LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 660 million users worldwide. This makes it an extremely attractive platform for businesses looking to connect with professionals and advertise their products or services. LinkedIn advertising can help you generate leads, build brand awareness, recruit talent and more. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to start advertising on LinkedIn:
Step 1: Create a LinkedIn Business Page
The first step is to create a LinkedIn business page for your company if you don’t already have one. This allows you to establish your business presence on LinkedIn. To create a page:
- Go to LinkedIn and click on “Work” in the top menu bar
- Click on “Create a company page”
- Enter your company details including name, industry, description etc.
- Upload a logo, cover photo and images for your page
- Publish your page
A complete company page helps build trust and credibility with your target audience on LinkedIn.
Step 2: Sign Up for LinkedIn Campaign Manager
LinkedIn Campaign Manager is the self-service advertising platform on LinkedIn that allows you to create, manage and optimize your ad campaigns. To access it:
- Go to the “Advertise” section on LinkedIn and click “Get started”
- Select “Campaign Manager” and click “Sign up”
- Enter your LinkedIn login details or create a new account
- Accept LinkedIn’s advertising policies and you’re ready to start setting up campaigns
With Campaign Manager, you can promote content, send sponsored messages, advertise jobs and more.
Step 3: Set Your Campaign Objectives and Targeting
When setting up a campaign in Campaign Manager, you first need to define what objectives you want to achieve. LinkedIn advertising supports objectives like:
- Brand awareness – getting your brand seen by your target audience
- Lead generation – generating leads for your sales team
- Website visits – driving traffic to your website
- Talent recruiting – attracting suitable candidates for job openings
Choose the objective that aligns closest with your goals. Next, specify the target audience you want your ads to reach through tools like location, company size, industry, job title and more. The more precise your targeting, the better your results.
Step 4: Set Your Budgets and Bidding
Determine the budgets you want to assign to your campaigns and ad groups. LinkedIn advertising costs are based on an auction – you bid for how much you’re willing to pay each time your ad is clicked or shown.
There are two bidding options:
- Cost per click (CPC) – you’re charged each time someone clicks your ad
- Cost per impression (CPM) – you’re charged each time your ad is shown
Most objectives like lead generation work best with CPC bidding. Start with a low bid and increase gradually as needed. Monitor costs closely to optimize spend.
Step 5: Choose Your Ad Format and Create Ads
LinkedIn offers a variety of ad formats to choose from:
| Ad Format | Description |
|---|---|
| Sponsored content | Publish your content in the LinkedIn feed |
| Sponsored Messaging | Send custom messages to your target audience via LinkedIn messaging |
| Text Ads | Text ads that appear on the side or top of the LinkedIn feed |
| Dynamic Ads | Automated customized ads based on your website content and audience |
Select the formats that suit your campaign goals and create compelling ads for each ad group. Use attention-grabbing headlines, relevant imagery, and clear messaging.
Step 6: Measure and Optimize Your Campaigns
Once your ads start running, track performance within Campaign Manager to see results. Look at metrics like impressions, clicks, engagement rate, conversions, and cost per conversion. Use LinkedIn’s analytics to gain insights on your best-performing ads, audiences and strategies. Make changes to underperforming ads and reallocate budgets to what works. This helps optimize campaigns and improve ROI over time.
Conclusion
Advertising on LinkedIn is a highly effective way for B2B companies to reach their target audiences. By following the steps above on setting objectives, targeting, bidding, ad creation and optimization, you can launch successful LinkedIn ad campaigns. Start small, track the right metrics, and scale up campaigns over time for maximum impact. With over 660 million professionals on LinkedIn, the opportunities to grow your business are endless.
Here are some additional tips for creating effective LinkedIn ads:
Be Relevant
Ensure your ads are relevant to your target audience’s interests, pain points and search intent. Use keywords and messaging they would respond to.
Showcase Value
Focus on showcasing the value your product or service can provide to prospects. Communicate benefits clearly.
Include Strong Calls-to-Action
Every ad should have a strong CTA button or link driving to your landing pages so prospects can easily convert.
Retarget Website Visitors
Use LinkedIn’s Website Retargeting to target ads to prospects who have visited your website already.
Test Different Audience Segments
Create specific ad sets for different segments within your target audience and see which performs best.
A/B Test Ad Creatives
Regularly test different ad variations – image, copy, layout, etc. to improve performance.
Use Lead Gen Forms
For lead gen campaigns, use LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms to collect lead information seamlessly.
Analyze and Refine
Monitor campaign metrics closely and eliminate or tweak underperforming elements continuously.
With careful planning, execution and optimization, you can achieve great success with LinkedIn advertising. The detailed targeting options and professional nature of the audience makes it a highly valuable channel for marketers. Start advertising on LinkedIn today and connect with your next customers.
