LinkedIn Ads: Guide to Dos and Don'ts for B2B Success

Within the world of digital marketing, LinkedIn has become a powerful platform for businesses to connect and build relationships with potential customers and drive growth. Particularly for B2B companies seeking to reach decision-makers and industry professionals, LinkedIn ads offer a targeted and effective way to achieve their marketing goals. However, navigating the intricacies of LinkedIn advertising can be challenging, especially for those new to the platform.

To help you uncover the full potential of LinkedIn ads for your B2B business, Green Hearted and LinkedIn advertising expert Alex Quinn delved into the world of LinkedIn ads, unearthing the essential dos and don'ts that will guide you towards achieving your marketing goals. Alex's extensive experience in crafting high-performing LinkedIn ad campaigns for a wide spectrum of B2B clients, coupled with Green Hearted's commitment to providing actionable insights, offers an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to maximize their return on investment (ROI) from this powerful platform.

Laying the Foundation for Successful LinkedIn Ads

‍"LinkedIn ads are a great way to target your ideal customer profile and build out a full-funnel approach to marketing." - Alex Quinn

Before you jump in and start creating your ad campaigns, it’s essential to lay a solid foundation for success. By doing so, you save yourself valuable time. This involves:

1. Understanding Your Target Audience: Begin by thoroughly understanding your ideal customer profile. Identify their demographics, job titles, industry affiliations, and pain points. This deep understanding will guide your targeting and messaging strategies.
2. Aligning with Your Marketing Goals: Clearly define your marketing objectives, whether it's generating leads, boosting brand awareness, or driving website traffic. Aligning your ad campaigns with these goals will ensure you're measuring success against the right metrics.
3. Adopting a Full-Funnel Approach: LinkedIn ads are not just about immediate conversions. Instead, consider a full-funnel approach encompassing awareness, consideration, and conversion stages. This ensures you're nurturing prospects throughout their buying journey. Learn more about the inbound funnel here. 

"If you're not using retargeting, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to reach people who have already shown interest in your brand." - Alex Quinn

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Content and Ad Formats

"I've found that single image and video ads are the most effective for B2B campaigns." - Alex Quinn

With the right foundation in place, it's time to focus on the content and formats that will capture your audience's attention:

• Single Image Newsfeed Ads: For initial campaigns, single image newsfeed ads are a reliable choice. They're eye-catching, easy to consume, and provide a direct call to action.
• Video Ads: Video is a powerful medium for storytelling and driving engagement. Consider incorporating video ads to showcase your brand personality, product features, or customer testimonials.
• Simplicity is Key: When crafting ad creatives, embrace simplicity. Use bright colors that contrast with LinkedIn's muted palette, keep copy concise and impactful, and ensure visuals are high-quality and relevant.

Dos and Don'ts

Avoiding common pitfalls and adopting proven strategies are equally important for LinkedIn advertising success:

• Avoid Automated Bidding: Automated bidding can lead to overspending and suboptimal results. Instead, opt for manual bidding to maintain control over your costs and maximize ROI.
• Disable Audience Expansion: While audience expansion may seem appealing, it can lead to irrelevant ad impressions and wasted ad spend. Stick to your targeted audience to ensure your ads reach the right people.
• Test and Optimize: Don't set it and forget it. Continuously test different ad variations, landing pages, and calls to action to identify what resonates best with your audience.

"A big mistake that advertisers make is enabling the LinkedIn audience network. This can quickly turn your campaign into a display campaign, which is not always what you want." - Alex Quinn

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Optimization and Metrics

“At Green Hearted, we emphasize the importance of monitoring our campaign’s data. If you aren’t constantly monitoring and analyzing your data, you could be missing crucial trends and opportunities to optimize.” - Hannah Gani-Lewis

Regularly monitoring campaign performance is crucial for making data-driven optimization decisions:

• Key Metrics: Focus on relevant metrics like CTR (click-through rate), conversions, and cost-per-acquisition (CPA). These metrics will indicate the effectiveness of your campaigns and guide optimization efforts.
• Adjust Bids: Based on performance data, adjust your bids to ensure you're paying the right amount for the desired results. Lower CTRs will need higher bids and an indicator to look into what's causing the low CTR.
• Expand Audience: If your audience is too small, consider expanding it cautiously to reach a wider pool of potential customers. However, avoid excessive expansion to maintain relevance and avoid budget overruns.

Emerging Trends and Future Insights

Just like all things digital marketing, LinkedIn advertising is constantly evolving. In our discussion with Alex, these were the hot new trends on LinkedIn that you need to be doing in 2024:

• Thought Leader Ads: A type of ad on LinkedIn that allows businesses to promote authentic content from actual employees to generate brand trust and position their employees as leaders in their industry. These ads leverage the credibility and influence of thought leaders to engage with a target audience and achieve specific campaign goals, such as brand awareness or engagement.

• Video Ad Dominance: Video ads are gaining traction on LinkedIn. Use video to showcase your brand's story, product features, or customer testimonials.

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• B2B Content Creators: Collaborate with B2B content creators to produce engaging and informative content that resonates with your target audience. This can generate leads and enhance brand awareness.

A few B2B content creators we’d recommend:

• Becky Hendriksen | Founder and CEO of Green Hearted
• Alex Quinn | LinkedIn Ads Expert at Alex Quin Marketing
• Devin Reed
• Tami Nealy
• Dharmesh Shah
• Jen Spencer

Conclusion

LinkedIn ads offer a powerful tool for B2B businesses to connect with their target audience and achieve their marketing goals. By following the dos and don'ts outlined in this guide, you can avoid common pitfalls, implement effective strategies, and optimize your campaigns for success.

Remember, successful LinkedIn advertising is an ongoing process that requires continuous learning, testing, and adaptation. By staying informed about emerging trends and embracing new strategies, you can keep your campaigns at the forefront of B2B marketing excellence.

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