LinkedIn is one of the most popular platforms for B2B advertising. With over 722 million users worldwide, it provides a huge opportunity for businesses looking to reach professionals and decision makers. But with so many options for ad formats and targeting, it can be hard to know where to focus your efforts. In this article, we’ll look at the different types of LinkedIn ads and break down which perform best for different goals.
InMail Ads
InMail ads allow you to send targeted direct messages to LinkedIn members that match your ideal customer profile. Some key benefits of InMail ads include:
- High open rates – Average open rates are around 30-50%, much higher than email.
- Personalized – You can customize each message to the recipient.
- Built-in metrics – LinkedIn provides real-time stats on open rate, click rate, etc.
InMail is ideal when you want to:
- Generate leads – The high open rates make InMail great for catching people’s attention.
- Send targeted outreach – You can reach decision makers that might be hard to contact otherwise.
- Promote high-value content – Send InMails to promote ebooks, whitepapers, or other premium gated content.
Some tips for success with InMail include:
- Personalize each message with the recipient’s name and company.
- Keep subject lines short and compelling.
- Highlight value in the preview text – what’s in it for them.
- Use A/B testing to optimize response rates.
Text Ads
Text ads on LinkedIn allow you to showcase short headline and description text along with an image. They appear on the sidebar and feed and are optimized for clicks to your website or landing page. Benefits of LinkedIn text ads include:
- Pay only for clicks, not impressions.
- Relatively low cost per click.
- Flexibility in targeting options.
- Placement next to organic search results.
Text ads work well for:
- Driving traffic to your site – Optimized for visits rather than leads or conversions.
- Brand awareness campaigns – Get your brand and message in front of a wide audience.
- Promoting content offers – Drive downloads of ebooks, whitepapers, etc.
Best practices for LinkedIn text ads:
- Test different headlines – Go with what generates the most clicks.
- Use Power Words like “New” or “Proven” in the headline.
- Highlight value prop and keywords in the description.
- Include a relevant, high-quality image.
Sponsored Content
Sponsored content allows you to publish native ads on LinkedIn that look and feel just like regular posts. They appear directly in the feed for maximum visibility. Benefits include:
- High engagement – Members react to sponsored posts just like organic content.
- Brand building – Get your brand in front of members actively consuming content.
- Thought leadership – Position your company as an industry leader.
Use sponsored content when you want to:
- Increase awareness and favorability.
- Drive visits to your LinkedIn page.
- Generate leads from content downloads.
- Boost engagement and shares.
Tips for creating compelling sponsored posts:
- Post valuable, relevant content – not just promotions.
- Use rich media – video, slides, infographics.
- Write catchy headlines.
- Target content by industry and job role.
Dynamic Ads
Dynamic ads automatically pull from a feed of your latest content and products to create customized ads for each viewer. The benefit is the set it and forget it model – once configured, the ads run automatically. Use dynamic LinkedIn ads when you want to:
- Promote fresh, evergreen content at scale – new blog posts, articles, etc.
- Showcase new products and SKUs.
- Target members who have previously engaged.
- Maximize reach for your marketing budget.
Tips for success with LinkedIn dynamic ads:
- Set up conversion tracking for better optimization.
- Use Dynamic Creative to automatically test different templates.
- Create highly targeted audience segments.
- Analyze performance and tweak targeting.
Message Ads
Message ads enable you to attach a customizable call-to-action button to text ads. When viewers click the CTA, they can send a private message to your company without leaving LinkedIn. Benefits include:
- Lead generation – Messages allow prospects to easily contact you.
- Qualified leads – Reaching people actively engaging with your ad.
- Better CX – Continue the conversation in a private environment.
Message ads are ideal when you want to:
- Capture leads from cold audiences.
- Promote gated offers and content upgrades.
- Encourage prospect-initiated conversations.
Best practices for optimizing message ads:
- Make the CTA enticing – offer a content upgrade, coupon, etc.
- Keep forms short – only essential info.
- Set up automated nurturing of incoming leads.
- Follow up promptly when you receive messages.
Audience Targeting Options
One of the keys to success with LinkedIn advertising is targeting your ads based on robust audience data. Here are some of the many options to reach your ideal customers:
- Demographics – target by attributes like age, gender, education level, etc.
- Job role and seniority – target specific roles like IT managers, financial analysts, CMOs.
- Company attributes – target by company size, industry, revenue, etc.
- Interests – target by LinkedIn member interests.
- Groups – target members who belong to relevant LinkedIn Groups.
- Lead gen forms – target people who have filled out your LinkedIn lead gen forms.
You can also build highly targeted audiences using Boolean search strings to combine various attributes. For example, you could target “VPs AND Healthcare AND Based in Chicago”.
Optimizing Your LinkedIn Ads
To maximize the performance of your LinkedIn ads, be sure to:
- Set specific goals for each campaign – traffic, leads, etc.
- Track conversions and optimize for lowest cost per conversion.
- A/B test different creatives and offers.
- Review auction insights to refine targeting.
- Monitor competition and avoid bid inflation.
- Analyze campaign data and double down on what works.
Optimizing your ads over time based on performance data can lead to major improvements.
Conclusion
LinkedIn’s array of ad formats and targeting options provides the flexibility to achieve a range of B2B marketing objectives. To summarize some best practices:
- Use InMail ads to generate high quality, personalized leads.
- Run text ads to drive lower-funnel traffic to your site.
- Sponsor relevant content to build brand awareness and thought leadership.
- Set up dynamic ads to promote fresh content at scale.
- Add CTA buttons to text ads to capture direct leads.
- Target your ads precisely based on professional attributes.
- Continuously optimize campaigns based on performance data.
With the right strategy tailored to your goals and audience, LinkedIn advertising can deliver significant returns on ad spend and help grow your B2B marketing impact.
