LinkedIn Ads are undoubtedly a top-tier channel for B2B Marketing, especially when focusing on lead generation. Studies show that LinkedIn boasts the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate compared to other platforms.
However, to truly maximize the potential of any platform, whether it’s LinkedIn or Google, you have to approach it correctly. Given that advertising on LinkedIn can be pricier than on other platforms, it’s crucial for me to highlight the common pitfalls you might encounter.
In this blog, I’ll delve into these common mistakes, guiding you on what to avoid when running LinkedIn Ads campaigns. This will help ensure you get the most bang for your buck and optimize your ad spend.
1. Ensure Proper Conversion Tracking Setup
It’s crucial that I stress the importance of setting up your conversion tracking the right way. By doing so, you’ll gain valuable insights into post-click and view-through conversions of your LinkedIn Ads.
These insights will show you which customers saw your ad, clicked on it, and then converted. Plus, it’ll give you information about those who saw your ad, didn’t interact immediately, but converted later on.
By default, LinkedIn sets the conversion window for post-clicks at 30 days, and for view-throughs at 7 days.
This data is a goldmine! Use it to measure your ROI and adjust your future campaigns.
When we talk about the “last touch” or “last campaign attribution”, we’re referring to the final click or interaction a user has before they convert. Think of it.
Some Best Practices for Conversion Tracking:
1. Assign Values to Conversions: By giving a specific value to each conversion, you’ll get a clearer idea of the actual business impact of your campaigns. This way, you’ll look beyond mere conversion numbers and understand the total value they bring.
2. Know Your Conversions: Keep tabs on the types of conversions your ads generate and decide on their values.
3. Monitor Booked Calls: With tools like Calendly and Hubspot, tracking calls has never been simpler. Monitoring the calls booked using these platforms can show you which ads, landing pages, or mediums are most effective. Plus, it gives you insights into where the customer is in their buying journey.
2. Rethink Using the LinkedIn Audience Network for Your Ads
The LinkedIn Audience Network allows you to expand your ad’s reach beyond just LinkedIn – it displays your ads on numerous partner websites affiliated with LinkedIn. This might sound great initially because it means your ads are getting more exposure. Plus, these ads adjust to fit seamlessly on partner sites, and you even get the option to block specific sites where you don’t want your ads displayed.
However, there’s a catch.
The traffic you’ll get from the Audience Network often doesn’t measure up to what you’d get directly from LinkedIn. The result? It might burn through your ad budget without delivering the desired results.
So, my suggestion? Stick to displaying ads directly on LinkedIn.
If you’re still curious about the Audience Network, give it a go, but maybe just for your cold campaigns. A smart move could be to set up duplicate campaigns – one on LinkedIn and another on the Audience Network. This way, you can directly compare results and ensure your budget isn’t being excessively drained by the Audience Network.
3. Achieve the Right Audience Targeting Size
LinkedIn has its guidelines: they recommend an audience size of 300,000 for Sponsored Content and Sponsored Messaging Ads. For text ads, they suggest anywhere between 60,000 to 400,000. But it’s vital to choose an audience that aligns with your specific needs, ensuring your targeting is precise and not overly broad.
When fine-tuning your audience, keep these pointers in mind:
1. Expanding Through Attributes: If you select multiple attributes from the same category, your audience size will grow. For instance, picking various job titles will compile an audience where members fit any of the selected titles.
2. Refining Further: The “Refine Audience Further” section allows you to be more specific. By adding detailed criteria here, you’ll naturally narrow down your audience. So, if you select different job roles and seniority levels, a person needs to fit a condition from both those categories to be included.
3. Using the Exclude Feature: Your audience will decrease if you decide to exclude certain criteria. This is handy when you want to omit specific groups. For example, targeting an entire country but excluding a particular city will give you a more refined audience than if you included that city.
4. Don’t Underestimate Retargeting
Have you ever visited a website, left, and then saw an ad for that same site later on another platform? That’s retargeting in action. It’s a way of reconnecting with people who’ve already shown interest in your brand. This could be anything from just browsing your site to interacting with an ad or showing interest in a LinkedIn event.
One thing I’ve noticed is that many businesses aren’t using retargeting to its full potential. In the B2B world, decisions aren’t made on a whim. People don’t just see an ad once and rush to buy. They’ll visit your site, check out your offerings, read reviews, and maybe discuss with colleagues before even thinking about a demo call.
Retargeting helps remind them about what caught their eye in the first place, nudging them closer to that final decision.
In Conclusion
We’ve journeyed through the intricate world of LinkedIn ads together. From understanding the importance of proper conversion tracking to realizing the potential of retargeting, the road to successful LinkedIn advertising is paved with details and nuances. But one thing’s for sure: when used correctly, LinkedIn can be an incredibly powerful tool for B2B businesses.
Remember, it’s not just about putting an ad out there. It’s about making sure that ad finds the right people, at the right time, and in the right way. Every tweak, every strategy, and every decision you make can have a big impact on your results.
So, as you set out to craft or refine your next LinkedIn ad campaign, take a moment to reflect on the insights we’ve discussed today.
