LinkedIn marketing can be an expensive endeavor, but the costs are well worth it for many businesses. With over 560 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the largest professional social media platform and a prime place to reach B2B audiences. However, promoting content and building a following on LinkedIn does require a financial investment. In this article, we’ll break down the main costs of LinkedIn marketing and analyze whether the expenses are justified.
Paid advertising on LinkedIn
One of the main costs associated with LinkedIn marketing is paid advertising. LinkedIn offers a variety of paid ad formats including Sponsored Content, Sponsored InMail, Text Ads, Dynamic Ads and more. Advertising allows you to target your ideal audience very precisely based on criteria like job title, industry, skills, location and more. However, these targeted ads do not come cheap.
According to WordStream, the average cost per click (CPC) for Sponsored Content ads on LinkedIn is $8.00. The average cost per thousand impressions (CPM) is $13.00. For Sponsored InMail ads, the average CPC is $10.00. This is significantly more expensive than other social media platforms. For example, the average CPC on Facebook is $1.72 and on Twitter it’s $3.00.
In addition to the ad spends, you also need to factor in costs for creative development and management of your ad campaigns. Most businesses work with a LinkedIn ads specialist to maximize their return on ad spend. So when you add up ad costs plus agency/consultant fees, an ongoing LinkedIn ads budget can easily amount to thousands of dollars per month.
Is it worth the cost?
While LinkedIn advertising is undoubtedly expensive, it’s important to view costs in relation to the potential return on investment (ROI). LinkedIn members are an attractive B2B audience – they’re business decision makers with money to spend. If your ads are dialed in to reach your best-fit prospects, LinkedIn provides unmatched access to your total addressable market (TAM).
Studies show that LinkedIn ads generate increased website traffic, leads and sales for many advertisers. Some key stats on LinkedIn ad performance:
- 72% of B2B marketers say LinkedIn generates the best ROI of all social platforms (Digitial Marketing Institute)
- LinkedIn ads have 2x higher CTR than Facebook/Instagram ads (AdStage)
- 59% of LinkedIn Sponsored Content clicks go to company websites while only 23% of Facebook/Instagram ad clicks go to company sites (Smart Insights)
The quality audience and lead generation potential may justify the steeper ad costs for many B2B brands. Still, you need ensure you have tracking in place to measure LinkedIn ROI and optimize towards key performance indicators (KPIs).
LinkedIn sales tools
In addition to advertising, LinkedIn also offers paid tools for sales prospecting. This includes LinkedIn Sales Navigator and LinkedIn Recruiter. These tools allow you to identify prospects on LinkedIn, build targeted lists, and engage your audience more effectively.
Sales Navigator pricing starts at $64.99 per user/month for the Team plan. It offers features like advanced search, saved leads, contact insights, and customized sales alerts. The larger Enterprise plan is $249.99 per user/month with added capabilities like administrator controls, API access, and custom analytics.
LinkedIn Recruiter pricing also ranges from several hundred dollars per month for basic plans up to multi-thousand dollar plans for larger teams. The tool helps recruiters source, screen, and engage talent through LinkedIn data and insights.
Are the sales tools worth it?
Investing in LinkedIn sales tools can significantly boost productivity and results for sales and recruiting teams. Some key benefits offered by Sales Navigator and Recruiter include:
- Identify the best prospects for your business or roles using advanced search filters and screening
- Easily expand your reach with prospect recommendations
- Customized notifications when prospects meet certain criteria
- Relationship maps to visualize connections into target accounts or candidates
- Templates and automation to scale outbound messages
- Tracking interactions andmeasuring engagement
While the tools require a monthly or annual payment, many customers find that the platform capabilities and data justify the cost through increased sales velocity, pipeline contribution, and hiring results.
Sponsored content
Creating and promoting content on LinkedIn is a key part of most B2B marketing strategies. LinkedIn offers several paid options to amplify your content reach. This includes sponsored updates to push content to a wider audience and paid partnerships like LinkedIn Elevate and Spotlight.
With a standard Sponsored Content campaign, you pay based on CPC or impressions. Typical costs range from $2 to $10+ per click and $10 to $20+ per thousand impressions. However, CPMs can be much higher ($50+) for ultra-targeted campaigns.
LinkedIn Elevate includes content promotion plus amplification through employee advocacy. Pricing starts at $2500 per month for 25 employees. LinkedIn Spotlight is an “always-on” content subscription package with guaranteed reach. Spotlight costs a minimum of $25,000 per month.
Is promoted content worthwhile?
Investing in promoted content and partnerships on LinkedIn can be worthwhile if you have an effective content strategy combined with targeting. Some benefits of paid content options include:
- Increase reach and visibility for your best-performing organic content
- Expand your audience with relevant targeting
- Build credibility through employee advocacy (Elevate) and consistent posting (Spotlight)
- Drive measurable traffic, engagement and conversions
However, you need creative, high-quality content in the first place – you can’t expect promotions alone to deliver results. And smaller businesses with limited content may not be ready for larger investments like Spotlight. Measure your organic content performance first before exploring paid partnerships.
LinkedIn company pages and profile upgrades
Maintaining an optimized LinkedIn company page and employee profiles is critical. To unlock more features, LinkedIn offers paid upgrades like premium business pages, job posting credits, and profile boosts.
Premium business pages start at $49.99 per month billed annually. This allows you to showcase more content, see employee post analytics, and filter follower demographics. Job posting credits let you prominently advertise new openings to passive candidates for $199 per post.
Profile boosts highlight your page or content to wider audiences for 24-72 hours. A single boost ranges from around $75 to $400+ depending on targeting. You also have the option to keep profiles “boosted” permanently for $240-$500 per year.
Are company page upgrades worth it?
Upgrading LinkedIn pages and profiles can be a smart play for businesses actively promoting their brand, recruiting, and selling on LinkedIn. Benefits can include:
- Expanded company showcase capabilities
- Deeper analytics into employees and updates
- Stand out in competitive job markets
- Greater visibility and exposure for your brand
However, the value depends greatly on your overall objectives. For example, premium pages will matter most to branded companies vs. consultative sales businesses. And profile boosts should be timed around content launches or campaigns to maximize impact.
Influencer marketing
Partnering with LinkedIn influencers can help amplify your message and build credibility with their audiences. LinkedIn influencers are recognized thought leaders and subject matter experts. You may consider contracting influencers for content promotion, co-authoring, product reviews, sponsored posts, and more.
Influencer costs vary based on factors like follower count, industry, and content format. As a benchmark, here are typical LinkedIn influencer rates:
| Follower Count | Content Rate |
|---|---|
| 50,000 to 200,000 followers | $250 to $500 per post |
| 200,000 to 500,000 followers | $500 to $1,000 per post |
| 500,000+ followers | $1,000 to $5,000+ per post |
A typical campaign may involve an influencer or series of influencers posting and sharing content over several weeks. So you could easily spend thousands of dollars or more on a robust influencer program.
Is influencer marketing worth the investment?
Partnering with genuine influencers who reach your target customers can be tremendously effective. Potential benefits include:
- Tapping into established, engaged followings
- Leveraging the credibility of trusted subject experts
- Increased awareness, visibility, website traffic
- High engagement rates on content
However, it’s critical to vet influencers thoroughly – fake followers and off-brand partnerships can do more harm than good. Prioritize influencers with authentic engagement and audiences that align closely with your goals.
LinkedIn group sponsorships
LinkedIn Groups allow you to join or host niche communities around particular topics and interests. As a marketing channel, groups present opportunities to distribute content, foster discussions, and establish thought leadership.
LinkedIn offers paid sponsorships to promote content and engage with target groups. Sponsorships can help you reach and connect with strongly aligned audiences. Pricing depends on the group but typically costs around $200-$600 per week.
Are group sponsorships effective?
Sponsoring high value LinkedIn groups aligned to your content and offers can be an impactful strategy. Benefits can include:
- Gain exposure to niche, relevant audiences
- Position your brand as an industry thought leader
- Promote content to boost engagement
- Identify and connect with prospects
To maximize value, thoroughly research groups first to ensure reaching your target demographics. Monitor engagement levels and conversations to refine your approach. And integrate groups into a broader content plan.
Software and services
To execute an end-to-end LinkedIn strategy, most companies work with digital marketing agencies and specialized software platforms. This allows them to effectively manage LinkedIn activities like campaigns, analytics, compliance, content publishing, performance monitoring, and more.
LinkedIn marketing software ranges from all-in-one suites to focused point solutions:
- All-in-one tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Sprinklr help manage overall social media strategies across platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Pricing scales from around $50 to hundreds of dollars per month based on features and usage.
- Specialized software like Dux-Soup, Lusha, and LeadGenius offer more targeted LinkedIn capabilities like prospecting, messaging, or company intel. These tools can cost several hundred dollars per month.
When outsourcing to LinkedIn marketing agencies, monthly retainers typically range from $5,000 to $25,000+ depending on project scope. Campaign fees, ad spends, and additional variable costs also apply.
Is external software and support worth the price?
Investing in the right tools and services can magnify the impact of your in-house efforts on LinkedIn. Benefits can include:
- Expertise in developing an optimal LinkedIn strategy
- Efficiency from workflow automation and seamless platform integrations
- More robust targeting, tracking, and optimization capabilities
- Expanded capacity to manage campaigns and activity volume
When weighing providers, carefully assess their track record delivering results on LinkedIn specifically for clients in your industry. Look for proven expertise across both strategic consulting and hands-on implementation.
Conclusion
There are certainly substantial costs associated with marketing on LinkedIn, ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars annually. The biggest expenses stem from paid advertising, sales tools, content promotions, influencer partnerships, software platforms, and agency fees.
However, the investment pays dividends for many B2B brands when done strategically. Benefits like targeted audience reach, high-quality leads, and sales opportunities justify the costs. LinkedIn mastery is invaluable in B2B – the platform provides unparalleled access to decision-makers. Budget accordingly, implement diligently, track ROI religiously, and optimize relentlessly.