We all know about the effectiveness of Google, Bing and Facebook Ads, but what about LinkedIn Ads? Do they provide an effective ROI?
Who should use LinkedIn Ads?
If your business is B2B, or has a professional or enterprise audience, and the personas you want to reach actively use LinkedIn, then yes, it can be a high-value channel. It is the world’s most up-to-date directory of 500 million professionals worldwide, and in particular, In particular, decision-makers congregate on LinkedIn, with senior managers, corporate functions, and enterprise buyers all using LinkedIn for content, networking, and research. A factor to consider is that ad costs are higher on LinkedIn, which requires an almost surgical approach to who you reach, with account-based marketing and precision targeting mattering significantly. So if your ideal prospects are on LinkedIn, and you can justify a higher cost per acquisition, then it is definitely worth experimenting with this platform.
Algorithm, Ranking, & Ad Infrastructure
In recent years, LinkedIn has invested heavily in deep learning ranking models to better predict ad click-through propensity and engagement. Their content ranking emphasises expertise, relevance, and meaningful engagement, and the platform is pushing video and creator-led content far more aggressively. Additionally, they now offer bid automation, “Max Delivery” for sponsored messaging, and AI-assisted subject line generation. Ultimately, delivery on LinkedIn is more AI-driven than ever before, creative execution matters more, and scaling engagement helps ads perform the best.
Audience targeting
When compared to Google Ads or Meta, LinkedIn offers a very granular and accurate audience targeting. Facets within this include company, seniority, job function, years of experience, skills, and many more, allowing you to target very specific audiences that fit your Ideal Customer Profile. You can even narrow down your audience to as low as 500+ people based on multiple criteria listed in people’s LinkedIn profiles. Additionally, the platform’s forecasting and audience sizing tools have become more robust in recent years, giving better estimates of reach and bidding ranges.
3 Popular LinkedIn Ad Types
If you are a frequent LinkedIn user, you have probably seen them around the site, but here is an overview:
Sponsored Messaging
These ads come in two formats, either as a LinkedIn message direct to audiences or through conversations featuring a choose-your-own-path experience. These allow businesses to reach their audience in a very personal way. Additionally, they have been bolstered recently with AI enhancements and more intelligent delivery.
Carousel Ads
Interactive and immersive formats are gaining significant adoption on LinkedIn, with carousel performance improving significantly year on year.
Video Ads & Short Form Clips
Video and short-form clips are growing rapidly on the platform, driven by LinkedIn’s content and creator push, so make sure to capitalise on this.
Cost
Costs for this platform vary largely by industry, seniority or prospect, and location. All ads work on Pay-Per-Click, Pay-Per-1000-Impressions, or Cost-Per-Send for InMails. So there is always an auction running before the ad is shown or InMail is sent, and it depends on competitive bidding for those actions. As a result, it is more expensive to reach the most important decision-makers in the key industries. CPC tends to be around $5.50-$6.50 as a global average, while the ROI is typically between 2-6x spend. Recently, LinkedIn has become a more expensive platform, especially for premium segments, but if your funnel downstream converts well, then the investment really can pay off.