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How to Get Started With LinkedIn Ads to Capture Qualified Leads

Date published: February 04, 2014
Last updated: February 4, 2014

With so much noise across the Web, it's hard for marketers to attract new readers or engage top prospects. Sure, you could send email blasts to targeted users, encouraging them to download your latest ebook or read your new blog post, but you can attract only those who have already opted in to hear from you. What about brands or individuals that you know have visited your site but never converted? Or even the brands that you know you're about to meet at a conference and who you want to encourage to engage with you online?

This is where LinkedIn ads and sponsored updates come in handy. LinkedIn promotions have proven to be very valuable to B2B marketers. It's the one social platform where you can pretty much guarantee all members are there to network and learn to be better professionals. If your business is primarily B2C, then this may not be valuable to you, but for B2B marketers, it's time to take notes!

Set Your Target Demographic

The number-one reason LinkedIn ads and sponsored updates are so successful in helping marketers reach their goals is the way that marketers can segment their promotions. You can target a broad audience by targeting everyone on LinkedIn in a certain industry or location, but you can also get more granular than that. For example, if you're heading to a conference and know which companies will be there, you can set up a campaign that targets only those companies and the departments that you want to reach. Need it to be even more specific? You can also narrow it down by job function. And if you want to keep certain companies from seeing your ad, you can exclude them. This guarantees that the most qualified leads are exposed to your brand and content.

Determine Your Offer

After you've defined your target demographic, determine what action you want them to take. The offer you choose should align with your target stage in the inbound marketing funnel. If you're targeting brands you've never engaged with before, you might introduce them to your blog or offer a top-of-the-funnel piece of content. You could even use ads to increase your following on LinkedIn.

Get Started with Ads

To set up a LinkedIn ad campaign, you'll want to create at least three ad variations per offer. You can run these ads simultaneously to see which ones perform the best. After enough time has passed, turn off the underperformers and run the best one. If this is an ongoing campaign, you should add new variations to make sure your ads are fresh and continue to draw attention.

LinkedIn ad headlines are limited to 25 characters, while the body is 75. With so few characters to work with, you need to be extra creative. Make your headline capture attention and then use the body to give a call to action. Always be sure that the action you want them to take is clear.

Next, you need to create a thumbnail image. Images must be 50px by 50px. Some brands just use their logo, but you may want to get more creative than that. Make sure it captures the eye and directs readers to the ad copy. For example, if you choose an image with a person's face, eye-tracking studies have shown that it's best to choose faces that appear to be looking at your ad copy. This directs the viewer's eye to what you have to say. You should A/B test the images just as you do the copy.

Here are a few examples of LinkedIn ads with variations:

Now that you know how to get started with LinkedIn ads, be sure to let us know how it goes. If you already have some experience, comment below to let us know what best practices you have learned.

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