Which Type of LinkedIn Ad Campaign is Best for Your Target Audience?
LinkedIn is a powerful and under-utilized social media.
It is a gateway to company executives, business-driven people and many other influential users.
80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn. Why?
Because LinkedIn’s Ad targeting strategy is so comprehensive and has so much data from users to take from.
LinkedIn is set apart from other social medias because it is made up of:
- 500 million active users
- 45 million decision-makers
- 73 million senior level executives
Now that you know the impact LinkedIn Ad campaigns, it’s time to find the best targeting options for your needs!
1. Sponsored Content
Sponsored content on LinkedIn is native ads that you come across when scrolling through your feed.
The goal of sponsored content is to engage viewers quickly while simultaneously delivering the objectives of the ad.
Sponsored content builds relationships through the use of relevant content based on the LinkedIn algorithm. This has been proven to be an effective method of creating leads and engagement. In fact, 25% more consumers look at sponsored content than display ad units.
LinkedIn is great for sponsored content because of their audience targeting software. You can build you perfect audience using your own profile’s audience. You can even move beyond that target audience using LinkedIn’s Audience Network.
The best part is that you can follow the campaign performance within the LinkedIn Insight Tag.
2. Sponsored InMail
Sponsored InMail is used for your core audience.
Using LinkedIn’s messaging system, you can send custom messages to the active members. Think of this type of advertising to be similar to a newsletter.
55% of organizations give their personalization efforts a grade of C or lower, this is the perfect method to change that.
One of the best features within sponsored InMail is the call to actions. These CTAs are optimized for conversions and leads. On both mobile and desktop, the CTA is always visible while the user scrolls, giving them every opportunity to go further down the funnel.
Not only is it viewer friendly, but it’s user friendly too! Anyone can have a perfectly formatted layout without worrying about its responsiveness. InMail automatically formats the content you provide it to look good on any screen.
3. LinkedIn Text Ads
This is a perfect choice for those looking to expand their reach within LinkedIn without breaking the bank.
Text Ads are simple ads on the right side or top of your LinkedIn desktop feed. It is what it says it is: text and a small icon to accompany it.
Create a text ad using bids based on pay per click or cost per impression. You control how much you want to spend.
How can you make the most of text ads?
You will always get the best results if you have accurate audience targeting. When creating your ads, in order to tailor the ads to the desired audience consider:
- Using creative visuals
- Using CTAs that link to a landing page that also matches the ad
- Continuously test and make adjustments, 3-4 ads in each campaign is best practice
When it comes to running a LinkedIn ads campaigns, there’s no set way. It’s all dependent on who you’re targeting and what you want out of the ads. LinkedIn allows you to take control of everything, even your own profile, and get the traffic you want.
Use Your LinkedIn Profile to its Full Potential by Incorporating SEO Practices
LinkedIn is a powerful search engine that can drive targeted, high volume to your profile. But most people neglect to utilize its full potential and gain better conversions for your profile.
When you think of LinkedIn, you probably assume it is just a social media platform for your resume. But it’s more than that.
How can you optimize your profile to be more SEO-friendly and gain better traffic on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn Optimization
LinkedIn’s optimization allows connections to be built with those who are at the top of your industry. Your ideal clients are attracted to your profile and potentially send messages regarding your services.
By implementing SEO practices, like keywords and copywriting, you could generate more leads and build your brand.
How would this work?
Well, like any site, marketing is dependent on not only traffic but optimizing that traffic to create the best possible conversions. It’s important to make the most of each person that visits your profile.
Building Up Your Profile
Here are several practices in order to bring your LinkedIn profile up to the best it could possibly be.
1. The Look
Most people would say not to judge a book by its cover. But on LinkedIn you have limited space on your profile, so why not make the most of it?
Knowing your target audience, will help you tailor the profile’s aesthetics to them. If it is a very corporate job, you should wear professional attire in your profile photo. If you want to seem more casual, then don’t “suit up”. It’s all up to the audience and what they expect of you.
Take advantage of all the aspects you can expand on your brand’s look, be that the profile photo or the cover photo.
Your profile photo should have:
- High quality image
- Close up of your face (good practice is approximately 60% of the canvas)
- Plain and simple background
- Appropriate attire for your business
Your cover photo should have:
- Unique imagery that attracts attention
- A tagline that relates to what you do or who you do work for
- Call to Actions (CTAs) with your contact information
Since about 65% of people are visual learners, making the visual aspects of your profile
optimized will help give a good first impression. It will also allow people to have a quick
cue to get in touch and get to know you.
2. Finding Keywords
What users type into Google are likely not the same as what they type in LinkedIn. Therefore, you need to tailor your keyword research to how people search on LinkedIn.
Here are some questions to consider when researching your keywords on LinkedIn:
- What do you want to be known for?
- Do these terms get good traffic but with low competition?
- Do these terms fall into your target audience?
Based on these answers, take the shortest and broadest terms associated with you.
Good practice would be to consider the different results based on the degree filter of
your connections.
3. The Content
There are tons of opportunities to incorporate copywrite conversions within the content of your profile. Similar to your profile photos, keep in mind the target audience when writing.
Headline
Your headline should be a combination of copy and LinkedIn keywords. Users quickly understand what you do and more importantly, what you can for them.
Be clear. Don’t include catchy slogans or plays on words as it may leave the viewer confused as to what you do.
Fill the entire space. You have 120 characters for your headline so why not use them!
The main takeaway for your headline should be to appeal to people who are looking for specific qualities that you provide. Include keywords, but don’t make them the focus. For example, “Driving Digital Business Success with Best-In-Class Technology Partnerships.”
Summary
Your summary is the place where you have the most space, a whole 100 words!
This is where users hope to learn more about you, what services you provide and anything else about your industry.
What you shouldn’t do is to just endlessly list everything you’ve ever accomplished. No one needs to know you won the 3 rd grade spelling bee. Make the information relevant.
Think of this section as the About Page on your website. What would people want to know about what you can do for them?
Experience
You may be wondering how you could make the experience section of your profile SEO optimized. While it may be tempting to make this exactly like you resume, there are tons of SEO opportunities here!
Take those keywords and incorporate them within the skills you have. Mention things like how you increased the traffic of a site by a major percentage, or how you developed an uptick in conversions.
Step away from the boring bullet points of everything you did. Try writing naturally and conversationally. Those who seek your services may not know all the complex terms the industry uses. Instead of “CTR” or “KPI”, use the layman’s terms.
Use your experience section to compel your viewers in trusting you are the right fit for what they are looking for.
4. Connections and Recommendations
LinkedIn prioritizes the degree (1st , 2nd , and 3rd ) of connections based on what is searched.
When you connect with people, you are connected to their network as well as your own. This means you should try and keep your connections within your industry for best results. If they search for one of your keywords, you’re more likely to popup with them.
Simple connections are easy to accomplish. Creating meaningful and memorable connections is more difficult. We recommend starting a conversation.
Conversations make people feel important and valued. When composing a message, don’t ever pitch in the first message. It is an extreme turn-off for most people and often feels spammy.
Let the conversation naturally flow. They will almost always bring up what they are looking for from you, rather than you are presenting what you can do for them. Leads will find you and they are more likely to turn into a conversion.
When you work with people sometimes, they will provide you with a recommendation.
A recommendation is akin to a review of your services. They prove that you have the skills! It shows you know what you’re doing, and the results other people can expect of you. Naturally, keywords will be important here.
The goal of your profile is to create leads. Overall, by adapting your LinkedIn profile to a more SEO optimized profile, you’ll get more meaningful traffic. Not only that, but according to LinkedIn, companies who complete their profiles get 30% more views.
If you’re not making the most of your profile, why not start now?
Targeting on LinkedIn Is the Newest Way to Grow your Audience
There are so many ways to define your audience that finding the “perfect” one for your company can be overwhelming. How do you know if you’re reaching the right group?
LinkedIn’s newly released audience targeting system could provide you with the right connections.
In early 2019, LinkedIn released an exciting new advertising model that uses three main methods to help expand your business reach and propelling your business further:
- Lookalike audiences, which finds people who look like the audience you already have.
- Audience templates based on commonly related characteristics such as job titles and skills.
- Interest targeting for the most relevant topics or themes to your ideal audience.
Here’s a quick introduction to how you can use LinkedIn’s targeted advertising to reach your perfect audience.
1. Lookalike Audiences
A lookalike audience is similar to your core audience with one important difference: these individuals are not completely dedicated to your brand yet. But the potential is there because they have visited your website or engaged with your mobile app.
By enticing this audience through ads that reflect their interests or professional careers, you can expand your audience and grow. Those who are already engaging in mild ways with your site are the most likely to convert and grow your business.
Getting Started with Lookalike Audiences
The best step to begin this process is to find a specific starting point within your audience and develop the group from there. It’s important to not make overly broad audiences such as “all purchasers”. How would you know if they were one-time purchasers or consistent buyers? Identify your important customers.
After you’ve identified segmentation of your core audience, determine if you want to optimize based on similarity or reach. Typically, between 1%-5% of the target demographic will find you a group closely resembling your core audience.
For reach optimization, aim for anything near 10% of the target demographic. While you are targeting a greater number of users, they will be less similar to your core audience.
Why LinkedIn Lookalike Audiences?
What sets LinkedIn apart from other companies that help develop lookalike audiences?
- Ability to reach farther with active users and convert them.
- Scale results not just with a wide reach but with quality conversions.
- Find audiences you may not have considered before.
With 500 million people actively using the site and 9 million companies, you have access to a huge pool of people to expand your audience from. This software was built on their information, where people are motivated to keep their information up to date so they can network for future job opportunities.
Only active members within your target audience receive the advertisement campaigns. Meaning you are more likely to get traction on your ad from active users that are going to engage. During their pilot testing, companies were able to tailor their ads to their desired demographic and received 5-10 times more reach while still having quality customers.
Prior to any campaign launch for your business, LinkedIn has developed a system that predicts the general outcome of the ad. You can then make improvements before it goes live, which results in even more success with your campaign.
2. Audience Templates
LinkedIn provides a variety of different pre-set packages regarding their targeted advertisements. They are based on commonly related audience characteristics such as:
- Company size, name or industry
- Job title or function
- Seniority level
- Schools
- Degrees
- Skills
- Fields of study
- LinkedIn member groups
Businesses can easily begin their reach campaigns but don’t have to spend hours setting up the specifics.
3. Interest Targeting
Interest targeting is the idea that you are serving your ad campaign to people who are interested in that topic or a general theme.
The initial pique of interest, followed by content that they engage with, helps create a receptive and responsive audience. In the future, they will seek your content, products and services.
LinkedIn ads offer interest targeting based on content that users are responsive to. Relevant ads and content match a user’s interests using at least one of the 200 professional interest categories, including:
- Arts and entertainment (music, visual arts, literature, television, and film)
- Business and management, (company acquisitions, business funding, and human resources)
- Finance and economy (the stock market, corporate finance and financial matters on a personal, state, or federal level)
- Marketing and advertising (market research, advertising strategies, and brand management)
- Politics and law (law practice, social issues, and activism)
- Sales and retail (sales channels, lead generation, and retail merchandising)
- Science and environment (human health, social interactions and infrastructure, engineering, and consumer electronics)
- Society and culture (religion, family and personal relationships, and social issues)
- Technology (biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and internet technology)
There are also sub-categories within these broad categories. ‘Top’ categories will widen your reach, while sub-categories will find you more similarity.
Finding Your Audience on LinkedIn
Ultimately, customers care about their interests. They won’t purchase something they don’t like.
Businesses can shape their brand perception and appeal to the target audiences by associating ads with the interests of the people they wish to reach. You can reach many communities through targeted interest advertisements.
LinkedIn is a platform all businesses should consider utilizing when they wish to expand their core audience and get more traction and engagement. They have made ads user-friendly for both the business and the customer.
Optimizing Your LinkedIn Company Page to Hook Leads & Drive Traffic
LinkedIn has become an incredible marketing tool, especially for businesses who know how to optimize their LinkedIn company page.
The premiere professional networking platform is a great place to scout talent, network, and nurture sales prospects. But that’s not the only way to leverage it.
LinkedIn also has powerful search engine optimization benefits. Creating a LinkedIn company page is of the fastest ways to rank for branded keywords, and it sends strong signals to Google’s ranking algorithm.
Want to quickly and effectively optimize your LinkedIn company page? Focus on these key areas.
Why LinkedIn is Worth Your Time
LinkedIn is home to over 500 million users from 200 different countries. And those users are impressively active, with over half of them visiting the site at least once a month.
Having a dedicated company page gives you direct access to customers, clients, and talent in your industry. It’s a free platform for showcasing products and services and promoting important news.
Company pages also unlock valuable engagement assets, like how many people see your posts and what they’re saying about your company.
LinkedIn’s not only popular with professionals – Google’s ranking algorithm loves it, too. LinkedIn company pages quickly climb the rankings for branded key phrases, giving companies a free and easy opportunity to get their content in front of more searchers.
Optimizing a LinkedIn Company Page
When we talk about optimizing a LinkedIn company page, we usually have three broad goals in mind:
- Increasing LinkedIn user engagement with the company page;
- Helping the company page rank for relevant queries in search engine results; and
- Helping the company page rank in LinkedIn’s native search engine results.
Each of these goals can be refined and targeted to a company’s specific key performance indicators; if the company is looking for sales leads, for example, the focus will be on user engagement at specific points in the marketing funnel.
Whether you’re focusing on organic engagement or plan to boost your LinkedIn strategy with sponsored content, optimizing a LinkedIn company page should begin with these basic steps:
- Fill out the company profile completely.
- Write a keyword-rich company description.
- Upload high-quality photos.
- Link back to the company website and other social profiles.
- Post-industry-relevant content.
- Have employees connect to the page.
1. Complete Your Company Profile
Start by filling in the blanks.
When a user first enters a company on their profile, LinkedIn generates a bare-bones page for that company to serve as a hub for employees; however, the information that automatically populates the page is far from complete and not necessarily accurate.
Enter all the information someone would need to find and identify your company: its address, phone number, website URL, etc. Make sure it matches what appears on the company’s website and Google My Business page
This step increases the page’s legitimacy in the eyes of users and search engines.
2. Write a Compelling Company Description
What does your company do? What makes it unique? Boil it down into 156 characters.
The first 156 characters of a company’s description appears as the page’s meta description, or the summary that appears below the link on both Google and LinkedIn’s the search engine results page.
It helps to think of the description as an elevator pitch: a concise summary that tells people what your company is all about and entices them to learn more.
The company description can be longer than 156 characters, of course, but it’s important to make those initial words count. Be sure to include keywords and key phrases that people use to find companies in your industry.
3. Upload High-Quality Photos
The profile picture is the first impression people have of your company on LinkedIn. It appears in the LinkedIn search results, on employees’ profile pages, and above everything your company posts.
Company pages with profile pictures also get six times as many visits as those without one.
The best profile picture for a company on LinkedIn is a clear, high-quality image of its logo. LinkedIn recommends a minimum profile image size of 400px by 400px and a max of 7680px by 4320px.
You should also personalize the page with an eye-catching header image (recommended 1584px by 396 px). It can be a simple banner, a photo collage, or an image with call-to-action text. Since it always appears alongside the profile image, the header doesn’t need to include a logo; however, it should reinforce brand recognition using relevant imagery and colours.
If your ideal logo or header image doesn’t quite fit LinkedIn’s dimensions, Sprout Social’s Landscape Resizer tool is a quickly modify it.
4. Link to Other Sites and Profiles
Social media pages are most effective when they’re interconnected.
Add links to the company’s other social profiles so LinkedIn users can easily find and follow your company across the web.
In turn, add a LinkedIn button to your company website.
5. Post-Industry-Relevant Content
LinkedIn isn’t just another company listing; it’s a platform from which companies can broadcast their best content to clients, customers and industry colleagues.
Posts are one of the most direct ways to engage with viewers and followers since posts appear both on its page and the home page of each of the company’s followers.
What to post depends on the company’s goals for the social network. LinkedIn posts can be used to:
- Showcase an awesome company culture
- Share company news and updates
- Publish original blog, video and image content
- Spread the word about timely industry issues
Always include some form of visual content – those posts get 98% more engagement than text-only posts.
6. Get Employees on Board
If your business is new to LinkedIn, but your employees aren’t, chances are they’ll have already named the company in the Experience section of their profiles.
But that doesn’t always mean they are connected to the same page.
For example, the user who entered “Company Inc.” may be linked to a different page than the one who simply put “Company.”
Ironing out these inconsistencies is an important step in increasing the company page’s reach, especially for smaller businesses. The more employees who connect, the greater your reach.
About LinkedIn Sponsored Content
Once you’ve done all the above, it’s time to consider furthering your reach with sponsored content.
Sponsoring content puts your company’s posts in people’s LinkedIn feeds, appearing almost exactly like an organic (non-sponsored) post. It’s a great way to reach clients and customers, especially for B2B businesses.
LinkedIn’s advertising tools enable highly specific targeting, allowing you to aim content at specific people, companies, or positions within a company. Insight tags help to define further your audience based on who visits your site and their actions on the page, detailed conversion tracking gives a clear understanding of the value of leads through LinkedIn.
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5 Reasons You Should Use An Agency For Your Social Media
Social media is a powerful tool, particularly when it comes to marketing your business. Social media marketing provides new and excellent opportunities to increase brand recognition, boosts your search engine rankings, alleviates some marketing costs, enriches the customer experience, and personalizes your brand, among many other benefits.
The major challenge for quite a few companies is to develop an effective social media strategy and work to implement it. There is, however, the option of hiring a social media marketing agency. Why should you do something like this?
On The Pulse
One of the top reasons to hire the services of an agency for your social media needs is the fact that agencies house social media experts who always have their fingers on the pulse of new trends and other developments in the realm of social media. Social media platforms are always changing and adding new features. In order to remain competitive, companies must also change with the times. An agency consumes all news related to social media, from small shifts to major changes and new trends.
Expert Knowledge
One of the biggest results of always having their finger on the pulse is the expert social media knowledge an agency possesses. This allows us to curate ideal content from around the Internet, effectively schedule this content to the optimum times, maximize audience engagement, and twist any tool or trend from social media to work best for you. This knowledge stems from years of experience and ability to adapt at the flip of a coin. Social media is an agency’s wheelhouse.
Dedication And Focus
Running a business requires you to perform a wide variety of different tasks. These tasks include dealing with finances, processing transactions, developing new products and services, training new employees, and more. Adding in-house social media can be just another item on an ever expanding to do list. The only thing an agency would have to worry about in relation to your business is your social media. This allows an agency to focus and go deeper into social media strategy and dedicate specialized resources—something that may not be possible with in-house social media, what with all the other responsibilities floating around.
Weighing The Cost
Doing social media in-house comes with a number of different costs, including base salary, employee benefits, turnover costs, and training expenses. With a social media agency, the price is simply the negotiated contract cost, based on the level of work you want them to perform as well as your desired budget. There are no hidden or indirect costs associated with working with a social media marketing agency, as there is with handling your company’s social media presence in-house.
Customer Service
Not only will you receive excellent service from a social media agency, but you will also be able to provide your customers with excellent customer service. In today’s society, the vast majority of people look for a company through social media networks like Facebook and Twitter for their questions, comments, and complaints. By having a dedicated agency—consider all the reasons previously discussed—you can be assured that the service response time will be fast as well as of a high quality. An agency will do everything necessary to ensure each individual interacting with your company receives the best service and response possible.
To wrap it up, using an agency for your social media requirement brings experts who have their finger on the pulse, are dedicated and focused, enhance the potential of customer service, and bring expert knowledge and specialized resources to the table—all for an affordable cost. Bring your social media presence to the next level today.
How to Generate Leads on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the preeminent social platform for business relationships and networking. It provides an opportunity to tap into niche markets and conversations that are happening in your industry. According to a study by Marketing Charts on The Channels and Content Types B2B Marketers That Are Generating Leads and Revenue, 89% of B2B marketers consider LinkedIn to be the biggest social media lead-generator (double that of Facebook and Twitter). If you are not using LinkedIn to generate leads and create relationships with potential clients, you are missing out on a massive opportunity.
LinkedIn is a place to get industry knowledge, ask specific questions and research target markets and influencers. The potential is thrilling, but how do you make sure your experience on LinkedIn is effective, and does not lead to endless scrolling? Here are a few key LinkedIn tips and tricks to generate the most qualified leads.
General Tips
- Put your contact information in your profile. Include both relevant personal information and company contact options including email, phone, website, and social media channels.
- Set your profile to be open. On LinkedIn, you are required to be connected with someone to send them a message, and vice-versa. However, if you change your profile settings to “open” then anyone can send you a message, and vice-versa. In addition, open profiles share more information with potential connections including your current and post positions. This leads to broader connecting opportunities.
- Change your profile to your name. When you create a LinkedIn profile, the URL associated is only a series of numbers. You can change this to your name, creating a much more professional appearance. When viewing your profile, hit the “Edit public profile” tab on the right-hand side, and you will be given the option to edit your URL.
Lead Generation Tips
- Request an introduction. If you have a mutual connection with a potential lead, request an introduction. This will create an immediate trust and level of respect with the new contact.
- Observe Profile Views. Keep up on who has viewed your profile and reach out to them.
- Import connections from your pre-existing contacts. In the Network tab, there is an option to reach out to current contacts by adding their email address.
- Stay informed via newsfeed updates. Constantly check the newsfeed to be up-to-date on network updates. Use the feed as a snap shot of what your connections are up to, what they are talking about, who the influencers are and what factors would most likely engage your potential leads. Engage with posts to allow your network to become familiar with you and create name recognition.
- Share and Tag industry related content. Share content and take advantage of tagging and linking to industry leaders and relevant parties to build a reputation as an industry thought-leader. Engage with content that your company shares to increase impressions and overall reach of your message.
Groups
One of the best features of LinkedIn for Lead generation is the Groups feature. Groups are a “place for professionals in the same industry or with similar interests to share content, find answers, post and view jobs, make business contacts, and establish themselves as industry experts.” Creating or joining groups in your industry is an excellent way to gain information on your target markets, establish yourself as an industry leader and grow a community of advocates.
- Brand Consistency. Make sure the logo of your group is consistent with your brand and other social pages. Keep your message and bio clear and concise so members know exactly what the group is about.
- Be Specific. Research your buyer personas, and make sure your group is specific to your target markets at every level of the buyer process.
- Consistently Engage. Increase the ranking of your group by constantly engaging with it – both by sharing original content such as whitepapers, blog and case studies, and by creating conversations with members. Provide insights, be transparent and connect with many networks.