LinkedIn users typically mean business -- they network, find jobs, offer jobs, and meet clients. If you are wondering whether or not you should think about advertising on LinkedIn, take a look at the demographics below.

If your client base includes educated, career oriented folks, this may be the best option for you. 

Types of Ads

LinkedIn, like other social media sites, gives you the option of selecting an ad or sponsoring content. 

Ads

Ads are displayed on the right side of your LinkedIn newsfeed under "Ads You May Be Interested In". You can decide whether you want your ad to be tall, square, or long. You may also ad up to 15 ad variations to see which one is the most successful. 

When you click "Create an Ad" you will be brought to the advertising manager dashboard.

Options:

• Name your campaign
• Select your a webpage or LinkedIn business page that you will want to direct traffic to
• Enter a 75 character headline
• Add a 50x50 image to your ad
• • Ads with images will do significantly better

Sponsored Content

You can sponsor a post that you previously created. This will show up on various LinkedIn newsfeeds that depend on the demographics you select. This will allow users to engage with your ad and read it in a natural manner as if their friend posted it.

Options:

Be sure to include all information in your post that you would want in an ad such as your URL, contact information, etc.

Read all about getting started with LinkedIn Ads here.

Demographics

LinkedIn has a wide range of demographic options that will allow you to reach exactly who you need to.

• Location
• Company
  • Industry
  • Size
  • Excluded companies
• Job Title
  • Function
  • Seniority 
  • Jobs to exclude 

See more on targeting options.

Budget

A budget for LinkedIn ads can be set as a lifetime or daily budget. It gets slightly more competitive since advertisers are bidding for impressions. 

Bidding

At minimum, a bid is worth $2.00. You may bid more money to increase the likely hood of your ad appearing in front of your target audience over a competitors ad. You will not know what your competitor bid, but if they did out bid you they will have exposure before you. Try to find a safe middle ground so that you are not wasting money.

Pay per click (CPC) or per 1,000 impressions (CPM)

Your two options for pricing include paying each time your ad is clicked or each time it receives 1,000 impressions. 

Figure out your advertising budget with advice from LinkedIn. 

Best Practices

Before you jump on board the social media advertising train, here are a few unwritten rules to follow. 

Split Testing

LinkedIn allows you to create up to 15 variations of an ad. Use this opportunity to do at least 3-4 slightly different ads to see which is the most successful.

​Staying Relevant

This is especially true for sponsored posts. You need to sponsor something that users care about, otherwise they are not going to click on your ad. You can see the top news of each industry on LinkedIn Today.

Read more on best practices here.

Don't forget the basics of your ad such as:

• Call-to-action
• Readable, stylish graphics
• To-the-point ad copy
• All important details included

Narrowing Your Audience 

It may seem that the more people you reach, the better you will do. This is not the case. You want to reach an audience that is interested in what you are offering, otherwise you are wasting your money. Narrow in on your audience and be as detailed as possible without dipping lower than 1000 reach.

If you are interested in a social media campaign for your business, contact a Blue Archer professional.