LinkedIn advertising has become an increasingly popular option for businesses looking to reach professionals and recruit talent. With over 800 million members, LinkedIn provides access to a massive audience. However, LinkedIn ads can be expensive and it’s unclear if the costs provide enough value. So is LinkedIn advertising really worth it? Redditors have plenty of opinions on the matter.
The Potential Benefits of LinkedIn Advertising
There are some key potential benefits that make LinkedIn ads enticing for many businesses:
- Targeted reach – You can target ads by job title, company, industry, interests, and more. This targeting potential enables you to hone in on your ideal customers.
- Increased awareness – LinkedIn ads can help get your brand, products, or services in front of a huge new audience.
- Thought leadership – Sponsored content and ads allow you to highlight expertise and establish trust.
- Recruiting – You can target passive job seekers or promote openings to qualified candidates.
- Lead generation – Ads can drive visitors to landing pages to capture leads and contacts.
These factors make LinkedIn advertising very appealing, especially for B2B companies, recruiters, and those selling high-value products or services.
Common Complaints and Concerns with LinkedIn Ads
However, there are also numerous complaints about LinkedIn advertising that give some redditors pause:
- High cost – LinkedIn advertising tends to be expensive, especially compared to other social platforms. Cost per click and cost per impression can really add up.
- Low engagement – Some report poor click-through rates and low engagement with their LinkedIn ads.
- Irrelevant audience – If targeting isn’t precise, ads may be shown to lots of unrelated professionals.
- Ad frequency caps – Some note limitations in how frequently ads can be shown to the same users.
- Bidding process – Having to continually bid against competitors on ad auctions can be frustrating.
- Lack of Conversion Tracking – Attribution and conversion tracking for driving sales and leads can be limited compared to other platforms.
These limitations cause some redditors to argue the costs outweigh the benefits with LinkedIn advertising.
Success Comes Down to Identifying the Right Goals and Metrics
When assessing whether LinkedIn advertising is worth it, the key is identifying what goals and metrics of success are priorities for a given campaign or business. Here are some of the success factors redditors point towards:
Brand Awareness and Thought Leadership Goals
For brand building campaigns focused on awareness and establishing expertise, redditors agree LinkedIn advertising can be worth it due to the professional, targeted audience. Metrics like reach, impressions, and social engagement are more important than conversions for these goals.
High Value B2B Product Sales
LinkedIn advertising can successfully drive high-value B2B product sales, making it worth the higher CPCs. The targeting by company size, industry, and job roles is key. For expensive software, services, and enterprise solutions, LinkedIn leads and sales can justify costs.
Recruiting and Lead Generation
LinkedIn ads are widely considered effective for recruiting and lead gen when configured properly. Relevant clicks, contacts, landing page conversions, and cost per lead acquired are metrics to watch closely.
Bottom-of-Funnel Conversion Goals
For lower cost products or bottom-of-funnel goals focused directly on sales, conversions, or sign-ups, many redditors argue the targeting options don’t justify LinkedIn ad costs compared to other platforms. CPCs and conversions must align.
Overall, LinkedIn advertising success seems tightly tied to identifying the right KPIs based on campaign goals and then tracking ROI and those metrics closely to optimize.
Tips from Redditors Who Have Succeeded with LinkedIn Ads
For redditors who have managed to achieve success with LinkedIn ads, here are some of their top tips:
- Precision target by industry, job role, skills, company size and more to limit waste.
- Test different targeting approaches, creative, and post types to see what resonates.
- Only advertise high-value products or services where leads justify costs.
- Focus ad spend on peak LinkedIn usage times during weekdays.
- Retarget website visitors via LinkedIn’s website conversion tracking.
- Write compelling creative and landing pages tailored specifically to LinkedIn users.
- Monitor performance closely and continuously optimize.
Careful targeting, constant testing and optimization, and aiming ads at high-value offerings appear key for LinkedIn ad success based on redditor feedback.
The Consensus Opinion on LinkedIn Advertising Value
Given the potential benefits but also significant limitations, what do Reddit users conclude overall about the value of LinkedIn advertising?
The consensus opinion seems to be that LinkedIn ads can be worth it, but only in certain situations:
- For B2B lead generation and sales where their high cost can be justified
- For companies recruiting candidates or promoting open positions
- For thought leadership and professional brand building campaigns
- When you nail targeting and optimization to maximize relevance
Alternatively, redditors suggest LinkedIn ads may not provide as much value for:
- Bottom-of-funnel conversion goals
- DRiving large volumes of low cost sales
- Hyper-targeted niche audiences
- Serving ads outside of weekdays or work hours
Being thoughtful about objectives, monitoring ROI, and experimenting appear vital to get the most value from LinkedIn advertising.
Key Considerations When Evaluating LinkedIn Ad Worth
When trying to determine if LinkedIn ads are worth it for your business, here are some key factors to consider:
Your Goals and KPIs
Assess whether your campaign objectives align with where LinkedIn ads can deliver ROI. Brand awareness? Lead generation? Recruitment? High-value B2B sales? Understanding your goals and KPIs is #1.
Your Target Audience
Look at your ideal audience. Do they align with LinkedIn’s professional membership base? Can you target by job role, company, interests effectively? Audience match is key.
Your Ad Budget
LinkedIn ads can be costly to run. Make sure you have sufficient budget to achieve needed reach and frequency caps. Watch CPCs and CPMs closely as well.
Your Cost Per Acquisition
For conversion goals, ensure your target CPA or CPL aligns with LinkedIn’s pricing. ROI must justify higher ad costs.
Your Ability to Track Conversions
Assess whether you can implement conversion tracking and optimize towards a specific ROI. Blindly running LinkedIn ads without monitoring value is risky.
Your Creative, Landing Pages and Messaging
To maximize results, LinkedIn-specific creative, landing pages, and ad messaging tailored to the platform can help improve performance.
Keeping these factors in mind can help determine if your business and campaign can benefit from LinkedIn advertising or if budgets are better allocated elsewhere.
The Bottom Line on LinkedIn Ad Value
At the end of the day, here are a few key takeaways on whether LinkedIn ads are worth it, according to the Reddit community:
- For thought leadership and brand building goals, LinkedIn delivers great professional reach.
- For high-funnel B2B lead generation or recruiting, LinkedIn ads can drive ROI.
- For lower funnel goals or volume conversions, other platforms may be more cost effective.
- Success requires precise targeting, constant testing and optimizing based on data.
- Monitor campaign KPIs closely to ensure a positive return on ad spend.
- With the right campaign, LinkedIn ads can be an effective B2B marketing and recruiting channel.
While not a silver bullet marketing solution, with the right approach, objectives and optimization, LinkedIn advertising can be a valuable platform for connecting with professionals according to the Reddit community. But missteps can lead to wasted ad spend, so move forward strategically based on your specific goals and audience.