LinkedIn is an excellent platform to grow your business. Why? Because business professionals and industry leaders are active on the platform. Today, I will teach you how to use Linkedin Ads to grow your business.
There are now 760 million LinkedIn members across 200 countries worldwide.
This stat is good news for business owners because they can now build connections with more LinkedIn users. More LinkedIn connections mean more opportunities to earn a profit.
In 2019, LinkedIn reported 1.39 billion dollars of advertising revenue in the United States alone.
Although both stats are excellent, they also mean that competition has become tougher on LinkedIn.
So what is the best way to grow your business on a relatively level playing field? Better LinkedIn Ads execution.
How To Beat The Competition On LinkedIn For Free
Here are some LinkedIn Advertising tips and tricks that can help you stay ahead of the competition:
1. Use The Locations Filter To Find Networking Opportunities
You can filter by location from the Connections tab to know precisely which of your connections live in any specific region.
This filter is especially useful if you travel a lot. When you are in a new city or state, you can see your connections in that area.
Remember that scarcity usually fuels demand. On LinkedIn, users are very likely to want to have coffee with individuals in town for just a night or two.
2. Know Who Viewed Your Profile
The "Who viewed your profile" section of your LinkedIn profile lets you know who checked your profile.
In this section, you'll see the entire list of people who viewed your account from the past 90 days. You'll also see a graph with viewer trends every week.
Use this data to connect with potential users that are interested in you.
3. Customize Your Contacts
LinkedIn allows you to create custom tags that you can use to filter your connections.
You can tag users either from the Connections tab or directly from a profile. There are many uses for this feature. For example, you can search your entire network for “small business” and “digital advertising” and then tag potential users with a custom tag like “decision-maker.”
You can also apply this principle to classifying all your prospects if you're in sales. The possibilities with LinkedIn tags are limitless.
4. Hit The Follow Button
LinkedIn is an excellent platform to connect with other people, but companies are people too.
Go to the Interests tab and click on Companies to see a list of companies you’re already following.
It's easy to follow more companies if you want more. For example, if you're going to follow us on LinkedIn, type Rialto Marketing into the search box and then hit the Follow button.
Following companies on LinkedIn is a great way to look at your competitors, potential clients, and industry leaders.
5. Check Out The Activity Tab Before You Reach Out
The Activity section of a LinkedIn profile will give you a sense of how active a user is on the platform.
If the user is inactive in the last few weeks or months, get the email address in the Contact Info button at the top of the profile and communicate with the person that way.
6. Connect With Your College Alumni On LinkedIn
You can reconnect with people from your college or university on LinkedIn. Doing so is an excellent opportunity to introduce your business to people you have a common connection with.
Follow these steps to look for prospects from your alma matter:
- Step 1: Select Interests in your profile.
- Step 2: Choose Schools.
- Step 3: Select Alumni
You can filter college or university search differently, depending on title, keyword, or company.
Tips On How To Use LinkedIn Ads To Grow Your Business
LinkedIn Advertising helps marketers get the best content to the most relevant audience.
Before you proceed, check out this full report from LinkedIn for an in-depth look at LinkedIn ads.
Here are a few tips on how to use LinkedIn ads to grow your business.
1. Test Everything
No matter what LinkedIn Ad type you choose, your campaign's size or budget always test everything. Run multiple variations of the following:
- Headlines
- Creative
- Calls to action
- Visuals
Always monitor and continually optimize the performance of your LinkedIn Ads.
2. Create Visually Appealing Ads
Your LinkedIn Ad must have compelling visuals. Keep in mind that the right image can increase your CTR or click-through rate.
Don't forget to have an enticing headline either. Here's one of our favorite headline analyzers to help you create the best headlines.
3. Test Drive LinkedIn Sponsored Content
Use info from your company page to test LinkedIn sponsored content.
You can test by promoting the highest-performing content from your company page because its already proven to be a success with your existing LinkedIn audience.
4. Bid Above The Suggested Range
According to LinkedIn, there's a 15% lift in CTR and a 27% lift in conversions by bidding 10% above the range, so it's smart to place a higher bid.
5. Place A Bid Within The Suggested Range For Better ROI
If you want to improve your ROI on LinkedIn, place a bid within the suggested range.
According to LinkedIn, there's a 33% higher ROI on campaigns when bidding within the suggested range.
I know #4 and 5 seem to conflict, which is why you can't forget tip #1. Test, test, and test some more to find out what works best for you.
6. Combine Sponsored Content And Sponsored InMails
LinkedIn also saw a 25% increase in open rates and a 95% increase in CTRs when they tried it.
It means that there's a significant boost in awareness from using multiple LinkedIn Ads channels.
7. Keep Your LinkedIn Ad Copy Concise
For Sponsored Content links, 150 characters or less work better than long ad copies, so use that to your advantage
8. Discover Your LinkedIn Targeting Mecca
With LinkedIn Ads, you need a large enough audience to be significant but small enough to stay relevant.
According to LinkedIn, most successful campaigns have an audience range between 60k and 400k.
9. Use Sponsored InMail To Target High-value Users
If you want to target decision-makers, CEOs, industry leaders, etc., use LinkedIn Sponsored InMail.
LinkedIn tests of InMails aimed at executives returned a remarkable 58% open rate.
And that's how to use LinkedIn Ads to grow your business!
Check out the recommended resources below to learn more about LinkedIn Advertising.
Recommended LinkedIn Ads Resources
How to Grow Your Business With LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn Advertising: How to Grow Your Business? [Ultimate Guide]
Start to Finish Guide: How to Use LinkedIn Ads to Generate Sales
So what do you think about this article? Are you ready to use LinkedIn Ads to grow your business?
Leave a comment below and let's chat!
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Are you looking for more online advertising help? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Online Advertising for Small Businesses.
Header image courtesy of Jumpstory.