There are a few key reasons why you may be unable to create an ad on LinkedIn:
You don’t have a LinkedIn ads account
To run ads on LinkedIn, you need to set up a LinkedIn ads account and get it approved. This involves agreeing to LinkedIn’s advertising policies and going through a review process. If you don’t have a LinkedIn ads account yet, you won’t be able to create and run ads.
Your account doesn’t have the required permissions
Even if your business has a LinkedIn ads account, you personally may not have the right permissions set up to access and create ads. Usually only designated campaign managers and ad creators in an organization will have these permissions. Check with the admin of your LinkedIn ads account to make sure you’re set up properly.
Your ads are not following LinkedIn’s policies
LinkedIn has detailed policies around what can and can’t be advertised on their platform. Things like unapproved pharmaceuticals, illegal activity, and dangerous products are prohibited. If your ad concepts don’t follow the content policies, LinkedIn will reject them during the ad review process and prevent them from running. Make sure to review the policies thoroughly.
Your payment isn’t set up
To run ads on LinkedIn, you need to have a payment method attached to your ads account, such as a credit card. If no valid payment source is associated with your account, you won’t be able to progress through creating an ad since there is no way to pay for it. Add a payment method to enable ad creation.
Your account is suspended or banned
If your LinkedIn ads account gets suspended due to policy violations or other issues, you will be blocked from creating new ads until the suspension is resolved or lifted. Similarly, if your account is completely banned from advertising on LinkedIn, you will have no ability to make new ads. Check your account status.
Common obstacles to creating LinkedIn ads
Beyond the major account restrictions above, there are some other common obstacles that could get in the way of creating ads on LinkedIn:
Campaign daily budget is maxed out
LinkedIn ads accounts have a daily spending cap across all campaigns. If you’ve hit this limit for the current day, you may be blocked from creating new campaigns or ads until the next day when your daily budget refreshes. Monitor your account’s daily spending threshold.
Campaign status set to “Off”
Individual LinkedIn campaigns can be toggled on or off. Ads can only be created under active campaigns. Double check that any desired campaigns are set to “On” rather than “Off” status under account settings.
Ad review pending
After creating a new ad, it will go under review by LinkedIn before being approved to run. You can’t make changes or duplicate the ad until this review completes, which can take up to 24-48 hours. If an ad is stuck in review, wait for approval before trying to recreate it.
Payment method declined
Even with a payment on your ads account, it could become invalid if the credit card expires or is reported lost/stolen. LinkedIn will be unable to charge a declined card, blocking you from running new ads. Update the payment details or add a new valid source.
Insufficient advertising balance
If your ads account runs low on funds, LinkedIn will prevent creation of new ads that you can’t currently pay for. Add more money or enable automatic recharging to ensure your balance stays above the minimum required for activating new ads.
Troubleshooting tips
If you’re running into inexplicable issues creating LinkedIn ads, here are some troubleshooting tips:
Refresh and clear cookies/cache
Stale cookies and browsing data could cause glitches with LinkedIn’s interface. Try refreshing the page, clearing cookies and cache, or using a different web browser.
Check LinkedIn system status
Sometimes the problem is on LinkedIn’s end. Visit LinkedIn’s system status page to see if any ongoing platform issues are affecting advertising accounts.
Try creating ads on mobile app
The LinkedIn mobile app sometimes works when the desktop site has problems. Create an ad directly on your phone if the website isn’t cooperating.
Use different web browser or incognito mode
An incompatible or outdated web browser could cause technical issues. Attempt creating ads in a different browser or incognito browsing mode as a workaround.
Contact LinkedIn ads support
Reach out to LinkedIn’s customer service for advertising help if you can’t diagnose the problem. They can look into your account and identify any underlying causes.
Guidelines for successfully creating LinkedIn ads
Once any account restrictions or technical problems are addressed, follow these best practices for smoothly setting up LinkedIn ads:
Study LinkedIn’s ad policies
Thoroughly read through LinkedIn’s advertising policies and make sure your ads will comply. Familiarize yourself with prohibited content, required ad disclosures, image specs, and other guidelines.
Have strong creative assets ready
Develop high-quality ad creative in the recommended sizes before creating ads. Have optimized ad images, videos, and text prepared in advance.
Identify your target audience
Who are you trying to reach with your LinkedIn ads? Define your target audience’s demographics, interests, company roles, and other attributes to allow precise targeting.
Set an appropriate daily budget
Decide a smart daily ad spend budget for each campaign based on goals, industry benchmarks, and LinkedIn audience sizes. Start conservative and increase as needed.
Include relevant keywords
Research keywords and phrases your audience may search for that are relevant to your ads and business. Incorporate them appropriately into ad text.
Follow best design principles
Make visually appealing ads using colors, images, white space, and text alignment principles suited for LinkedIn’s professional audience.
Test different audience segments
Run A/B tests comparing different targeting and creative variants to see what resonates most with your chosen audiences. Refine based on results.
Conclusion
With the right account access, settings, budget, and creative strategy, creating effective ads on LinkedIn is very achievable. Verify your accounts credentials, resolve any technical or policy issues, develop high-quality ad assets, identify the best target audience, set an optimal budget, and follow LinkedIn’s recommendations. Testing and optimizing your ads will help refine them to maximize results. Address any obstacles proactively and promptly to ensure you can build successful LinkedIn ad campaigns.