LinkedIn is an excellent B2B networking and relationship building platform, and a lot can be achieved by using its free tools, so why pay for advertising as well? The answer is because LinkedIn has developed into the one of the most cost-effective and easy to use PPC (pay per click) and online advertising platforms on the Internet, helping businesses target decision-makers and professionals within highly niche industries and locations.
The robust targeting capabilities of LinkedIn ads help you reach tightly defined audiences based on company size, location, industry, job title, previous engagement, and more – helping you build trust and credibility on LinkedIn, and increasing opportunities for meaningful engagement and sales outside of the platform, too. The advertising system also provides detailed analytics and cost management tools to help you measure performance and optimise your campaigns.
These tools make LinkedIn the perfect advertising platform if you’re on a shoestring budget. Here’s why:
LinkedIn’s precise list building and audience segmentation tools are the jewels of the system. Every user has access to advanced targeting tools to help you define their audience based on the criteria that matter most to the campaign. Focusing your budget on a well-defined audience in this way is a good way to maximise ROI and avoid wasted advertising spend. It’s like building your own marketing list with a menu of over 850 million members to choose from worldwide, including 63 million decision-makers, 10 million business executives, 17 million opinion leaders, and over 180 million experienced professionals and business influencers.
Add to this the LinkedIn Matched Audience feature, which lets you retarget website visitors or upload lists of existing customers and prospects to find matching lists of LinkedIn users, and you have a cost-effective advertising tool that keeps increasing in reach and value the more you use it.
For an advert or sponsored content post to gain traction on LinkedIn, it must give users a compelling reason to engage with it. Quality is king with LinkedIn advertising, so it’s important to address the pain points and motivations of your intended audience with every advertising campaign, giving practical insights that can support your customers and make their lives easier. LinkedIn isn’t an ‘in-your-face’ sales channel, so the most successful adverts are the ones that add value and seek to help, rather than simply deliver a sales pitch. This said, it’s important that each advert includes a clear CTA directing users towards your desired action, which can be visiting an external webpage, signing up for an event or course, or downloading a free resource.
Testing different versions of your ads and refining them based on engagement will help you optimise their effectiveness without maxing your budget.
To find out more about LinkedIn advertising and how your business can benefit, please get in touch with one of our LinkedIn specialists today by clicking here.
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