Buckaroo Marketing | New Media
LinkedIn Advertising Made Easy!
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY At this point you have a LinkedIn Profile and Company Page. What next? How can you leverage LinkedIn to generate awareness, deepen customer relationships and drive qualified leads? One answer - utilize LinkedIn advertising. The following topics are discussed in detail within the whitepaper: TYPES OF ADVERTISING There are four types – Targeted Ad Displays, Sponsorships, Social Ads, and LinkedIn Ads THREE STEPS TO CREATE A LINKEDIN ADVERTISEMENT Create a campaign name. Define the Ad Destination. Create your corresponding ad copy and image THE INVESTMENT TO ADVERTISE Your investment is based on a pay-per-click or pay-per impression calculation. You are bidding with others in the marketplace for the keyword desired to drive traffic to your business. BEST PRACTICES FOR ADVERTISING ON LINKEDIN Create effective ads. Conduct A/B split testing and develop multiple ads for each campaign. Target the right audience. Set a daily budget for marketing spend. Track and measure your results.
Unfortunately, many companies take a “shot-gun” approach to marketing - shooting at blogging, social media, seminars, websites, video or the latest and greatest touted method. However, the message, the target audience and how these attempts affect the corporate brand typically go unaddressed. In addition there isn’t a cohesive strategy to define success and expectations. Buckaroo serves a diverse range of clients nationwide. We are a full service, integrated marketing agency. We assist clients with their online, offline and lead generation needs. For more information visit our website at www.gobuckaroo.com.
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Buckaroo Marketing | New Media
LinkedIn Advertising Made Easy!
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction.................................................................................................................... 1 Types of Advertising ....................................................................................................... 2 Creating a LinkedIn Ad.................................................................................................... 4 The Investment............................................................................................................... 5 Best Practices for Advertising......................................................................................... 6 About Buckaroo .............................................................................................................. 8
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Buckaroo Marketing | New Media
LinkedIn Advertising Made Easy
INTRODUCTION At this point you have a LinkedIn Profile and Company Page. What next? How can you leverage LinkedIn to generate awareness, deepen customer relationships and drive qualified leads? One answer - utilize LinkedIn advertising. The following topics will be discussed in this whitepaper: TYPES OF ADVERTISING •
TARGETED DISPLAY ADS
•
SPONSORSHIPS
•
SOCIAL ADS
•
LINKEDIN ADS
THREE STEPS TO CREATE AN ADVERTISEMENT WHAT’S THE INVESTMENT? BEST PRACTICES FOR ADVERTISING ON LINKEDIN
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Buckaroo Marketing | New Media
LinkedIn Advertising Made Easy
TYPES OF ADVERTISING There are several types: Targeted Display Ads, Sponsorships, Social Ads and LinkedIn SelfService Advertising. For the sake of brevity, our focus in this whitepaper will be LinkedIn’s SelfService Advertising. MEMBERS
WHO YOU CAN TARGET
187M
7.9M
1.3M
Worldwide
Business Decision Makers
Small Business Owners
69M
5.5M
4.2M
U.S. Based
High Tech Managers
Corporate Executives
Targeted Display Ads: Provide the ability for deep targeted messaging in an uncluttered environment. With LinkedIn’s deep targeting abilities you are ensured the right leads are sent your way •
Content Ads
•
Poll Ads
•
Social Ads
•
Display Ads
Sponsorships: Assist to establish presence in the right places where professionals are discussing topics relevant to your business. •
Polls
•
Groups
•
Company Pages
Social Ads: Utilized to deliver customized, highly personal messages to build followers and recommendations on a Company Page. In the past, there wasn’t any way to tailor the content in the status updates to specific types of company followers. Audiences from different industries, job functions, geographies, and levels of seniority all received the same content.
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Buckaroo Marketing | New Media
LinkedIn Advertising Made Easy
Now with Targeted Status Updates, we now have an easy, proven way to engage company followers with content that’s relevant and personalized to their interests. LinkedIn Ads: this platform allows members to set up text-based, ad campaigns. You can target specific audiences, pay by clicks or impressions. Ads can be stopped at anytime and there are no long term contracts or commitments. With LinkedIn Analytics and Research you can gain insights on your audiences and campaigns.
Target By:
Examples:
Job Title
“Patent Attorney” or “Sr. Laboratory Technician” or "Registered Nurse”
Job Function
“Sales” or “Engineering” or "Marketing" functions
Industry
“Banking” or “Bio-pharmaceutical” industries
Geography
“United States” or “Netherlands” or “Toronto
Company Size
“1-10" or “500-1000" people
Company Name
"GE" or "Hewlett-Packard" or "FedEx”
Seniority
“Vice President” or “Owners”
Age
“18-24” or “35-54”
Gender
“Female" or "Male"
LinkedIn Group
“Business Intelligence Group" or "Corporate Real Estate"
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Buckaroo Marketing | New Media
LinkedIn Advertising Made Easy
CREATING A LINKEDIN AD Step 1: Creating an Ad Campaign Name Ads in LinkedIn are organized by campaign. If you’ll be testing multiple targets and goals, create a name that is distinct and encompasses ad variations. There can be up to 15 ads in each campaign. Step 2: Define the Ad Destination Where are you going to send the prospect or client once they click on your ad? Will you send them to your website, a specifically designed landing page, a subscription form, a company page? This is driven by your desired end goal and what action you want viewers to take. Step 3: Ad Copy and Image What is your message? How does it reflect your brand? Do you want to extend an offer or communicate your unique value proposition? Will it integrate with an existing campaign? How will you know if your ad is effective? Have you defined what success looks like? These are important questions that you need to ask and answer before beginning any campaign. LinkedIn allow you: •
Image: 50 pixel x 50 pixel Icon
•
Linked Ad Title Headline Length: 25 characters
•
LinkedIn Ad Body Description Length: 75 characters across two lines
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Buckaroo Marketing | New Media
LinkedIn Advertising Made Easy
WHAT’S THE INVESTMENT? Controlling your costs You control how much you spend each day by selecting a bid and setting a daily budget, which represents the most that you’re willing to spend each day. You can set your budget as low as $10 or as high as $1,000 or more. You can start and pause your ads at any time. Pay per click (CPC) or per 1,000 impressions (CPM) There are two options for how to pay for your ads: Pay per Click (CPC) and Pay per 1,000 Impressions (CPM). Most people choose CPC, which means that you pay when someone clicks on your ad. This payment method allows you to specify a bid – the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for each click (for example, $3.00 per click). Each click will cost between $2.00 (the minimum cost per click) and your bid. In general, the higher you bid in the Suggested Bid Range, the more likely you are to receive impressions and clicks. Because you’re competing with other advertisers for impressions and clicks, there isn’t a set cost for LinkedIn Ads. If you’re less interested in clicks and care more about the number of times your ad is shown, you can choose to Pay per 1,000 impressions (CPM). In this payment option, you pay a set cost for each 1,000 times your ad is shown, no matter how many clicks you receive. Estimating your costs Look at the Suggested Bid and determine how much you’re willing to spend for a click. Multiply that amount by the number of clicks that you’d like to receive each day to determine your approximate Daily Budget. For example, if you want 10 clicks each day and want to spend at most $3.00 per click, you would set your daily budget at $30/day. Is there a minimum spending requirement? There is no minimum weekly, monthly or annual spend requirement. There are no long-term contracts. You are in control over how much you spend and how long your ads run. Is there an activation fee to get started? To get started, LinkedIn charges a one-time $5 activation fee that is intended to cover the initial clicks/impressions that result after the ad has been approved and posted. Once the $5 credit is depleted, you will be billed periodically for the clicks/impressions that your ad incurs.
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Buckaroo Marketing | New Media
LinkedIn Advertising Made Easy
BEST PRACTICES FOR ADVERTISING ON LINKEDIN 1. Create effective ads The ads that perform best are relevant to the target audience and are written with clear, compelling words: choose words that grab attention. Give people a reason to take notice. Include strong calls to action. Include an image. Monitor your click through rate. 2. A/B Split testing - conduct multiple ads for each campaign Your account is organized by campaigns. Each campaign you create has its own daily budget, targeting options and ads. Within your campaign, create at least 3 ad variations -- varying the ad text, call-to-action phrases, and images. You can create up to 15 different ads within a campaign. By creating multiple ads, you can discover which ads perform best. 3. Target the right audience Narrow your target audience to people who may be interested in what you offer. Make sure to create ads that resonate with that particular audience. 4. Set an appropriate daily budget Your Daily Budget is the maximum amount that you are willing to spend each day. LinkedIn displays your ads at different rates during the day depending on when LinkedIn users are active on the website -- for example, 50% of your budget might be spent in the morning, 30% in the afternoon, and 20% overnight. Once your Daily Budget is reached, your ads will stop showing for that day. Also, note that since most people visit LinkedIn on weekdays, you're more likely to spend your Daily Budget during the week than over the weekend. Note that an advertising "day" is based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which starts at 4pm Pacific (7pm Eastern) in the U.S. 5. Understand how bidding works You set a bid for each of your campaigns. A real-time auction is run each time a LinkedIn user visits a page that contains an ad unit. If the user falls into your targeting options, your ad will be entered into this auction along with the bids of other advertisers. If you
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Buckaroo Marketing | New Media
LinkedIn Advertising Made Easy
do not enter a bid within the suggested range, your ad will be less likely to beat other advertisers' bids in the auction, resulting in fewer or no impressions or clicks. Remember that the bid you choose is the maximum you're willing to pay, and LinkedIn will discount your click or impression so that you're only paying the minimum necessary to beat the advertiser below you. 6. Track and measure your results Your click-through rate (CTR) is a good indicator of how your ad is performing. In general, good ads have a CTR greater than 0.025%. Important: Monitor your ad's click-through rate (CTR) on a regular basis. If the CTR of your ad drops, refresh the ads with new images or ad text. A good practice is to refresh your ads at least once per month. Now you know LinkedIn’s types of advertising, steps to create an ad, how to pay for the ad and best practices. Do you need help developing your strategy and your message? Do you understand how your offer affects or integrates with your brand? Do you know your ideal client base and how to drive maximum revenue? Need help capturing the data? Feeling overwhelmed? If so, call Buckaroo (877.344.0290) or visit our website at gobuckaroo.com!
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Buckaroo Marketing | New Media
LinkedIn Advertising Made Easy
ABOUT BUCKAROO For more than 14 years, we have helped a variety of non-profit and for profit organizations including manufacturing (direct, dealers and representatives), distribution, retail, consumer, biopharmaceutical and professional services. We know for a fact, all of our clients have diamonds right in their backyards. The problem is those diamonds have become the “norm.” Consequently these precious gems are walked by, run over and buried deeper with every foot step. The result? Missed opportunities! Opportunities that generate revenue, build stronger teams, and create flourishing economies. As diamond hunters, not only do we find the diamonds but we have the joy of discovering and crafting incredible stories – stories that can be shared with team members, existing customers, as well as prospective buyers – stories that generate revenue and positively impact the bottom line. While keeping objectives clearly in focus, we understand the importance of stellar creative, exceptional execution and total attention to detail – three critical components to any integrated marketing campaign. Buckaroo serves a diverse range of clients nationwide. We are a full service, integrated marketing agency. We assist clients with their online, offline and lead generation needs. For more information visit our website at www.gobuckaroo.com.
Contact Us Today! Call Toll Free: 877.344.0290 or 317.845.0830 Email: Deborah Daily at
[email protected] Website: www.gobuckaroo.com WBE Certified: City of Indianapolis & State of Indiana
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