Overlooking LinkedIn as you advertise is like complaining about the lack of oranges in your breakfast diet when you have an orange tree in your backyard. Don’t let your next advertising campaign fall off the tree and rot—gather, observe, inspect, reimagine purpose and enjoy.
LinkedIn has widely been seen as an executive-level site by consumers since its creation in 2003. The site, which is also available in a phone application form, is a site where professionals can connect, jobs are posted, and companies can advertise on a structured, easy-to-use platform. As opposed to other websites, comments, likes, and connections are valuable for everyone, and the chance to network is the leading force behind LinkedIn’s featured functions. Since 2003, LinkedIn has worked to become more accessible for use by small businesses, young professionals, and growing brands to advertise and connect with consumers on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is an undervalued space to advertise.
The first benefit to LinkedIn is the fact that the site is jammed full of professionals. Those professionals are continually looking for connections, services, jobs, information, or opportunities. What is better than advertising to users that are all active on the site to give or receive services? If you are not sure what direction your next digital marketing campaign is supposed to go, give your connections a chance to comment on the ideas you have. LinkedIn is full of professional opinions, blog posts from market-leaders, and creative stances on complicated issues. Not utilizing LinkedIn as a springboard for your next great idea is a loss. If you have a creative idea that needs to be turned into a campaign, contact our team and let us help your idea spring to life.
Following, liking, and interacting with professionals, brands, and companies on LinkedIn should be a built-in must. The second benefit is the ability to advertise to, interact with, and hire top talent from your own businesses page. If you are a data science company looking to hire an executive assistant, add a job posting to your company’s page. From there, you can call on your connections to recommend people to the job. The people who will respond are professionals with their own connections. From there, like a tree, the word will spread, and you will end up with a confident, competent, and engaging executive assistant. With a simple job posting, you advertised the growth of your business, built your professional reputation, and secured top talent.
The third benefit of LinkedIn as an advertising site is the encouragement of comments. You can’t scroll through LinkedIn without seeing comments like, “Great post!” “How interesting--message me and let’s talk about this idea!” or “I know Jane Doe would be awesome at your firm, John! Reach out!” Where on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter comments may be hard to come by, LinkedIn has no shortage of them. Don’t ignore the comments. Everyone on LinkedIn has a story, connection, or word of encouragement you could benefit from; don’t miss an opportunity because you don’t think comments have value.
Targeting ads is one of the most critical steps of ensuring the right people view your ads. The fourth benefit is the ability to choose specific types of ads on LinkedIn: Sponsored Content, Sponsored InMail, Text Ads, and Dynamic Ads. No matter your company or campaign size, LinkedIn has an advertising platform that matches your goals. If you have a service that benefits a niche market, you may want to try Text Ads or Sponsored InMail to have a direct say on the company/people criteria for where the ads are sent. If you are offering compensation and benefits consulting services for large, worldwide firms, don’t waste resources on advertising to university students or boutique firms. Target the Big4, C-level executives, and fast-growing and expanding firms by choosing similar criteria when advertising.
The best way to reap profits from an ad campaign on LinkedIn is to know what audience you are targeting.
The last benefit of using LinkedIn to advertise is the ability to analyze the data on how your campaign is performing. There are many ways to see data results on your latest campaign. If you choose one of the ads above, LinkedIn offers a simple and effective way to look at your data. Understanding how your campaign is doing and if the resources you have invested in it are resulting in profit is critical to a campaign’s success. We at The Dillon Ross Group know campaign success. Check out our portfolio!
Don’t ignore your emails from LinkedIn anymore. With the right blend of creativity, data analysis, and professional advice, your next campaign can be profitable. Stop ignoring the orange tree in your backyard; use what you have.