Advertising on LinkedIn is very effective. Many companies from different industries and sizes have had great success using all of the dynamic paid advertising options. As LinkedIn’s advertising marketing messaging says, “do business where business gets done.” Your target audience most likely is on LinkedIn. However, we believe not everyone is ready or should be advertising on LinkedIn. Creating the right foundation and approach are critical to finding sustainable success.
Here are five things to focus on before starting your paid advertising campaign:
There are numerous ways to organically create new connections, stay top of mind, and get your brand’s message out there on LinkedIn. Craft compelling messaging and start making meaningful connections to further your business objectives. The goal should be to take the conversation off of LinkedIn.
2. Evaluate your network and your team’s network
Do you know everyone in your network and team’s network? Probably not. Take time to evaluate how many customers, prospects, COI’s and strong connections you already have. Building an engaged following will pay dividends over advertising that may get you to your target audience.
3. Expand your LinkedIn Company Page following
Reach from your LinkedIn company page content will always be limited organically. However, that should not deter you from inviting your target audience to follow the page and engage with the content. Quality over quantity here is vital.
4. Ensure you have maximized LinkedIn Premium
According to Kinsta.com (Mind-Blowing LinkedIn Statistics and Facts), 39% of LinkedIn users are on a premium product. This statistic means that over 300M users have access to Inmails and premium features. Many who have these subscriptions are not using all of the analytics or Inmails within their account. It makes very little sense to pay for sponsored Inmails with Inmail credits sitting in your account. Be sure to exhaust all of your Inmail messages before paying for paid advertising.
5. Experiment with your messaging
The highest response rate is going to be through direct outreach to your prospects. If the message does not resonate with your target audience when you send it directly, it will not work better with the word “sponsored” on top of it. See what is working and use that messaging and approach to craft your paid advertising message.
If your marketing consultant or team members are urging you to run paid advertising on LinkedIn, take a look at implementing these five strategies above first. It will make your paid advertising more effective and ensure that you have the right foundation to succeed. Throwing marketing dollars away to run less targeted ads because someone said running paid advertising through LinkedIn should be your approach is a mistake.
Are you looking for a LinkedIn strategy or need guidance on the best way to utilize LinkedIn for your organization? Our coaching, training, and profile development services can help. Reach out to us for more information on how you can maximize your organization’s LinkedIn strategy for business development, branding, and recruiting initiatives.
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