Understanding LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn ads can be highly effective, but you must learn how to properly harness the power of the platform. According to Hubspot, there are eight steps to effectively run a LinkedIn Ad campaign:
1. Create Your LinkedIn Ad Campaign
To start creating video LinkedIn ads, go to the LinkedIn Marketing Solutions platform. You’ll need to create a Campaign Manager account if you don’t already have one. When setting up, link your LinkedIn Company Page, if applicable, to associate your ads with your business. Enter your billing information to activate the account, but note that you won’t be charged until your campaign is live.
On the Campaign Manager dashboard, click the “Create” button to start a new campaign, campaign group, or account. Use descriptive names for your campaigns and groups to clearly indicate their focus or target audience, which helps in effectively managing multiple campaigns.
2. Identify Your Objectives
You must have a clear goal and objective for your LinkedIn video ad campaign. Whether it's to educate your connections, grow your network, or spark interest in a new product, having a goal in mind is essential.
With LinkedIn video ads, you will always be representing and building your brand, which is needed for human engagement. Therefore, your ads must be relevant and able to attract attention. Marketing your brand correctly should always be a priority whenever you post content on LinkedIn. This is a key reason why people hire agencies like TechWyse to develop creative marketing solutions that appeal to the target audience. Implementing these practices will ensure a successful and effective LinkedIn video ad campaign.
3. Designate Your Audience
Define your target audience using LinkedIn’s targeting options, which include parameters like location, company size, job title, industry, seniority, and more. The specificity of your targeting can significantly impact your campaign's effectiveness and ROI.
For example, if you’re targeting decision-makers in the tech industry, you can select parameters like “Job Title: CTO” and “Industry: Information Technology.”
The more specific and relevant your criteria, the better your video LinkedIn ads will resonate with the audience, increasing engagement and conversions.
4. Decide on Your Ad Format
Choose the ad format that best supports your campaign objective and fits your budget. LinkedIn offers several ad types, including Sponsored Content (single image ads, carousel ads, video ads), Sponsored Messaging (message ads, conversation ads), Text Ads, and Dynamic Ads. The “Forecasted Results” feature on the right-hand side of the Campaign Manager provides estimates on potential reach and engagement based on your chosen ad format, budget, and targeting.
Use these insights to decide which ad type will provide the best results for your objectives and available resources.
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5. Choose Your Ad Placement
Decide if you want your ads to appear solely on LinkedIn or also on the LinkedIn Audience Network, which includes LinkedIn’s third-party partner sites and apps. Extending your ad’s reach through the Audience Network can help increase visibility and engagement. However, not all ad formats are eligible for Audience Network placement.
You can also exclude specific categories, apps, or websites if you don’t want your ads displayed in certain contexts, allowing for more controlled and targeted ad distribution.
6. Set Your Budget and Schedule
Determine your budget and schedule based on your campaign goals and available resources. You can set a daily budget or a total budget for the campaign. It’s advisable to start with a smaller budget to test the waters and measure your ad’s effectiveness before committing more funds. Your conversion optimization strategy should guide how much to invest in each campaign.
You also need to choose a bidding strategy with the following in mind:
- Automated Bid: Let LinkedIn optimize the bid amount to achieve the highest results for your campaign objective.
- Maximum Cost-Per-Click (CPC): Pay each time someone clicks on your ad; ideal if you want to drive traffic.
- Maximum Cost-Per-Mille (CPM): Pay per 1,000 impressions; suitable for increasing brand awareness.
- Adjust your bid strategy based on your end goals—whether it’s maximizing clicks or impressions.
7. Enable Conversion Tracking
Setting up conversion tracking is optional, but highly recommended for monitoring the effectiveness of your video LinkedIn ads.
Conversion tracking allows you to measure specific actions that users take after interacting with your ad, such as signing up for a newsletter, downloading a white paper, or making a purchase. To enable this, click “+ Add conversions,” and define what actions you want to track.
Configure the settings for each conversion action and decide how you’ll measure it (e.g. using LinkedIn Insight Tag, which tracks conversions from your ads). This data helps refine your campaigns and improve ROI by showing what’s working and what isn’t.
8. Build Your Ad
Once you’ve set up your campaign parameters, it's time to create the actual ad. This involves writing compelling ad copy, choosing an engaging image or video, and setting a destination URL where users will be directed when they click your LinkedIn video ads.
Ad elements should align with your campaign objectives and resonate with your target audience. For example, if you’re promoting a webinar, use a headline that clearly conveys the value of attending and a CTA that encourages sign-ups.
Preview your ad in the Campaign Manager to see how it will appear to your audience. Make adjustments as needed, and when satisfied, submit the ad for LinkedIn’s review. Remember, LinkedIn reviews all ads to ensure they meet its guidelines before they go live.
By following these steps in detail, you can create a targeted and effective LinkedIn ad campaign that meets your business objectives and maximizes your return on investment.
How LinkedIn Video Ads Elevate Your Brand
LinkedIn video ads are an excellent way to elevate your brand. The platform is primarily geared toward professionals and B2B (business-to-business) marketing, which allows you to enhance your brand image in the professional world and reach the audience you are looking for if your objective is to grow your business in 2024 and beyond. There is no better place to reach a professional audience and grow your brand than on LinkedIn.
Aside from allowing you to connect with a professional audience and expand your network, there are many other advantages that LinkedIn video ads can offer for your business. Take a look below:
- Targeted Audience Reach: LinkedIn video ads allow for precise targeting based on criteria like job title, industry, and company size, ensuring your content reaches the most relevant audience and maximizing ad effectiveness.
- Enhanced Brand Credibility and Trust: By showcasing expertise and thought leadership through video, LinkedIn video ads help build brand credibility and trust among a professional audience, leading to stronger brand loyalty and higher conversion rates.
- Engaging Content Formats: LinkedIn offers various video ad formats that cater to different marketing objectives, allowing for creative storytelling that can capture attention, increase engagement, and boost brand visibility through shareable content.
- Higher Engagement Rates: LinkedIn users are more engaged with professional content, making video ads that provide valuable insights or address pain points particularly effective in boosting engagement and encouraging interactions like likes, shares, and comments.
- Cost-Effective Advertising: Despite a potentially higher cost-per-click (CPC), LinkedIn video ads are cost-effective due to their ability to target high-quality leads and optimize ROI through real-time performance tracking and analytics.
- Building Long-Term Relationships: LinkedIn video ads help build long-term relationships by providing valuable content that fosters trust and positions your brand as a reliable resource. This potentially leads to sustained engagement and meaningful business connections.
Source: Shutterstock
LinkedIn Video Ads: Best Practices
When you're ready to create your video ads, there are several LinkedIn paid ads best practices you should follow before launching your campaign. Check them out below:
- Be human: As with any business interaction, you must be human! A personal, human approach is the best way to engage in any business interaction rather than appearing robotic or overly sales-focused. If you are relatable, people will warm up to you and be more interested in your product or business.
- Keep it short: Attention spans are getting shorter, and concise, easy-to-digest content is king right now as opposed to long, extremely detailed videos. Keep your LinkedIn video ads short and to the point to achieve high engagement rates.
- Keep it entertaining: This one goes hand in hand with the previous point. Your LinkedIn video ads should be engaging and creative, regardless of your industry. Whether you’re a landscaping company having a summer promotion or an accounting firm trying to reach new customers during tax season, you need to find a creative, unique way to convey your message and capture people's attention.
- Add captions: If you skip this step, you can potentially miss out on viewers who could be converted into life-long customers. Many people browse LinkedIn on their smartphones without sound while in the office or during their commute. Adding captions ensures that your video content is accessible to all viewers, increasing the likelihood of engagement.
- Always include a strong call to action (CTA): Without a doubt, your LinkedIn video ad should always have a CTA at the end of your video. If you keep viewers engaged throughout the video, guide them on the next steps to learn more about the content they just watched. Going back to our first point, always put some emotion behind it! People are more likely to connect with a human approach.
Wrapping Up
As the landscape of digital marketing continues to evolve, staying ahead with innovative strategies like LinkedIn video ads will be essential for brands seeking to capture attention and thrive in a competitive environment. Getting started with a new LinkedIn video ads campaign can sound like a daunting task. However, if you approach it with a proper mindset and conversion optimization strategy, your campaign is bound to reach the right audience.
By adhering to the strategies outlined in this guide, businesses can optimize their campaigns, connect meaningfully with their audience, and rake in exponential revenue. Remember to focus on creating engaging, relatable content that resonates with your audience and includes clear calls to action to guide potential customers through the sales funnel. Before you know it, you will be elevating your brand's presence on LinkedIn and achieving lasting success.
Choosing a digital marketing agency can also alleviate the stress of getting a campaign rolling smoothly. Our fully certified Paid Media team would be more than happy to help you watch your business succeed. We also offer a long line of other digital marketing services, from SEO and Content Marketing to Social Media Marketing and Web Design.
The importance of video marketing continues to grow in 2024 and it isn't going anywhere soon, so start your LinkedIn video ad campaign with TechWyse today! To book an appointment, you can call 416-410-7090 or contact us here.
