Is LinkedIn Advertising Effective?
You have many online marketing choices, and almost all of them are good. Some work better for small to mid-size business than for mega-corporations. One may work better for a consumer products manufacturer than another business model. The challenge is to discover what works for your business. So, what are your options – and is LinkedIn advertising worth considering?
“LinkedIn® provides the almost-perfect alternative for low-cost, compliant outreach,” says Entrepreneur magazine. Many advertisers back off because of the cost. LinkedIn doesn’t “cost too much.” Its prices are commensurate with its effectiveness. LinkedIn analytics are one of the reasons LinkedIn is a valid addition to your marketing campaign.
Updates When You Need Them
- Impressions, clicks, interactions, followers, engagement and specific data
- New and total followers
- PPC (pay-per-click) and organic clicks with comments
- Visitors and their demographics plus the number of page views
Circa 2014, becoming a part of the LinkedIn culture was critical to a lot of organizations, but there wasn’t much thought to sites or profiles. Now, it’s time for you to begin using LinkedIn to your advantage.
How is LinkedIn Advertising Different?
So far, almost every social media platform has distinct advertising and marketing advantages. LinkedIn may deliver more – specifically more of your demographic – than its social media competitors.
A big distinction is social interaction with ads is limited. Your website is your communication hub.
“By following simple LinkedIn best practices, you can use this social network to your business’s advantage,” says SEO professional Alex York. “Unlike Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, LinkedIn manages your professional social connections and content…”
LinkedIn advertising seeks to meet several marketing goals, including:
- Building brand awareness
- Converting website visitors
- Generating leads
- Increasing website traffic
LinkedIn is considered by many the best B2B (business-to-business) advertising medium. But if you’re used to Facebook pricing, there may be some “clicker shock” when you add LinkedIn to your marketing strategy. In 2018, the average cost-per-click (CPC) was 26 cents for Facebook. LinkedIn median (half paid more; half paid less) CPC was $5.26.
Also remember that LinkedIn is about two key things: businesses and connections. A business, no matter what size, cannot function without people. No matter how advanced AI and ML become, the human factor will always be around. Robots don’t buy products, people do. People who work for themselves and for companies. As a result, humans like to connect and LinkedIn is one of the best social linkage tools available. Insert targeted and relevant advertising into this mix and you have a winning combination.
Showcase Pages
Showcase pages are terrific for companies offering multiple products and services. For example, not only do you sell wall art, you sell art supplies. This is where LinkedIn’s Showcase is effective. Your visitors can choose which of your business options they’d like to follow.
Using showcase pages, you can:
- Build relationships
- Emphasize your brand qualities
- Share specific content with target demographics
What are Ways to Bid on LinkedIn Advertising?
As you develop your next marketing campaign (and include LinkedIn because it’s worth it), you can utilize three strategies:
- Budget – Your marketing team decides the maximum amount you can spend each day. Once your LinkedIn ad reaches its limit, it begins anew the next day. The ads continue until you’ve reached the total dollar amount you want to spend or your end date.
- Automated bidding – This is a good way to measure your budget’s performance potential. Use the maximum cost option to better-manage your budget.
- Manual bidding – The Campaign Manager tool will suggest a bid range. Maximum cost is a good idea for beginners, but if your bid isn’t high enough you may be a now-show at the auction. The more you learn, the better you’ll be able to effectively price CPC.
LinkedIn and Google Ads and Bing, Oh, My!
An additional perk is, the search engine Bing now allows advertisers to target LinkedIn ads. Because Microsoft owns Bing and LinkedIn, this is something with which Google can’t compete.
Here’s the catch: You need both these effective platforms for a well-rounded marketing campaign. So think of them as buddies, not enemies. More searchers use Google, period. But Bing reaches 63 million internet searchers that don’t use Google. That makes it a healthy marketing choice.
Bing Ads
- Bing has 3 search engines (AOL, Bing, Yahoo). Even though Bing has only 34% of the market share, advertisers get 3 ads for the price of one.
- Bing ads are approximately $7.99 CPC; Google Ads are $20.08 CPC
Google Ads
- Display – Advertisers submit display ads to appear on other, related websites with the Google network.
- Search – Advertisers submit text ads (content) using SEM (search engine marketing) to appear on Google search pages.
Let’s explore your LinkedIn options. Our team at Atkins Marketing Solutions has ideas and we want to hear yours! Call 714.904.4453 or contact us. We can harness the power of effective LinkedIn marketing together.
Stuart Atkins
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