LinkedIn is an important social media platform for B2B businesses and their marketing strategy. In terms of paid ads, it can be one of the most expensive if you don’t use it strategically.
However, you can use it for highly targeted campaigns with the right set-up and creative materials. LinkedIn ads can help you reach decision-makers in specific industries and job sectors, generate high-quality leads, and increase brand awareness.
So how can you make LinkedIn advertising work for your marketing strategy?
1. Know your audience
LinkedIn offers many different targeting options suitable for B2B brands that want to reach potential customers in particular job roles, companies or industries.
Start by defining your ideal customer profile:
- What industries do they work in?
- What size of business do they represent?
- What challenges are they trying to solve?
The more specific your audience, the more relevant your ad will be and the better the ROI.
2. Choose the right campaign objective
LinkedIn’s campaign objectives are designed to match your goals. This could be brand awareness, website traffic, engagement, or lead generation.
If you’re new to LinkedIn advertising, start with a simple goal like driving traffic to a blog or landing page. Once you have data on what works, move to more advanced formats such as lead generation forms or video ads.
3. Create content that feels natural
LinkedIn is ultimately an online platform for learning. Users go there to learn, connect, and be inspired. Your ads should blend into the feed rather than stand out as pure sales messages.
Focus on helping potential customers rather than selling to them. For example, content that provides “Five ways to improve your fleet’s efficiency” will be better received than a direct message to “Buy our logistics software.”
Shifting from product-focused to value-focused content makes all the difference.
4. Measure results
LinkedIn ads improve with testing. Try different versions of your ad copy, creative, or audience to see what performs best.
Start with a small budget (£20 a day) and monitor analytics like click-through rate (CTR), cost per click (CPC), and engagement rate.
Over time, this will help you fine-tune your campaigns for better efficiency and lower costs.
5. Enhance your presence with organic activity
Paid ads are important, but they work even better alongside organic content. When you share updates, thought-leadership pieces, and customer stories organically, your paid ads feel more authentic and help reinforce your message.
If someone sees your ad and then visits your company page, they should find a feed that reflects who you are – with consistent visuals, tone, and values.
6. Measure what matters
Don’t just track clicks. Look at what happens after someone interacts with your ad.
Did they fill in a form? Visit multiple pages? Follow your page?
Tools such as LinkedIn Insight Tag or Google Analytics can show you the full picture of how ads contribute to your pipeline.
How can RED help with LinkedIn advertising?
LinkedIn advertising works best when it’s focused, helpful, and human. Start with clear objectives, target the right people, and create content that solves problems rather than sells products.
Do you need help crafting your social media strategy, or creating paid online ads? We can help! Get in touch.