Many scaling brands in the UK continue to overlook LinkedIn Ads, as a key part of their PPC advertising strategy.
Below, we’ve looked at the most common reasons why we feel online advertisers are choosing to avoid using LinkedIn’s PPC model, and why they should rethink this approach when looking for scalable growth online.
1. A Perception That It’s Only For B2B
Many scaling brands, especially direct consumers and e-commerce, see LinkedIn purely as a platform for B2B lead gen.
By doing so they are overlooking the fact that they can use LinkedIn to directly target high income audience segments by job title and industry, targeting B2C users with creatives for premium products and services whilst in the workplace.
2. Higher CPC That Can Scare Off Advertisers
Online advertisers in the UK can often be put off by the average cost per click on LinkedIn that is much higher than that of Google and many other social PPC channels such as Meta Ads. On average users can expect to pay between £4-8 per click on LinkedIn Ads.
Often what users don’t take into account is that LinkedIn targeting is more niche and therefore hyper-precise targeting delivers a “quality over quantity” system where with the right creative assets in place, you can expect:
- Improved delivery
- Reduced budget wastage (when compared to targeting broader audiences)
- The ability to target users who have a higher conversion value than on other channels.
3. Lack Of Creative Strategy
Aside from users avoiding LinkedIn Ads, there is also the angle that users who are engaging in campaigns on LinkedIn aren’t tailoring their assets to match the independent nature of the platform.
Often advertisers are seen to recite the same creatives that they are using on Meta Ads, or other social media platforms, that simply won’t resonate with the professional audience on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Ads generally needs more thought-leadership style ads and approach – utilising data to create insights, reports and value led posts including case studies and testimonials.
Without tailored creative, posts that are simply copied from other channels don’t land with your audience and can look irrelevant.
4. Poor Targeting Setup
Without prior knowledge and experience, LinkedIn’s advanced targeting setup can easily overwhelm marketers when it comes to deciding which job roles, company size, industries and skills to target.
Before starting any campaign it’s important to properly research your targeting market to ensure your targeting setup is as relevant as possible.
A test and measure approach is often needed on LinkedIn, so just because an audience hasn’t landed with a few creatives, it’s important to test various creatives and audience types to see which ads land with your target audience, and which don’t.
5. Having Unrealistic Expectations with ROAS
UK Brands looking to scale quickly, often expect quick wins from their online advertising. On PPC channels such as LinkedIn Ads, this is rarely the case.
A test and measure approach needs to be put in place, along with an extended data collection and learning period before making a decision over whether LinkedIn Ads is a viable channel.
Summary
LinkedIn Ads is a viable channel for scaling UK brands, but requires significant testing, and an alternate approach with a clear strategy that is separate from other PPC channels.
Wins will come with time but this channel should be looked at as a long-term part of the overall strategy, and not a short term win – in which case those advertisers who do invest in LinkedIn Ads will see that over time the quality of leads will grow, and conversion rate will likely extend above that of other channels, if given the right creative balance and time to nurture campaigns.
Want To Know More?
Looking to learn more about how LinkedIn Ads can work for your UK brand. Get in touch with our PPC team and request a Free PPC proposal.