From the main types of ads and their formats to costs and benefits, a LinkedIn ads guide contains everything you need to know to start running ads on the platform.
If you own a B2B company, advertising on LinkedIn can be an effective way to generate leads and boost sales. In fact, 80% of all B2B leads generated on social media come from LinkedIn. So, if you’re not doing it yet, now is the time to start—our LinkedIn ads guide can help you create targeted content that maximizes your return on investment!
Let’s get started.
How Do LinkedIn Ads Work?
LinkedIn ads work by allowing businesses and marketers to run paid campaigns on the platform. This involves a process that includes choosing an objective, identifying the target audience, and selecting the right ad format to deliver results.
While LinkedIn already has excellent organic reach, with 40% of users engaging with a company page organically, running ads can help boost your marketing efforts further.
Once you’ve built your ad by following the LinkedIn Advertising guidelines, the LinkedIn algorithm will deliver this content directly to your audience, effectively increasing your reach and chances of engaging new customers.
5 Main Types of LinkedIn Ads
If you’re ready to jump into LinkedIn marketing, here are the five main types of ads you can use:
#1. Sponsored Content
The first ad in our LinkedIn ads guide is sponsored content, which is a type of native ad that appears directly on the feed and looks just like regular posts. Unlike normal posts, however, sponsored content features a “Promoted” label and a call-to-action (CTA) button.
LinkedIn’s sponsored content can come in the following formats:
- Single image ads
- Carousel ads
- Video ads
- Event ads
- Document ads
According to a poll conducted on the platform, 42% of marketers found that single-image ads generated the best results for their campaigns. However, don’t be discouraged if you don’t see the same results. In fact, we recommend experimenting with different ad formats to find the best one for your target audience.
#2. Sponsored Messaging
Unlike sponsored content, sponsored messaging ads are delivered directly to your audience’s inbox. This targeted approach is extremely effective at improving conversions, and when run alongside sponsored content, it can result in up to a 72% increase in click-through rates (CTR).
There are two types of sponsored messaging ad formats:
#3. Text Ads
LinkedIn text ads are a form of pay-per-click (PPC) ad that features a headline, description, and image. You’ll usually find this ad type displayed on the top or right sidebar when browsing LinkedIn on a desktop.
This type of LinkedIn ad is ideal for brands looking to drive traffic to an external website or increase brand awareness on a limited budget. PPC ads are paid per click, which means businesses won’t have to pay an upfront fee, unlike other ad formats in this LinkedIn Ads guide.
#4. Dynamic Ads
Unlike the other ad types in our LinkedIn Ads guide, dynamic ads can be customized based on the audience and their profile data, such as their name and profile picture.
Due to a highly personalized approach, dynamic ads are perfect for engaging audiences, gaining new followers, and promoting job openings. They can also drive leads and traffic to an external website.
These ads come in the following formats:
- Follower ads
- Spotlight ads
#5. Lead Gen Forms
As the name suggests, LinkedIn lead gen forms help businesses generate leads. These come pre-filled with a user’s profile data and can be attached to other types of ads, such as:
- Sponsored content ads
- Sponsored messaging ads
- Dynamic ads
How to Get Started With LinkedIn Ads in 8 Simple Steps
Now that you know the different types of ads on the platform, the next step in our LinkedIn ads guide is to teach you how to create these and start seeing results.
Let’s go over the step-by-step process of creating a LinkedIn ad below:
#1. Create a LinkedIn Page
Only company pages can run ads on LinkedIn, so if you have a personal profile, you would need to create a LinkedIn page first.
To do this, click For Business in the top panel of the LinkedIn website and select Create a Company Page.
After that, you’ll have to choose a page type; select Company. Keep in mind that you need to have a LinkedIn account that’s at least one day old and at least one connection to create a company page.
Next, you can add details about your company, including its name, industry, website, and other important information.
When done, click on Create page at the bottom to make your company page.
#2. Create a Campaign Manager Account
The next step in our LinkedIn ads guide is to create a LinkedIn Ads Manager or Campaign Manager account. This is a separate tool you can use to easily manage all your advertising campaigns.
Fortunately, signing up is easy once you already have an established company page. Simply head over to the website and add the necessary details, such as your account name and associated LinkedIn page, then click Agree & create account.
#3. Choose a Campaign Objective
After signing up, you’ll immediately receive a prompt to choose a campaign objective. There are three main categories for objectives: awareness, consideration, and conversion, and below each one, you’ll find a more detailed goal.
Simply select the one that best fits your current goal to proceed.
#4. Identify Your Target Audience
Next, you’ll need to identify your target audience; this step is what sets LinkedIn advertising apart from other social media platforms, as it allows for a more targeted approach.
When creating your audience profile, you can completely customize the details to ensure that you are reaching the right people.
You can even include or exclude certain locations and audience attributes from your campaigns.
Lastly, make sure you tick Audience Expansion so LinkedIn can target audiences with similar attributes to the ones you chose.
#5. Select an Ad Format
With a clear idea of your campaign objectives and target audience, all that’s left to do is select the ad format to use in your campaign.
You can hover over each icon to get a general idea of how each ad works. That said, there’s no need to worry if you aren’t familiar with any of these, as our LinkedIn ads guide will discuss all the ad formats available on the platform later on.
#6. Set the Ad Budget and Schedule
Before you can start running LinkedIn ads, you’ll need to set the budget and schedule for the campaign.
You’ll also see your forecasted results on the right side of the screen, which can help you decide on the budget and length of the campaign.
#7. Build Your Ad
When all the details are complete, click Next to start building your ad. While you will no longer be able to change your campaign objective or chosen ad format after this step, you can simply create another campaign to target a different goal.
Click Create new ad(s) and input all the important details, such as the text, images, and headline.
When creating your text, you can use the platform’s AI feature to help you generate compelling copy. Aside from this built-in tool, there are several social media AI tools, like Publer, you can use to improve your text and ensure the success of your ad.
If you are reusing images from a different social media platform, keep in mind that different sites will have varying requirements for image sizes. So, make sure to follow the recommended LinkedIn ad sizes; otherwise, you will have to crop your photo to use it.
Afterward, you can check how your ad will look on both mobile and desktop, just like when previewing social media posts. This is a great way to ensure that your chosen medium gets the message of your ad across and that all the other details of the ad emphasize your goal.
If everything looks good, click Create ad.
Still, this will not automatically run your ads, as the platform will still have to review them to ensure that they follow the LinkedIn ads guidelines.
#8. Monitor Your Campaign Performance
The last step in our LinkedIn ads guide is to monitor your campaign’s performance regularly and make changes as needed to improve results. Some metrics you can track on LinkedIn analytics include engagement, CTR, and views.
Alternatively, you can use social media scheduling tools like Publer to manage your LinkedIn profile and gain in-depth insights into your metrics. Our built-in analytics feature provides a comprehensive view of your overall performance on the platform, allowing you to make data-driven decisions to elevate your social media campaign strategy.
7 Different Formats of LinkedIn Ads
After explaining the processes involved in creating and running an ad campaign, our LinkedIn ads guide will now cover the various ad formats on the platform.
Let’s take a look at what these are:
#1. Single Image Ads
Single image ads are a form of sponsored content that appears directly on the feed. These feature a single image along with a headline, description, and CTA. Because of its straightforward and eye-catching format, this LinkedIn ad example is ideal for improving :
- Brand awareness
- Engagement
- Leads
- Website traffic
#2. Carousel Ads
LinkedIn carousel ads are similar to Instagram carousel posts and feature multiple images in a swipeable format. This allows you to promote multiple products and provide a more engaging and interactive ad that immediately catches the viewer’s attention.
Each card in the carousel can have a unique image or video, headline, link, and CTA, making it suitable for the following objectives:
- Brand awareness
- Product promotion
- Engagement
- Conversions
#3. Video Ads
The next type of ad in our LinkedIn ads guide is video ads, which function similarly to single image ads but feature a video instead of a photo. Video content is more engaging than normal images on social media by a large margin, which is why it isn’t surprising that video ads perform better as well.
In addition to making your post more captivating, utilizing videos in your LinkedIn ads allows you to create product demonstrations, share testimonials, and provide more value to your audience.
LinkedIn video ads are perfect for:
- Brand awareness
- Engagement
- Lead generation
- Video views
#4. Event Ads
If you have an event, seminar, or training program you want to promote, then you may want to start running LinkedIn event ads. These include all the important details about your event, including the name, date, and CTA button to encourage viewers to sign up and ensure a high level of attendance.
Event ads are a great ad format for:
- Brand awareness
- Engagement
- Website traffic
#5. Document Ads
With LinkedIn document ads, you can share different ebooks, whitepapers, and case studies directly on the feed and allow viewers to download them without leaving the platform. This approach is a great way to provide valuable information to your audience and boost your online presence on the platform.
This ad type can help you improve:
- Brand awareness
- Engagement
- Leads
#6. Spotlight Ads
Source: LinkedIn
Simply explained, LinkedIn Spotlight ads are dynamic ads designed to drive traffic to an external website. They have a short but effective CTA that redirects the viewer to your website, where they can proceed with the desired action, be it making a purchase or signing up for an event.
Spotlight ads can be used for:
- Brand awareness
- Website traffic
#7. Follower Ads
Source: LinkedIn
The last ad type in our LinkedIn ads guide is follower ads, and these aim to get viewers to follow your company page. As a form of dynamic ad, follower ads are personalized per audience and represent an effective way to gain new followers on the platform.
Aside from follower growth, these types of ads are great for:
- Brand awareness
- Engagement
The Cost of LinkedIn Ads
The overall cost of LinkedIn ads will depend on your goals on the platform, as this will affect the ad types, ad formats, and campaign schedules that you choose. That said, LinkedIn has set a minimum budget requirement of $10 for the daily budget and $100 for the lifetime budget to start an ad campaign.
To help you make the most of your investment, our LinkedIn ads guide will include a quick overview of how you can set up your advertising budget on the platform.
How to Set Up a LinkedIn Ads Budget
To set up a LinkedIn ads budget, you need to determine how much you want to spend on your ad and how long the campaign will run.
LinkedIn offers two budgeting options for advertisers on the platform:
- Daily budget. This allows you to control how much you spend on the ad per day. While you can only input an average amount, as the exact cost will vary per day, this can still give you a general idea of how much you’ll be spending to achieve specific results.
- Lifetime budget. With this option, you’ll simply specify the exact amount you want to spend on the campaign, and LinkedIn will adjust the daily budget accordingly.
Once you’ve decided on a budget, you now need to set the schedule of the campaign. You can choose from these two options:
- Continuous schedule. With a continuous schedule, the campaign will continue running until your budget runs out. You can use both daily and lifetime budget options, and you can also set a combination budget that allows you to manage your daily and overall campaign expenses.
- Set schedule. A set schedule, on the other hand, has a specific start and end date, which is a great option for businesses that are new to LinkedIn advertising and simply want to see the benefits they can gain.
4 Important Benefits of Using LinkedIn Ads
From reaching your target audience to improving brand awareness on the platform, LinkedIn ads can provide several important benefits.
Let’s discuss them below:
- Create targeted content. LinkedIn ads allow you to create content specifically tailored to your target audience, increasing the effectiveness of your campaigns and boosting your engagement rates.
- Reach new audiences. With their highly targeted approach, LinkedIn ads will help you reach new audiences and connect with potential clients who can help your brand grow.
- Build brand awareness. As we mentioned earlier in our LinkedIn ads guide, building brand awareness is one of the objectives you can choose when creating a campaign. On a platform with thousands of established companies, this can be quite difficult to do organically, so running ads can help you succeed.
- Boost conversions. Whether it’s website traffic or lead generation, LinkedIn ads are designed to spur the viewer into action. With a properly optimized copy and CTA, you can effectively improve your follower-to-customer conversions and drive sales.
How to Measure the Success of LinkedIn Ads
To measure the success of LinkedIn ads, you can monitor your campaign’s performance in the Campaign Manager dashboard. Here, you can track key metrics to help you determine the effectiveness of your current strategy and optimize it for success.
When you open the Campaign Manager, you’ll automatically see the following metrics for each campaign:
- Impressions
- Clicks
- Average CTR
- Average cost per thousand
- Average cost per click
- Conversions
- Leads
- Event registrations
If you have just started running your campaign, it’s normal to see low numbers or even zeros for some of these metrics. However, if the numbers don’t improve after 30 days and you’ve already spent a significant amount on a campaign, it may be time to reassess your strategy.
4 Best Practices for LinkedIn Ads
What LinkedIn ads guide would be complete without some best practices you can follow to ensure the success of your ad campaigns?
Whether you are a seasoned marketer looking to boost results or an upcoming business that wants to build awareness on the platform, these LinkedIn ad tips will help you achieve your goals:
#1. Define Your Target Audience
Even if you follow this LinkedIn ads guide to the letter, ultimately, the success of your campaign will depend on how well you define your target audience. This information will serve as the basis for all the other elements of your campaign, including ad format and type.
When you know exactly who you want to reach, you’ll be able to easily create content that resonates with your target audience.
#2. Choose the Right Content Format
Choosing the right content format will allow you to create more effective ads; however, it can be difficult to know which one to use in your campaigns. To make a good decision, consider your goal on the platform when selecting a content format from the various options we discussed in this LinkedIn ads guide.
For instance, if your objective is to provide value to your audience and establish yourself as an expert in the industry, document or video ads can be ideal for you. On the other hand, if you want to encourage clicks and engagement, carousel ads may be a more suitable option.
#3. Follow the Correct Ad Specifications
The LinkedIn specs for ads will vary widely depending on the format you choose, so follow these when creating your ads. Doing so will ensure that every ad you make is properly displayed on the feed and engaging for the viewer.
#4. Develop a Compelling Call to Action
The goal of our LinkedIn ads guide is to help you create ad copy that converts, and a compelling CTA is one of the best ways to make this happen. Regardless of how well-crafted your headline is, without a CTA, your audience may not take the desired action.
Whether it’s signing up for an event or downloading your ebook, you want to end your ad with a compelling CTA that spurs viewers into action.
Key Takeaways
- LinkedIn ads work by allowing businesses to target specific goals on the platform through paid ad campaigns.
- The five main types of LinkedIn ads are: sponsored content, sponsored messaging, text ads, dynamic ads, and lead gen forms.
- The platform offers eight main ad formats, including single image ads, video ads, document ads, and follower ads.
- The minimum cost of LinkedIn ads is $10 per daily budget and $100 per lifetime budget, but the final cost of your ad campaign will depend on your goals on the platform.
- Running LinkedIn ads can help you build brand awareness, reach new audiences, and boost conversions. To maximize these benefits, ensure that you follow the correct ad specifications, define your target audience, and use a compelling CTA.
LinkedIn Ads Guide FAQ
#1. How do I use LinkedIn ads effectively?
To use LinkedIn ads effectively, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your goals and target audience. These two elements will allow you to create targeted content that converts, helping drive sales and leads.
#2. Are LinkedIn ads worth it?
LinkedIn ads can be worthwhile for your business if your target audience consists mainly of professionals or other companies.
As a networking platform, LinkedIn’s main user base is comprised of these two demographics, so running ads on the platform is the best way to reach them. Meanwhile, if your goal is to market to a younger audience, LinkedIn ads may not be worthwhile.
#3. What type of ads work best on LinkedIn?
Video ads work best on LinkedIn, as their immersive nature can encourage the audience to take notice and interact with the post. That said, the best type of ad to use for your campaign will depend on your specific goals on the platform.
#4. What are the disadvantages of advertising on LinkedIn?
Some disadvantages of advertising on LinkedIn include a much higher cost per click compared with other social media platforms, a limited audience, and slower brand growth.
#5. What is a good budget for LinkedIn ads?
A good budget for LinkedIn ads is around $3,000 per month if you are just starting out. That said, if you already have a good amount of website traffic and simply want to boost your efforts, you can lower this amount to $1,000. Keep in mind that LinkedIn has a limited audience demographic, so avoid focusing your entire advertising budget on one platform.
Ervin Kalemi
