LinkedIn and Facebook are two of the most popular social media platforms for advertising today. Both platforms have powerful built-in ad managers that allow businesses to create, target, optimize and analyze their ad campaigns. However, LinkedIn and Facebook ads managers have some key differences that marketers should consider when deciding which platform’s ad tools may work better for their campaigns.
In this comprehensive comparison guide, we’ll look at the key features, capabilities, advantages and disadvantages of LinkedIn vs Facebook ads managers to help you determine which is the better platform for your advertising needs.
Overview of LinkedIn Ads Manager
LinkedIn launched its self-serve advertising platform in 2011, allowing any business to create and run ads on LinkedIn without needing to work directly with a LinkedIn sales rep. LinkedIn’s ad manager is accessed through the Campaign Manager section of a business’s LinkedIn account.
Some key things to know about LinkedIn’s ad manager include:
– Ad formats – LinkedIn offers Sponsored Content, Sponsored InMail, Text Ads and Dynamic Ads. Sponsored Content appears in the news feed. Sponsored InMail sends a promoted message to a member’s LinkedIn inbox. Text Ads show up on the right rail of the LinkedIn feed. Dynamic Ads automatically promote specific products to target audiences.
– Targeting options – LinkedIn allows advertisers to target by location, company, industry, job title, skills, gender, age, interests, LinkedIn group membership and more. Retargeting based on site visitors and connection targeting are also available.
– Bidding types – You can do cost-per-click (CPC) bidding or cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) bidding. Automatic bidding is also available, allowing LinkedIn’s AI to optimize bids for you.
– Campaign organization – LinkedIn Campaign Manager organizes campaigns, ad groups and ads via a simple hierarchy. Advanced tracking, testing and analytics features are also built in.
– Automation – Options like automatic targeting expansion help automate management and optimization. Campaign scheduling and saved audiences also simplify managing multiple campaigns.
– Account management – The self-serve platform allows you to manage campaigns on your own. But LinkedIn also offers account management services and support if needed.
Overview of Facebook Ads Manager
Facebook Ads Manager is Facebook’s all-in-one tool for creating, analyzing and optimizing ads on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network. Facebook first opened its ads API for self-serve advertising in 2012.
Here are some key facts about Facebook’s ad manager platform:
– Ad formats – Many ad options are supported including image/video ads, carousel ads, collection ads, lead ads, Instant Experience ads and more. Ads can be displayed in the Facebook and Instagram feeds, stories, search, marketplace and more.
– Targeting methods – Detailed targeting based on location, demographics, interests, behaviors and connections on Facebook is available. Lookalike Audiences, saved audiences and customs audiences enhance targeting abilities.
– Bidding – You can manually set your bids and budgets or use automatic bidding powered by Facebook’s AI to optimize towards your campaign goals and target CPA/ROAS.
– Organization – Campaigns, ad sets and ads can be structured in a hierarchy that makes large or complex account management easier. Robust analytics and reporting tools are built in as well.
– Automation – Options like automatic placements simplify optimization. Bulk editing and copying also helps streamline managing at scale. AI powered recommendations provide additional automation capabilities.
– Account management – Facebook offers dedicated ad account reps and support resources for high spending advertisers, while smaller advertisers can self-manage through the self-serve Ads Manager interface.
Now that we’ve provided an overview of each platform’s ad manager environment, next we’ll compare them across some key capabilities and use cases.
Targeting Capabilities Comparison
Targeting the right audiences is crucial for effective advertising. Both Facebook and LinkedIn allow for precise targeting, but they offer some different targeting capabilities due to the nature of their user base and data available.
Location targeting
Both Facebook and LinkedIn allow advertisers to target users by location including countries, regions, states, cities, ZIP codes and more. Facebook may have an advantage for hyperlocal targeting and being able to create custom location radii around points of interest. But LinkedIn allows targeting by company headquarters location.
Company and industry targeting
LinkedIn clearly has the advantage when it comes to targeting by company, industry and other B2B attributes since it has complete user employment data. Facebook has some B2B targeting capabilities through integrations like Lead Gen forms, but does not have native professional data on users.
Interest and behavioral targeting
Facebook has very robust options for targeting users based on interests and online/offline behaviors thanks to integrations with third party data providers, offline conversion tracking and extensive data from user activity across Facebook’s family of apps. LinkedIn’s interest and behavior targeting is more limited but focuses on professional interests and economic behaviors.
Connection targeting
Both LinkedIn and Facebook enable advertisers to reach the connections of their followers and current customers through tools like Custom Audiences. LinkedIn may have an advantage for B2B connection targeting since its user connections are primarily professional rather than personal.
Retargeting
Retargeting site visitors is possible on both platforms through integrations like the Facebook pixel and LinkedIn Insight Tag. Facebook likely has greater scale for general retargeting. But LinkedIn Retargeting Ads can be highly effective for B2B and lead generation campaigns.
Lookalike targeting
Lookalike Audiences allow you to reach new users who share common qualities with your existing customers. This is available on both Facebook and LinkedIn based on the custom audience data you provide. Facebook may have an edge for consumer marketers here with more data inputs to model from.
Advantage: Facebook offers greater depth and scale for interest, behavior and location-based targeting. But LinkedIn has the clear edge for targeting professional demographics and audiences in a B2B context.
Ad Format Options
The types of ads you can run also differ between Facebook and LinkedIn. Here’s an overview of the format options on each platform:
– Sponsored Content – Appears in the LinkedIn feed similar to organic posts.
– Sponsored InMail – sends a personalized message to a member’s LinkedIn inbox.
– Text Ads – Displayed on the right rail of the LinkedIn feed.
– Dynamic Ads – Automatically promotes specific products or content to target audiences.
Facebook & Instagram
– Photo Ads – Visual ads with images or videos. Can be displayed in feed or stories.
– Carousel Ads – Allows swiping through multiple images/videos.
– Collection Ads – Promote catalog of products dynamically.
– Lead Ads – Capture leads with built-in forms.
– Instant Experience Ads – Interactive canvas ad experience.
– Dynamic Ads – Automated ads promoting catalog products.
Advantage: Facebook supports a wider variety of ad formats for both awareness and direct response objectives. LinkedIn has fewer ad options but all are highly optimized for engagement among B2B audiences.
Campaign Management and Optimization
Managing and optimizing advertising campaigns over time is where the usability of each platform’s interface really comes into play. Here’s how LinkedIn and Facebook ads managers compare for campaign management capabilities:
– Simple campaign hierarchy
– Campaign scheduling
– Automated rules and expansions
– Basic A/B testing
– Reporting on engagement and conversions
– Robust campaign hierarchy
– Bulk editing and duplication
– Automated rules and placements
– Advanced A/B/n testing
– In-depth reporting and analytics
Advantage: Facebook offers more advanced campaign management and optimization capabilities including an in-depth feature set for A/B testing ad creative and audiences at scale. LinkedIn Campaign Manager provides a simpler interface that may be easier for casual advertisers to use.
Bidding, Budgets and Billing
Setting the right bidding strategies and budgets is key to optimizing ad spend across platforms. Here’s how LinkedIn and Facebook compare when it comes to bidding, budgets and billing options for ads:
– CPC and CPM bidding
– Automatic bidding option
– Daily, monthly or lifetime budgets
– Pay only for clicks or impressions delivered
– Billing through prepaid account balance
– Manual bidding or automated bidding
– Campaign budget optimization available
– Overall or daily campaign budgets
– Pay only for results delivered
– Multiple billing options including credit card, invoices and more
Advantage: Facebook generally offers more flexibility and granular control for ad bidding strategies. But LinkedIn’s CPC bidding model may be easier for optimizing costs per click/lead in some use cases.
Account Management and Support
Having access to customer support resources and expert account management services can be key for effectively managing large ad campaigns. Here’s an overview of account management on each platform:
– Self-serve platform allows independent use for anyone
– Direct access to customer support via online tickets
– Managed ad services require a minimum monthly spend
– Self-serve interface available to all advertisers
– Phone, chat and email support options
– Expert support reps assigned based on monthly spend
Advantage: Facebook provides more extensive customer support channels as well as dedicated ad account reps to higher-spending advertisers. LinkedIn self-serve may work well for smaller brands, but larger advertisers may benefit from Facebook’s added services.
Ads API and Integration Options
For developers or advertisers running campaigns through marketing platforms, the ads API and integration options are important factors as well. Here’s an overview for each network:
– Ads API allows automation via third-party platforms
– Integrates with some leading marketing tools like Adobe and HubSpot
– LinkedIn Partner Program for further integrations
– Powerful Marketing API enables deep integrations
– Extensive Facebook Business Partner ecosystem
– Integrates with all major marketing automation platforms
Advantage: Facebook has invested heavily in its Marketing API and partnerships enabling seamless integration with virtually all major marketing tools. LinkedIn’s self-serve API capabilities are still maturing by comparison.
Privacy and Compliance
With data privacy standards tightening worldwide, how each platform handles consent, data transparency and compliance requirements will impact global advertising capabilities.
– Requires consent for targeted ads via user preferences
– GDPR compliant mechanisms for data privacy
– Limited by professional user data available
– Provides transparency and controls for targeted ads
– Strengthening consent and privacy protections to meet regulatory requirements
– Large data set creates higher scrutiny and barriers to compliance
Advantage: LinkedIn may have an edge in privacy compliance since it deals with primarily professional user data. Facebook is adapting to tightening regulations but its vast data set creates greater scrutiny.
Cost Comparison
One of the most important considerations for any advertiser is cost. Here’s an overview of average costs on LinkedIn vs Facebook:
– CPCs typically $5-$10+ for most ad formats
– Premium ad units like Sponsored InMail much higher
– Minimum daily budget $10 per campaign
– CPCs usually $1 or less for standard ad formats
– Video views can be as low as $0.01-$0.03
– Minimum campaign budget $1 per day
Advantage: Facebook ads can be run on much lower budgets overall vs LinkedIn. But LinkedIn’s premium business audience does demand higher CPCs in many cases.
Audience Size Comparison
The potential reach of each network is also an important factor to consider. Here’s an overview of active user bases:
– 810+ million members worldwide
– 200+ million monthly active users
– Primarily professional audience
– 2.96 billion monthly active users
– 500 million+ daily active Instagram users
– Mass consumer and business audience
Advantage: Facebook’s platforms have much larger total addressable audiences. But LinkedIn provides access to a highly valuable professional audience segment.
Conclusion and Recommendations
So in summary, which ads platform comes out on top – LinkedIn or Facebook?
The answer depends heavily on your specific business, target audience, campaign objectives and budget. Here are some recommendations based on key use cases:
For B2B targeted advertising, LinkedIn has clear advantages. With its extensive professional user data, LinkedIn allows refined targeting of decision makers across companies, industries and roles. The platform is purpose-built to engage and convert B2B prospects.
For consumer mass marketing, Facebook is likely the better choice. Facebook’s audiences are much larger and offer cost efficient reach for consumer brands. And advanced optimization tools help maximize results.
For limited budgets, Facebook has lower minimums. Small businesses can get started on Facebook for $1 per day vs LinkedIn’s $10 minimums. But LinkedIn can still be cost effective if targeted narrowly.
For selling higher priced products, LinkedIn may justify higher CPCs. LinkedIn’s premium professional audience has greater buying power for higher consideration purchases, justifying its higher costs.
For managed services, Facebook has more options. Facebook provides hands-on support and customized recommendations to high spending advertisers that may be beneficial.
For UX-focused ads, Facebook offers more ad formats. Facebook’s Instant Experience, Dynamic and Interactive ads allow for innovation and better branded experiences vs LinkedIn’s more basic ads.
Overall, the best platform depends on your specific goals, target audience and campaign content. In many cases, advertisers may want to test and run campaigns on both LinkedIn and Facebook to determine which delivers the best results and ROI for their business needs. Leveraging the unique audience, targeting, format and optimization strengths of each platform can help maximize your ad performance and visibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some common questions people have when comparing Facebook and LinkedIn’s advertising platforms and capabilities:
Can you run the same ads on Facebook and LinkedIn?
You can run similar ads on both platforms, but will need to adapt the content to fit the format and audience on each specific network. LinkedIn’s feed lends itself to more professional content vs Facebook’s newsfeed targeting a broader demographic.
Is LinkedIn or Facebook advertising more expensive?
Facebook ads tend to have lower minimum costs per click and impression overall. But LinkedIn can be cost effective when targeted narrowly to high-value professional audiences. The right platform depends on audience, objectives and content fit.
Which platforms’ ads see higher engagement rates?
Engagement rates tend to be higher on LinkedIn since the audience is there specifically for professional networking and content. Facebook also drives strong engagement around relevant content, but has more passive consumption as well.
Can you automate ads across Facebook and LinkedIn?
Yes, you can use platforms like AdEspresso, Hootsuite and Sprout Social to centralize and automate ad management across Facebook and LinkedIn based on each platform’s API capabilities.
Which provides better ad support and services?
Facebook offers more robust support resources overall including phone, chat and support agents for high spend advertisers. But both platforms provide self-serve interfaces, online help content and account management options.
The Bottom Line
Determining whether LinkedIn or Facebook’s advertising platform is “better” depends on your campaign goals, target audience, budget and other factors. In many cases, advertisers may benefit most by testing both platforms to see which delivers the best results based on performance data.
Leveraging LinkedIn’s professional targeting and Facebook’s advanced formats/optimization tools where appropriate can help maximize the impact and ROI of your ad spend. Consider your specific use case and advantages of each network to determine the best ad strategies.
