With LinkedIn Campaigns in the fast lane

LinkedIn campaigns are a fast and efficient communication tool that has become very well established in international B2B communication in recent years.

Since spring 2020 at the latest, when it became clear that companies had to take new paths in communication, LinkedIn has proven to be a very good way to maintain long-term contact with its target groups.

It doesn’t matter how small or large the company is. Well planned and prepared, a LinkedIn campaign almost always pays off and reaches the desired goal. Because unlike Facebook or Instagram, all 706 million LinkedIn users worldwide (15 million users in the DACH region alone) are also interested in making business contacts, in receiving offers or entering into collaborations. It is the core of the B2B channel to connect business people with each other. The user profiles are usually maintained accordingly – after all, you want to be found on the platform. It is precisely this profile quality and the associated data depth that make the channel so attractive while enabling precise step-by-step targeting.

The “watering can principle” was yesterday. LinkedIn shows its advantages in targeting. Due to the high quality of the profile information, target groups of a LinkedIn activation can be selected and addressed precisely on the basis of a variety of factors.

To make the most of LinkedIn’s unique combination of content and advertising, it is important to define the goal of the campaign in advance. LinkedIn basically distinguishes between the three target categories “Awareness”, “Consideration” and “Conversions”, each with one to three sub-categories or focal points.

Once the campaign objective has been set, further planning is basically the same as with Google Ads and other online marketing formats. LinkedIn also offers special formats with combinations of images and text for even more direct acquisition and marketing approaches. Brand new, since October 2020, it is now also possible to use Stories functions in a LinkedIn activation.

It is essential to provide high quality content that can be linked to and that really appeals to the target group. This is the only way to generate sustainable leads with LinkedIn campaigns. As well, various touch points (image, video, text, tips) for existing or new customers should be selected and a clear “call-to-action” should be integrated. Especially for the latter, so-called conversion tracking is set up before the start of a LinkedIn campaign – to measure the success of the activation.

To get a LinkedIn campaign up and running quickly and efficiently, it is always worth considering working with an online advertising manager.

Once the briefing is complete, the professionals need only about two days of preparation for the technical implementation with management via the experts for a medium-sized campaign. The experts also know which motifs and content in the respective ads attract the most attention or which form of address best fits the agreed campaign objective.

The same choices apply when setting the marketing budget for a LinkedIn campaign. The commissioning company determines the cost settings in advance: If the amount used does not reach the forecast targets (see section “Paths to a successful lead”), it is possible to readjust and optimise the amount at any time if desired. In principle, an overall budget or a daily budget can be defined.

Virtual trade fairs are becoming an integral part of marketing. It is also in the company’s own hands that these contacts actually become serious and above all GDPR-compliant leads. It requires that the LinkedIn company website is well profiled and maintained and that regular posting activities take place beyond the LinkedIn advertising booked.

So basically, a user’s click on a LinkedIn ad is just the beginning – the real challenge is to arouse interest in downloading gated content for whose added value they willingly leave their contact details.

In our experience, LinkedIn campaigns are very successful when there is a specific time reason for them, such as a virtual trade fair. Our client Sappi’s virtual trade fair is an impressive example of how successfully a LinkedIn campaign can be used as an accompanying preliminary measure to address potential visitors and encourage them to register and participate in the event.

Initially started as an additional networking communication channel in the field of social media, LinkedIn has developed into an independent communication platform, which can also be used to run a singular central campaign. Good performance with maximum flexibility and very good cost-benefit ratio: LinkedIn is most definitely a tool that every company should try out for itself and use strategically.

• Sparring in all phases of the activation period
• Comprehensive coaching of company participants