Linkedin Ads – do’s to apply
Use dynamic ads as often as possible
50% of current LinkedIn users access LinkedIn from a mobile device, which means that simple text and displays will not make
their way into these users’ eyeballs. What you will need to do in order to make your content and promotions to reach those users is to create dynamic ads and serve those.
Dynamic ads will work better for you as long as your aim remains reaching the most people in your targeted audience as possible.
Know who you are targeting and why
Unlike other display networks such as Google, LinkedIn does not target people based on data such as searches and browsing
history. Instead what it does is target people based on personal and career related data entered by users in the platform, including Job titles, Seniority or position of authority within their company, skills, industry and name of the company where they work.
This targeting method gives you a greater control over who you market to because it narrows your audience to a very specific crowd of professionals, so plan carefully when assessing who will end up being a potential customer.
Keep your content fresh and up to date
A display ad campaign can easily erode and annoy an audience no matter how cool the product or service and no matter how great it did at the beginning. Haven’t you gotten tired of seeing an ad piece over and over? This can happen to your audience if you don’t change your ad copy from time to time.
What you have to do is to change the format, the message and some of the visual aspects of your ads right when you perceive that they have lost their appeal. This will also help you to avoid “banner blindness” as people start ignoring ads when they perceive them as utterly repetitive.
Familiarize with LinkedIn ads units
Familiarize with how ads units are positioned in LinkedIn to have a better grasp of what types of ads you want to show to a given
kind of LinkedIn user. Ads units, for those that are not familiar with the term, is the name given to the position in which ads are placed in the advertising space.
LinkedIn ads units, much like any other display network, are commonly shown on the right, on the top left and on the bottom. They can also be placed on the top right and be marked as sponsored content. Pay special attention to this as you will want to position your ads where they’re more likely to sell.
Linkedin Ads – don’ts to avoid
In our previous chapter we gave you a 10 item list where we numbered the best practical advice available anywhere for LinkedIn marketers, and in this chapter we will take the time to hand you over another list, and this time we want to present you with 10 things that you need to avoid doing to have the edge when you start your LinkedIn advertising venture.
In no particular order, let’s start by telling you that it will be for the best if you…
Don’t forget that LinkedIn ads are part of a large ecosystem
LinkedIn ads are not only served in LinkedIn’s own platform. They are also shown on LinkedIn partner sites, which include websites such as “The New York Times”, “BusinessWeek” and “CNBC”. This group of websites is part of what is known as the “LinkedIn Audience Network”.
So besides being served to people on your network and people outside it, they will also be shown on some very high profile media, so plan your ads accordingly!
Don’t target a wrong demographic
Targeting the wrong demographic, whether on LinkedIn or on any other advertising network, can have devastating effects on
your campaigns and on your budget. It might seem obvious to you now, but wait until you are in the heat of the moment and see how easy it is for your judgment to be overridden by how cool your campaigns and ads will look to you, that you will probably forget that targeting is an act of careful planning!
Examine your product, see where your competition is and then go check its audience. Deciding over targeting an audience on LinkedIn groups or targeting it by industry, to give you an example, can make a huge difference in the end.
Don’t overlook how clicks and impressions perform
It is of utmost importance to carefully follow the behavior of your campaign, because one day your clicks can maximize without you
realizing, which can be good if you get results in the form of good Return on investment, but can be terribly bad if your targets don’t make a purchase and you are left paying for clicks that did not bring any result.
What you have to do then is to closely watch how your campaigns are running. If your clicks are growing too rapidly, do not optimize your campaign for cost per click, because as we said, your budget will drain, your campaign will end before schedule and you will not see any results.
Don’t underestimate how bids work
Placing a bid is an act of careful consideration, even though you are not placing it in real time. Why? Because the amount placed
on a bid is not the actual price that you will pay for a given ad placement but the maximum amount that you are willing to pay to bid your competition out.
In fact, actual bids most often end up being lower than the amount you entered unless a competitor bids for a greater amount, and depending on the amount
