monitor metrics like CTR, conversion rates, cost per lead and engagement levels. Continuously improve targeting, offers and creative.
Integrate with CRM
Sync your ads with a CRM platform to track prospect engagement across channels and nurture leads.
Conclusion
In summary, you do not need an established LinkedIn presence or account to run effective ads on the platform. The self-serve LinkedIn Ads platform is open to all advertisers. However, complementing your ads with an owned Company Page can amplify awareness, establish credibility, facilitate retargeting and provide valuable analytics. If you decide to create a presence, focus on optimizing your page, engaging followers, publishing compelling content and encouraging employees to share and interact. Combined with well-targeted, results-driven ads, this strategy can take your LinkedIn marketing to the next level.
