LinkedIn Ads: Who Can Benefit From Them?

LinkedIn has become one of the most popular platforms for advertising. Many companies have selected it along with media giants such as Facebook and Instagram.

 

But does LinkedIn advertising work for all businesses? No, not at all: there are businesses that would not receive good results if they chose to use LinkedIn ads. Therefore, it’s important to know what sets LinkedIn apart from other top advertising platforms and what your business can gain from using it.

 

In this article, we’re going to explore the key benefits of LinkedIn advertising, what types of businesses can get the most out of running LinkedIn ads, and what you should consider before starting your advertising journey on the platform.

 

Why consider LinkedIn for advertising?

First of all, LinkedIn boasts more than 1 billion members worldwide, which is quite a significant number for a social network not focused on entertainment.

Source: LinkedIn

 

It’s also worth noting that even though we usually think of LinkedIn as a platform popular mostly in North America and Europe, there are plenty of users in regions like Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. This means that no matter where you are located, you can probably find your target audience on LinkedIn. 

Countries with the highest LinkedIn audience reach. Source: Stacy Jo Dixon on Statista

 

Young people from 25 to 34 years old make up half of LinkedIn users, making it a great platform for reaching young professionals and decision makers. Also, as it is primarily a professional network, the majority of LinkedIn users belong to middle- or high-income households, creating an opportunity for B2B advertisers to reach relevant audiences.

 

If you’re not convinced yet, consider the experience of other advertisers: according to Hootsuite’s Social Media Trends Report, brands are the most confident in LinkedIn in terms of generating a positive ROI, which places the platform even higher than the popular options like Instagram, Whatsapp, and Facebook.

Source: Hootsuite’s Social Media Trends Report

 

Moreover, data shows that LinkedIn provides a higher ROAS than other social media platforms for technology businesses, as well as more sign-ups for financial services, and better results for educational services. In short, there are many facts that demonstrate how effective LinkedIn ads can be for different businesses.

 

Let's now think about the specific benefits of LinkedIn advertising that could help you make the right choice.

 

Benefits of LinkedIn ads

1. Reaching professionals

LinkedIn allows you to choose who gets to see your ads based on where they work, what their job is, and what industry they're in. Let's say you are selling software to companies: on LinkedIn, you can ensure that only those who work within the IT departments will see your ads, thus making them more relevant.

 

2. Focusing on Business-to-Business (B2B) sales

The main focus of LinkedIn ads is helping advertisers whose primary target audience is other businesses. A lot of LinkedIn users also perform the role of decision-makers in their companies, so it is up to them to either engage with your business or not. If your business deals with products or services that are helpful to other businesses, LinkedIn will be a good platform to help you reach the right audience.

 

3. Generating high-quality leads

Using LinkedIn advertising, you can get people who have shown interest in your products to provide their personal information via a special form, which allows you to generate leads for follow-up contact about their desire to make purchases in the future. But more importantly, as we’ve said earlier, the LinkedIn user base includes high-income earners and decision makers, which means that the leads you can generate on the platform will be of a higher quality than in other places.

 

4. Increasing brand awareness

LinkedIn is a great place to make more people aware of your brand and increase its trustworthiness. When professionals see your ads while using LinkedIn, they start recognizing your brand and tend to think that it's reliable. If you’re advertising a new company and trying to get noticed, LinkedIn ads can help you build your reputation.

 

5. Promoting content

You can also use LinkedIn ads to showcase things you've made, like articles, videos, reports, or case studies, and so on, which helps you prove your expertise in your industry. The great thing about LinkedIn is that you can incorporate the content you create into your ads, attracting a professional audience that will find it valuable. For instance, if you're advertising a marketing agency, you can promote it by offering users a sneak peek of your report on the latest digital marketing trends – people on LinkedIn are more likely to be interested in it and thus engage with your ads than users on other platforms.

 

6. Recruiting new employees

LinkedIn ads can also help you find new employees if your business is frequently hiring: you can create ads to inform people about new job offerings in your company and encourage them to apply. This will enable you to quickly get top talent with the right skills in your sector.

 

7. Keeping an eye on and optimizing ad performance 

LinkedIn has all the tools you need to evaluate the performance of your ad campaigns. This includes tracking how many people clicked on them, how much revenue they generated for you, and how many leads you generated from your ads - you can see everything in your LinkedIn Ads Manager. It enables you to know what works well and what does not, allowing you to improve your ad performance and get a higher ROI.

 

8. Building trust and credibility

Businesses can feel more safe advertising on LinkedIn because it's known as a reliable place for professionals. Unlike other social media sites that can have problems with fake accounts or controversial content, LinkedIn is seen as a trustworthy place to advertise. Besides, the trends there tend to change at a slower speed than on other social media platforms, which makes it easier to create relevant ads and get a good return on investment.

 

9. Getting higher conversion rates

For certain types of businesses, LinkedIn ads can provide much higher conversion rates than other advertising platforms as we’ve said before. This is due to the professional focus of the platform and a higher credibility of the ads themselves. All of that means you can get more value for your money with LinkedIn ads compared to other places you might advertise.

 

10. Using different ad formats

LinkedIn offers various ad formats to suit different marketing goals and creative preferences. Whether you want to promote content, generate leads, or increase brand awareness, there will surely be a fitting ad format for your business. For example, you can use sponsored content to share updates with your target audience, sponsored InMail to send personalized messages directly to their inboxes, or carousel ads to showcase multiple products or services in one ad unit. These different formats allow you to tailor your ads to your specific objectives and engage your audience in various ways.

There are many ad formats you can use on LinkedIn, which helps you create engaging ad campaigns and avoid ad fatigue by experimenting with different options. 

 

As you can see, advertising on LinkedIn has plenty of benefits, and many businesses get excellent results from their LinkedIn ads. But does it mean that it’s the right choice for your business?

 

Should you run LinkedIn ads? Key things to consider

To make the right decision, you have to start by analyzing your current digital advertising strategy. What platforms do you already use for running ads? Which of them bring the most results? Who is your target audience? And so on. 

 

In general, LinkedIn ads work best for B2B businesses that advertise more expensive and niche products and services, target professionals or decision makers in specific industries and companies, have higher costs per acquisition, and have a longer process of converting leads into customers.

 

You should always consider whether LinkedIn ads will be profitable for your business based on what you’re advertising, to whom, how much you usually spend on ad campaigns, what results you expect from them, and how fast.

 

Besides advertising, LinkedIn is also a very popular platform for content marketing because a lot of users are there thanks to the high-quality content that provides useful information related to specific industries. Most businesses that have a LinkedIn presence regularly post content on their official pages, as well as on the personal pages of their employees, to engage with their target audience. This helps them create a reliable and authoritative brand image, generate new leads, and turn them into loyal customers and partners.

 

The main type of content that works really well on LinkedIn is useful and educational content that shares expert recommendations and tips on specific topics like webinars, articles, reports, and so on. Useful here does not mean boring or formal: most successful LinkedIn content creators write their posts in a conversational style, include personal anecdotes and jokes in them, use a lot of images to make them more interesting to read, etc. So, there is plenty of room for creativity on LinkedIn – you just have to know your core audience really well.

 

Now, let’s see what types of businesses can benefit the most from LinkedIn advertising:

1. B2B brands: businesses that sell to other businesses, like software companies or office suppliers, can use LinkedIn ads to find new clients. For example, a software company might use ads to promote its new product to other businesses.
2. Professionals like lawyers, accountants, and consultants: they can use LinkedIn ads to show off their skills and attract new clients. For instance, a freelance graphic designer might use ads to showcase their portfolio and attract businesses looking for design services.
3. Schools, universities, and online learning platforms: they can use LinkedIn ads to promote their courses and programs to professionals who want to learn new skills. For example, a university might use ads to promote its MBA program to professionals looking to advance their careers.
4. Recruitment agencies and HR professionals: they can use LinkedIn ads to find new talent for job openings. For instance, a recruitment agency might use ads to target professionals with the skills and experience needed for a particular job.
5. Nonprofit organizations: they can use LinkedIn ads to increase awareness, raise funds, recruit volunteers, and find other organizations to collaborate with them. For example, a nonprofit focused on environmental issues might use ads to raise awareness about their cause and attract new supporters.
6. Technology companies: software developers and IT service providers can use LinkedIn ads to reach decision-makers and influencers in their industry. For instance, a software company might use ads to promote its new software to IT professionals.
7. Financial services companies: banks and investment firms can use LinkedIn ads to target professionals interested in financial planning or investments. For example, a bank might use ads to promote its retirement planning services to professionals nearing retirement age.
8. Marketing and advertising agencies: agencies that offer services like advertising or social media management can use LinkedIn ads to showcase their expertise and attract new clients. For example, a marketing agency might use ads to promote its social media management services to businesses looking to improve their online presence.

Overall, LinkedIn ads can be useful for anyone looking to connect with a professional audience, generate leads, build brand awareness, or recruit talent. If you're a business owner, freelancer, educator, recruiter, nonprofit worker or organizer, or service provider, LinkedIn ads can be exactly what you need.

 

Recap

There are many businesses out there successfully using LinkedIn for advertising, and your business might be one of them. Consider these things to make sure that LinkedIn ads are worthy of becoming a part of your advertising strategy:

1. Who you want to reach: you should check whether the users you want to reach are using LinkedIn. If your target customers are professionals or decision makers, LinkedIn advertising might be a good choice. You can target LinkedIn users based on many characteristics like their job title, industry, and how senior they are in their company.
2. How much you can spend: you have to check if you can afford to advertise on LinkedIn. It's often more expensive than other social media platforms, so you should make sure you can get your money's worth.
3. What you want to achieve: you should understand what goals you want to achieve by running LinkedIn ads. If you want to get more leads, raise brand awareness, and show authority within your industry, LinkedIn has all the features for that.
4. Your industry: some industries do well on LinkedIn, like B2B businesses, tech, finance, professional services, and so on. If you’re a part of one of those industries, LinkedIn ads might work well for you.
5. What type of ads do you want to run: LinkedIn provides many ad formats, however, it's a place for more professional advertising. Make sure that your ads fit the platform’s style and tone.

We recommend going through all of these points to see if LinkedIn ads will be suitable for your business and make the right decision. This way, you can get all the benefits from LinkedIn advertising like growing your business and creating a solid and positive reputation for it within your industry.