LinkedIn is the platform where you can reach decision-makers by job title, industry and company size. No other channel does it so precisely. The downside is the price. A click can easily cost a few euros and sometimes more than ten. Compared with Google or Facebook, that looks expensive.
Even so, the cost per click says very little. What matters is what a good lead costs and what a customer is worth to you. In this article, you will learn how to set up LinkedIn ads so that your budget reaches the right people and actually brings in enquiries.
Target narrowly: choose only those who could become customers
The biggest mistake on LinkedIn is an audience that is too broad. You end up paying for impressions and clicks from people who will never buy from you. With a high cost per click, you feel that straight away.
As a rule of thumb, an audience of twenty to fifty thousand people often works better than one of a million. Your ad is then seen more often by the people it is meant for. In LinkedIn, you can select on the following criteria:
- Job title and seniority: for example director, manager or owner, depending on who makes the decision in your case.
- Industry: only sectors where you already have success or where you offer a clear solution.
- Company size: a company with ten employees buys differently from one with two thousand.
- Company list: upload a list of companies you would like to win as customers. This is called a Matched Audience.
Also exclude people you do not want to reach, such as your own employees, competitors, interns and students. In addition, switch off options that automatically broaden your audience. You want to decide for yourself who sees your ad.
A narrow audience also means your ad can be more personal. Address the job title or industry directly in your copy. An ad for finance directors in logistics stands out more than a generic message for everyone.
Lead Gen Forms: fewer barriers, more enquiries
A Lead Gen Form is a form that opens directly within LinkedIn. The fields are already filled in with details from the member’s profile, such as name, email address and job title. The visitor only has to click submit.
This often works better than a landing page. People do not have to leave LinkedIn, there is nothing to type, and it works well on mobile. As a result, you usually get far more enquiries for the same budget.
There is a risk, though. When something is this easy, people who are not really interested will fill it in too. You can counter this with a few smart choices:
- Keep the form short, but add one qualifying question. For example, how many employees the company has or when the person wants to start.
- Make it clear what the visitor receives and what happens next.
- Connect the form to your CRM or email system. That is the software where you keep track of contacts and sales opportunities. This way, leads do not sit unused in LinkedIn.
After a few weeks, check whether the leads from forms are as good as the leads from your website. That determines whether you keep using this format.
Offer something valuable first
A cold audience does not know you yet. In that case, “Book a demo” is far too big a step. It is like asking someone in the street to join you for lunch straight away.
So offer something useful first that takes little effort to get. Good examples are:
- a checklist that someone can use immediately
- a benchmark that lets someone compare themselves with the market
- a short guide that solves one specific problem
- a template or calculator that saves time
An offer like this attracts people who have a real problem. They leave their details and you get a first point of contact. After that, you can warm them up step by step towards a conversation.
Make sure your content genuinely adds something. A guide that only states the obvious damages your reputation. Better short and useful than long and vague.
Measure quality, not just cost per lead
On LinkedIn, the cost per lead is higher than on most other channels. If you steer only on that, you will give up too soon. Look instead at the cost per good lead. That is a lead who fits your target audience and with whom you actually have a conversation.
For that, you need to follow up your leads. Here is a simple approach that works well:
- Send an email straight after the enquiry with the promised document or link.
- Get in touch within one or two working days and ask whether the document helped.
- Ask one or two questions about the lead’s situation, so you know whether there is a match.
- Offer a conversation or demo only when there is a clear match.
- Record for each lead whether it was a good one and feed that information back to whoever manages the campaign.
Step five is often forgotten, but it is very valuable. It shows you which ads and audiences deliver the best leads, not just the most.
Also give a campaign enough time. In B2B especially, the sales cycle is long. Test one thing at a time, such as the copy, the offer or the audience, and only draw conclusions once you have enough data.
An example from practice
Suppose a company sells scheduling software to installation firms with ten to a hundred employees. It advertises on LinkedIn with the text “Book a demo” and targets all managers in the Netherlands. The clicks are expensive, visitors drop off and the enquiries do not come.
The company changes its approach. The audience is limited to owners and managing directors in the installation industry with the right company size. Instead of a demo, there is a checklist: “How to get more out of your engineers’ scheduling”. People complete a Lead Gen Form with one qualifying question about the number of engineers.
Anyone who downloads the checklist receives an email and, two days later, a phone call. Anyone who shows interest gets a demo. The cost per click stays high, but more enquiries come in and a larger share are a good fit for the company. As a result, the cost per conversation with a genuine prospect is lower than before.
Frequently asked questions
What does advertising on LinkedIn cost?
Expect anything from a few euros to well over ten euros per click, depending on your audience and your competition. A narrow audience of senior decision-makers is more expensive than a broad one. Start with a test budget that you can sustain for at least a few weeks.
Is LinkedIn better than Google Ads for B2B?
They do different things. With Google Ads, you reach people who are already searching for a solution. On LinkedIn, you reach people who do not know you yet but who belong to your target audience. Many companies use both side by side.
How long does it take before I see results?
The first enquiries often arrive within a few days. To see what really works, you usually need a few weeks. With a long sales cycle, it can take several months before you see how many customers it brings in.
Book a free 30-minute introductory meeting
Would you like to know whether LinkedIn ads suit your business and how to set them up profitably? Then book a free 30-minute introductory meeting with Adventio Marketing in Amersfoort. We will discuss your audience, your offer and your current approach. You will get practical tips you can use straight away, even if you go on to do the work yourself.
