Maximizing ROI: Best Practices for B2B Paid Campaigns on LinkedIn
In the fast-paced world of B2B marketing, LinkedIn has emerged as a powerhouse platform for reaching key decision-makers and industry influencers, with 134.5 million active daily users. (Statista)
As the oldest (still active) social media platform, having launched in 2023, LinkedIn remains distinctly different from the newer apps and requires a unique approach to the content used on the platform and an understanding of the LinkedIn user’s mindset. Here’s why LinkedIn is ranked as the #1 platform for B2B marketers:
- Businesses see a 33% purchase intent increase with LinkedIn Ads
- Over a third of buyers who see a business’s ad on LinkedIn research the company with the purpose of purchasing a product.
- 50% business users use LinkedIn to make purchase decisions (Blue Mail Media)
- 31% of senior members on LinkedIn are not on Twitter, 30% are not using YouTube and 21% are not using Instagram.
Ready to start speaking to this highly motivated, decision-maker audience? Here’s a guide to mastering the LinkedIn Ads Platform to ensure your brand remains top of mind, delivers informative content to the right audience and ultimately produces high quality leads.
Creative: Compel them to “Stop the Scroll”
According to research from GWI, the average worker spends more than 2.5 hours per day across their preferred platforms. What resonates with them on Meta will likely differ from the type of content they are seeking on LinkedIn. So what is going to grab their attention?
1. Prioritize Professionalism with a Personal Touch
LinkedIn is a professional network, but it is also a social media platform. Striking the right balance between professionalism and personal connection is key. Use high-quality visuals and clean designs, with bold headlines that speak to the user behind the keyboard. What new information are you offering? How are you going to impact their day-day job? How can you help them succeed? These are the questions, that when answered, drive the higher CTR on your ads.
2. Leverage LinkedIn’s Ad Formats Based on Objectives
LinkedIn offers several ad formats, each with its strengths. Experiment with these top ad types:
- Video Sponsored Content: When you are looking to increase impression share amongst your competition, and to also visually share a more compelling story, video is the best ad type for TOFU activities.
- Also, with the recent launch of CTV from LinkedIn, video just got really interesting. Serve your video on streaming apps like Netflix, with job titles overlaid. It’s the most precise TV targeting to date.
- Single Image Content: Looking for a lead gen ad type? Start here. The single image, when isolated to the LinkedIn feed placements, is ideal for sharing insightful articles, case studies, or thought leadership pieces. Ensure your visuals are engaging and even more importantly, that your content is valuable.
- Sponsored Message Ads: Recently, sponsored message ads have significantly improved lead generation for clients across the B2B space. This is ideal for longer form content or guides, and allows for a more personal touch as these ads are served from an employee at your company.
- Text Ads: Looking to takeover a platform? Start utilizing the text ads – an incredibly lower CPC overall on these ads, it’s like the billboard effect on LinkedIn.
3. Remember to be Mobile Friendly
LinkedIn is definitely not just a desktop platform, with 45% of US traffic overall being reported as coming from the mobile app itself. What is even more significant? Mobile users are converting 40% higher than their desktop colleagues. #Pro-Tip: Review your ad on your phone for copy length and image. Would you stop the scroll?
Copy: What Will Resonate With the User?
Typically, the user will stop based on the creative and the headline in that graphic. Then the eye goes to your headline/CTA button and then jumps back to the top of the post for the main copy. Here are some key tips to drive that click with your post copy:
1. Address Pain Points Directly
In B2B marketing, your audience is often seeking solutions to specific problems. Ensure your copy addresses these pain points directly and offers clear, actionable solutions. Keep it simple.
2. Provide Valuable Content
The LinkedIn user is looking for education, and to improve within their career. In your lead generation campaigns, ensure that the content being offered is robust and meaningful to the target. Examples of excellent lead gen assets include Trend Guides, and 3rd Party Reports. Remember to ask yourself, would you provide your email and phone number for access?
3. Personalize Your Messaging
Personalization can significantly boost engagement. Tailor your copy to different segments of your audience based on their industry, role, or past interactions with your brand.
4. Test The Copy Angle
Delivering the key takeaway before truncation (roughly 150 characters) can be challenging. Test different copy lengths, and types of copy including listicle formats. And, don’t be afraid to test emojis (😮). This is a professional platform, but it is still a person who has likely used their personal email to create the account and can be amused while also looking for solutions. Most deals are made based on personalities and team members – try to convey who your brand is and convince the user you are the company they want to partner with.
5. What is Your Competition Saying?
LinkedIn recently launched its Ad Library, which is an excellent tool for any brand utilizing paid ads on the platform. Keep an eye on their creative, their messaging, and content offers here to stay ahead.
Targeting: Reaching the Right Audience
1. Define Your Ideal Customer Profile
Effective targeting begins with a clear understanding of your ideal customer profile (ICP). Consider factors such as industry, company size, job title, and seniority level. LinkedIn’s robust targeting options allow you to reach decision-makers and influencers with precision, so leverage them fully.
2. Utilize LinkedIn’s Advanced Targeting Options
- Matched Audiences: Upload your contact lists or retarget website visitors to re-engage with prospects who have already shown interest and require further nurturing or cross-sell.
- Account-Based Marketing (ABM): Target specific companies or industries that have been identified by your sales team as high-value targets to reinforce other outbound activities from the sales team.
- Engagers: Create audiences based on your TOFU activities and remarket assets, case studies and demos as they continue to engage with your messaging.
3. Test and Refine Your Targeting
LinkedIn offers a wealth of targeting options, and also a great deal of analytics to go with it. Utilize the demographics report to determine if your campaign is being seen by the appropriate audience, if budget is being cannibalized by a certain country or industry, and determine opportunities to segment audiences for more refined messages.
4. Review Back-End Lead Data
The initial form fill is critical to the campaign. However, down-funnel activities can also help optimize your campaign’s effectiveness. Review all job titles of current MQLs/SQLs to determine if your audience should be narrowed – or expanded. Are you seeing more SQLs from a certain industry that your campaigns should focus on? A constant eye on how the leads are being nurtured in your pipeline will ultimately enhance your LinkedIn campaigns for the future.
Full Funnel Strategies: Engaging at Every Stage
With the copy, creative and targeting covered, the strategy for the platform is the last crucial piece. We’ve used the dating analogy when talking about LinkedIn Marketing Strategies. One can’t (or shouldn’t) just ask to get married when they first meet. There is a period of getting to know each other, seeing if there is a fit, and then looking towards a more permanent future. It’s no different when you are targeting prospective customers on the LinkedIn platform.
1. Top of the Funnel (Awareness)
At the top of the funnel, your goal is to capture attention and build awareness. LinkedIn has shared the 95/5 rule when approaching the platform. 95% of your market is not looking to buy right now. When that 5% of the market does have budget approvals, we want to ensure that our product is on their short list to start investigating right away. Therefore, TOFU strategies are critical here. (Think video campaigns, case studies, thought leadership ads, etc.) The key is to create engaging content that introduces your brand and establishes thought leadership.
2. Middle of the Funnel (Consideration)
In the consideration phase, prospects are evaluating their options. Use the LinkedIn Sponsored InMail, single image feed ads to offer case studies, whitepapers, and webinars that showcase your expertise and provide solutions to specific problems.
3. Bottom of the Funnel (Decision)
At the bottom of the funnel, prospects are ready to make a decision. These ads, typically free trials or demos, should be offered to those that have engaged with your brand up-funnel via site traffic or lead form submissions.
Start Launching!
Navigating LinkedIn’s advertising landscape can be complex, but with a strategic approach to creative, targeting, copy, full funnel strategies, and branding, your B2B campaigns can achieve outstanding results.
Ready to elevate your LinkedIn advertising strategy? Contact us today to start transforming your B2B campaigns.
How the Top Social Platforms are Bending to Gen Z
Move over Millennials, Gen Z is calling the shots now. They may be young, and their purchasing power has yet to be truly defined, but they are changing the online landscape, quickly.
Who is Gen Z? What recent changes to LinkedIn, Meta, and even Google have they influenced at their young age? We’ll cover all of that, so when you are asked, “What is TikTok all about?” or “How can we expand our followers to the younger generation?”, you’ll know the answers.
How Gen Z is Defined
The youngest defined generation to date is currently between the ages of 7-25, per the Research Center. This generation is uniquely different from prior ones, as the internet, connectivity, and social media have been a part of their lives from the start. Nicknamed the “digital natives,” the digital world is as common to them, as the TV was for the Millennial Generation.
They may be young, but they are large. Gen Z makes up 30% of the total global population and is the largest generation in American history, with the older members of the group now entering the workforce. Clearly a force for all businesses to become familiar with.
The World Economic Forum indicates that Gen Z will make up 27% of the global workforce by 2025.
Gen Z’s Influence on the Social Media Landscape
Overall, social media usage is on the rise and steadily growing, with an estimated 60% of the world population active on social media. However, when Gen Z entered the landscape, the social media behemoths (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) were quickly rejected. Acutely aware of how their social presence impacts their lives, and tired of the toxicity that “likes” create, Gen Z has opted for a different type of online experience.
But why are the established platforms changing their product now? With apps like TikTok, WhatsApp, and YouTube surging amongst this audience, competition is fierce to gain the attention of this audience. Here are the key ways in which Generation Z is changing the media landscape:
- Short videos are king.
TikTok exploded with the help of Gen Z due to its algorithm, which keeps users coming back for the content it knows they like. Gen Z spends 24-48 hours per month on TikTok (Pew Research) watching videos, as 61% of Gen Z prefer short videos (under 1 minute). Remember when Twitter tried short-form? Neither can we, because it was quickly pulled, but you might remember the term “fleet.” The larger platforms have not given up, however. Instagram and YouTube are still trying to compete with Reels and Shorts, respectively—in efforts to attract the Gen Z audience.
- No filters please.
In September 2022, BeReal, an app that asks users to post an unfiltered photo of themselves once a day, was the most downloaded social media app (Statista). Authenticity has always been key to success on social media. Gen Z has found that the older platforms, specifically Twitter and Facebook, no longer offer that authentic experience with their algorithm focusing more on engagement. Just launched in 2020, BeReal is capturing the no filter, be yourself philosophy of Gen Z. To combat this preference, Instagram is testing IG Candid Challenges, which offer the same prompts to share a candid photo each day.
- Make shopping easy.
97% of Gen Z Consumers (Forbes) use social media as their top source of shopping inspiration. The hashtag #Tiktokmademebuy has over 4.7 billion views, #amazonfinds has more than 6.7 billion views, and #booktok, with over 78 billion views, helped make 2021 one of the publishing industry’s best sales years ever. With Gen Z leaning toward seamless checkout experiences, Instagram updated its shopping experience with swipe-ups that take a user directly to the product. Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest are also expanding their 3rd party partnerships with companies like Shopify to ensure fast and secure transactions.
How Gen Z Is Changing Google Search
Google is also feeling the pressure, with 40% of Gen Z using TikTok for search instead of Google. This is an amazing stat, which Google confirmed during a recent event on how their products and services are changing. The queries that brands have historically seen are not the queries of Gen Z. Here are the recent changes Google will be rolling out to their products, to meet the demands of more visually rich experiences, intended to lure Gen Z back (Google Search On 2022).
- Google Maps is now incorporating augmented reality, to meet the younger generation’s visually rich requests.
- Search has been updated to make the experience even more natural with multi-search, allowing users to now search using images and text. Lens, which Google launched in 2017, answers 8 billion questions every month.
- With 83% of Gen Z shopping on social media, Google added 9 features and tools to make it easier to shop on Google, including more visual ways to shop.
- YouTube Shorts, which was launched to directly compete with TikTok in 2021 is gaining ground, watched by over 1.5 billion logged-in users every month.
Knowing a major US company is altering their offerings to lure this generation, it’s important to review your own business strategies and online experiences to ensure you are also meeting the expectations of Gen Z.
How Brands Should Approach Their 2023 Social Media Strategies
With their ever-increasing purchasing power and propensity to impact social issues, Generation Z is one we’ll all want to watch closely. Sprout Social recently conducted a survey to determine what they are expecting from their social media platforms, finding that:
- 64% of Gen Z consumers expect a more personalized experience on social media based on previous interactions.
- 61% of Gen Z consumers want companies to know them better based on their social media activity.
- 52% of Gen Z consumers expect companies to read and analyze their social media posts.
What should brands do now? Though Gen Z is making the biggest splash we’ve seen in a while, they are not the only group to use social media. Every platform offers a unique purpose to each user, regardless of the generation. The key to a brand’s success is to use the platforms appropriately, authentically, and customized to your target audience.
If you are looking to court this new audience, keep these top social media goals in mind for 2023, as they apply to all generations on the platforms:
- Make shopping experiences easy. Utilize the online catalogs and shopping features offered by social media apps today.
- Begin content creator collaborations. A robust library of content, as well as the credibility UGC offers will be a critical component of social media strategies this year.
- Increase video content development. Gen Z has proven that they prefer to watch content.
- Utilizing UGC as well as in-house development should be built into all brands media strategies moving forward. Embrace the smaller and emerging social media platforms. They may be small, but they grow quickly. Brands who are early adapters can hone their message establish themselves as thought leaders on new platforms.
Remember, TikTok did not exist a few years ago, yet it is changing the online landscape we know today. Keep an eye on the smaller and emerging platforms, continue to test, and always keep yourself up to date on all platform changes and new offerings to be able to compete effectively.
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