LinkedIn is the best advertising platform for B2B companies
We’re frequently asked, “What are the best social media advertising platforms to get the best return on advertising budget? Is it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn?”
The problem with that question is that there is no straightforward answer. Each social media network has a user base that may or may not fit an advertiser’s target market. For example, Facebook has the largest user base out of all of the major social media networks (2.27 billion monthly active users); 78% of 30-49 year olds use Facebook on a regular basis. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, has 1 billion monthly active users but only 40% of 30-49 year olds use Instagram. If an advertiser was looking to target an older segment of users, they would be more inclined to pick Facebook over Instagram.
How user behavior affects audience quality
What is almost more important than the user base is how each network is utilized. Facebook is designed to help family and friends stay connected, Instagram is designed to share photos and experiences, Twitter is designed to post quick updates and information, and LinkedIn is designed to help professionals connect with other professionals (i.e. networking). What is interesting is that these uses rarely overlap. A foodie is going to find more images of food and drinks on Instagram whereas a job seeker is more likely to find new employment opportunities on LinkedIn.
Facebook gets a lot of attention as the best digital advertising platform because of the huge user base and available targeting options. However, Facebook is a better advertising platform for business-to-consumer companies (B2C) because users are on the site for leisure and entertainment. LinkedIn, on the other hand, is better suited for business-to-business companies (B2B) because their users are leveraging the social network for career and professional purposes.
LinkedIn is often overlooked by advertisers because they are thinking about audience quantity, not quality. Instead, advertisers should think about user intent and how that will play into their advertising strategy. For B2B companies, this is where their target audience is most likely “hanging out”.
LinkedIn advertising best practices
Because LinkedIn is the best social media advertising platform for B2B companies does not mean that you should just start buying advertising immediately. To reduce risk and increase the possibility for positive returns on your advertising spend you should adopt some best practices when building your LinkedIn advertising campaigns. In their latest guide, LinkedIn outlines 7 tricks and tactics that are the most effective when running an ad campaign on their platform. When followed, these 7 tactics resulted in 50% improvement in performance:
1. Specifically call out your audience in your headline copy
Advertisers saw a 19% increase in click-through rates (i.e. clicks/impressions) and 53% higher conversion rates.
2. Keep your copy short and sweet (under 150 characters)
Advertisements that has 150 characters or less saw a 18% boost in engagement rate
3. Incorporate interesting stats into your copy
Advertisements that have relevant statistical information have a 37% higher CTR and 162% more impressions.
4. Send messages from a person rather than a company
Advertising that was on behalf of a employee (e.g. CEO, Director, etc.) saw a 16% higher open rate, 10% higher CTR, 10% higher Conversion Ratio (CVR).
5. Add relevant hyperlinks in the body text (Messenger Ads)
Adding relevant hyperlinks within the ad’s body increased the click-through rate by 21%.
6. Keep your body copy concise, personal and relevant (Messenger Ads)
Users want to know exactly what the advertisement is about and they want to recognize it quickly. Messenger Ads with concise and relevant copy saw a 46% increase in CTR.
7. Leverage LinkedIn Dynamic Ads to show a user’s profile image.
Advertisements with a users profile image have a 100% higher CTR and 100% higher CTR rate
Want more amazing tips and tricks for LinkedIn advertising? Download the LinkedIn Secret Sauce report today: https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/content-marketing/the-linkedin-secret-sauce-extra-hot-edition
