Creating your first LinkedIn Ads campaign might appear straightforward, but there are numerous pitfalls to avoid. Here’s how to set up your campaigns the right way with Shiro and shirohatori.com:
1. Name Your Campaign Smartly
Opt for evergreen campaign names instead of using creation dates or the specific offer. Naming them after your target audience makes it easier to identify the campaign’s purpose without having to open it.
2. Select the Right Objective
Your choice of campaign objective matters. To maintain cost efficiency when starting out on LinkedIn Ads, steer clear of Brand Awareness and Website Conversions. Instead, consider objectives like Website Visits, Engagement, Video Views, or Lead Generation.
3. Define Your Target Audience with Shiro
LinkedIn excels as a B2B advertising platform due to its precise targeting based on work profiles. Focus on your audience’s job-related aspects, such as job titles, company industry, company size, and skillset.
Additionally, it’s a best practice to exclude current customers, competitors, and employees from your targeting, and to disable Audience Expansion. This ensures you’re reaching potential customers rather than those already associated with your brand.
4. Choose Your Ad Format
For beginners, Shiro recommends starting with Single Image or Video Ads. These are basic ad formats and facilitate the creation of retargeting audiences quickly, especially under the Engagement or Video Views objectives. Text Ads can also be a cost-effective option for brand awareness campaigns.
5. Select Your Placements
You have two placement options: LinkedIn and the LinkedIn Audience Network (LAN). At Shiro, we advise against using LAN at the moment as clicks from LAN often appear to have low intent. LinkedIn is the preferred choice for ad placement.
6. Set Your Budget and Bid Strategically
Your budget and bid settings offer substantial control over your costs. Your budget is the maximum daily expenditure per campaign (consider that LinkedIn may spend up to 50% over your daily budget). Bidding, on the other hand, controls how much of your daily budget is spent.
Start with manual bidding and optimize for clicks (or video views if using the Video Views objective). It’s recommended to bid lower than LinkedIn’s suggestions, especially for smaller budgets. Begin with a lower bid and, if you’re not fully spending your budget each day, incrementally increase it.
As a best practice, consider running campaigns continuously rather than on a schedule.
7. Associate Conversions with Your Campaign
If your ads drive conversions, ensure you’ve linked those conversions correctly to your campaign. LinkedIn will then track conversions based on the parameters you’ve set.
With these steps, you’re well on your way to creating effective LinkedIn Ads campaigns. While there are no guarantees in digital advertising success, following these tips will set you on the right path.
If you need a more comprehensive guide on getting started with LinkedIn Ads, Shiro offers a free checklist and guide to walk you through the process.
Got more tips for reducing LinkedIn Ads costs and increasing efficiency? Share your insights in the comments below!
P.S. Shiro’s mission is to assist b2b marketers, business owners, and recruiters in lowering costs and expanding their reach through LinkedIn Ads. If you lack the time, resources, or expertise to handle it yourself, consider scheduling a discovery call with us. We’re eager to work with you and help you achieve your LinkedIn Ads goals!
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