LinkedIn ads manager is the platform that allows advertisers to create, manage and optimize LinkedIn ads campaigns. With over 850 million members worldwide, LinkedIn provides a unique opportunity for marketers to reach a massive professional audience. LinkedIn advertising enables businesses to target LinkedIn users based on attributes like job title, company, industry, skills, interests and more.
If you want to advertise on LinkedIn to reach your target B2B or B2C audiences, you’ll need to use LinkedIn ads manager to set up, run and track your LinkedIn ad campaigns. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to access and navigate LinkedIn ads manager as a first-time user.
Prerequisites
Before you can start using LinkedIn ads manager, you need:
– A LinkedIn company page for your business. If you don’t have one yet, you can easily set one up for free.
– A LinkedIn user profile. You can use your personal profile or create a separate one for managing ads.
– A LinkedIn Campaign Manager account. This allows you to manage ads for multiple LinkedIn Pages. You can create one for free through LinkedIn ads manager.
– A payment method added to your Campaign Manager account, such as a credit card. You’ll need this to pay for your LinkedIn ads.
Step 1: Access LinkedIn Ads Manager
To access LinkedIn ads manager, follow these simple steps:
1. Go to linkedin.com/advertising and click “Get Started”.
2. Log in with your LinkedIn username and password.
3. Choose your objective, country, currency and language. Click “Next”.
4. Select “Campaign Manager Account” and click “Next”.
5. Enter your company and account details. Make sure to use a valid business email.
6. Agree to LinkedIn’s terms and click “Create Account”.
And that’s it! You’re now on the LinkedIn ads manager dashboard.
Step 2: Add Payment Method
To start running ads, you’ll need to add a payment method:
1. In the top right, click your profile picture > Settings.
2. Under Account Assets, click Payment methods.
3. Click Add payment method.
4. Choose a payment method and enter your details.
5. Click Save.
You should now see your added payment method under Payment methods. Now you can start spending on LinkedIn ads!
Step 3: Set Up Your First Campaign
Here are the steps to create your first LinkedIn ad campaign:
1. Click Campaigns in the top navigation bar.
2. Click Create campaign.
3. Select your objective. Popular choices include:
– Brand awareness
– Website visits
– Lead generation
4. Enter your campaign name and set your budget and schedule.
5. Select your target audience by location, company size, industry, job title and more.
6. Choose your ad format(s) – Sponsored Content, Message Ads, Dynamic Ads etc.
7. Design your ad creative, including text, images and links.
8. Set up bidding and budget allocation.
9. Review your campaign and click Launch campaign!
Your campaign draft is now created. Make any edits needed then click Launch to go live.
Step 4: Measure and Optimize Your Campaigns
Once your campaigns are running, you can use LinkedIn ads manager to monitor and optimize performance:
– Check campaign metrics like clicks, impressions, CTR, spend, conversions etc.
– Use filters to analyze results by time period, campaigns, creatives, audiences and more.
– Create A/B test campaigns to find the best-performing ad variations.
– Activate LinkedIn’s automated bid strategies, like target CPA bidding.
– Adjust your targeting and creative based on insights.
– Reallocate budget to better-performing campaigns.
– Schedule campaigns and set daily/monthly budgets.
Regularly optimizing your LinkedIn ads is crucial for improving results over time.
Advanced LinkedIn Ads Manager Features
Once you get familiar with the basics, you can level up your LinkedIn advertising skills with these powerful features:
Audience Targeting Options
– Matched Audiences – Target your customer lists by uploading contacts.
– Account Targeting – Reach key decision makers at specific companies.
– Lead Gen Forms – Generate and collect leads from your ads.
Automation
– Saved Audiences – Easily reuse high-performing target audiences.
– Saved Ad Templates – Duplicate and tweak successful creatives.
– Automatic Rules – Set up rules to optimize budgets, bids etc.
Integrations
– CRM Integration – Sync your CRM data with LinkedIn.
– Google Analytics – Track website conversions from your LinkedIn ads.
– Creative Manager – Produce ads at scale with templates.
Conclusion
Accessing and learning how to use LinkedIn ads manager is simple – just follow the step-by-step instructions outlined above. Start with the basics of setting up your account, adding payment, creating your first campaign and monitoring results. As you gain experience, take advantage of LinkedIn ads manager’s more advanced capabilities to target your audiences more precisely and efficiently generate leads for your business. With these best practices, you’ll be well on your way to LinkedIn advertising success.
