LinkedIn Company Pages & Ads

Comprehensive guide to LinkedIn Ads for B2B lead generation:

LinkedIn Ad formats:

(1) Sponsored Content (most popular for B2B): - Appears in feed as native posts - Types: - Single Image Ad: Image + headline + description - Video Ad: Native video (15-30 sec recommended) - Carousel Ad: 2-10 swipeable cards - Event Ad: Promote LinkedIn Events - Document Ad: PDF/PowerPoint preview in feed - Best for: Awareness, engagement, lead generation - Avg CPC: $5-6 - Avg CPM: $33-35

(2) Message Ads (formerly Sponsored InMail): - Direct message to LinkedIn inbox - Only sent when recipient is active (not archived) - CTA button (e.g., "Download whitepaper," "Register for webinar") - Best for: Event registration, gated content, personalized outreach - Avg CPC: $0.50-0.80 (cheaper than Sponsored Content) - Avg open rate: 40-50% - Note: Can feel intrusive if overused

(3) Conversation Ads: - Multi-step, choose-your-own-adventure message flow - Interactive buttons guide user through conversation - Example: "What's your biggest challenge? → Budget / Hiring / Tech Stack → Custom response" - Best for: Qualifying leads, personalized experiences - Avg engagement: 10-13% CTR

(4) Text Ads: - Small ads in right sidebar (desktop only) - Headline + 75 char description + small image - Cheapest option (avg CPC $2-3) - Best for: Retargeting, budget-conscious campaigns - Lower CTR (~0.02-0.04%) but very cheap

(5) Dynamic Ads: - Personalized ads using LinkedIn profile data (name, photo, job title) - Types: Follower Ads, Spotlight Ads, Job Ads - Best for: Building Company Page followers, recruitment - Avg CPC: $2-4

(6) Lead Gen Forms (built-in to Sponsored Content): - Pre-filled form with LinkedIn profile data (name, email, job title, company) - No need to leave LinkedIn (higher conversion) - Best for: Gated content (eBooks, webinars, demos) - Avg conversion rate: 10-13% (vs 2-5% for landing pages) - Avg CPL: $50-75 (B2B average)

Best ad formats by goal:

Brand awareness: - Sponsored Content (Single Image or Video) - Focus: Impressions and reach - Budget: $1000-2000/month minimum

Lead generation: - Sponsored Content + Lead Gen Forms - Gated assets: eBooks, whitepapers, webinar registration - Budget: $3000-5000/month for meaningful volume

Event registration: - Message Ads or Event Ads - Direct CTA to register - Budget: $1000-2000 for local event, $5000+ for virtual conference

Website traffic: - Sponsored Content (Single Image or Carousel) - CTA to blog post, product page, demo request - Budget: $2000-4000/month

Retargeting: - Text Ads or Sponsored Content - Target: Website visitors, email list uploads - Budget: $500-1000/month

Targeting capabilities (LinkedIn's strength):

Professional targeting:

(1) Job titles: - Target specific roles: "VP Sales," "Marketing Director," "CEO" - LinkedIn has 35K+ job titles - Best practice: Include 10-20 variations - Example: CMO, Chief Marketing Officer, VP Marketing, Head of Marketing

(2) Seniority: - Entry, Senior, Manager, Director, VP, CXO, Owner - Best for: Enterprise sales (target VP+)

(3) Job functions: - Sales, Marketing, Finance, IT, HR, etc. - Broader than job titles (includes multiple roles)

(4) Skills: - Target by LinkedIn-verified skills - Example: "Salesforce," "Python," "Account-Based Marketing" - 35K+ skills available

(5) Company targeting: - By name: Target specific accounts (ABM) - Upload list of 1000+ companies - By attributes: - Size: 1-10, 11-50, 51-200, 201-500, 501-1000, 1001-5000, 5001-10000, 10000+ - Industry: 20+ categories (Tech, Finance, Healthcare, etc.) - Growth rate: Trending/fast-growing companies - Connections to your company: 1st connections, followers, engaged with ads

(6) Education: - Schools (e.g., "Stanford," "Harvard") - Degrees (Bachelor's, Master's, PhD) - Fields of study (Engineering, Business, etc.)

(7) Interests: - Groups member belongs to - LinkedIn Learning courses taken - Content engagement (what they read/like)

Audience size and targeting:

Minimum audience: 300 members (LinkedIn requirement) Recommended: 50,000-150,000 members - Too small (<20K): Limited reach, higher CPCs - Too large (>500K): Not targeted enough, lower conversion

Targeting best practices:

(1) Layer targeting: - Job title AND company size AND industry - Example: "VP Sales" + "Tech industry" + "51-500 employees" - More precise = higher conversion (but smaller audience)

(2) Exclude irrelevant: - Exclude competitors (won't convert) - Exclude current customers (use retargeting separately) - Exclude irrelevant job functions

(3) Test narrow vs broad: - Start narrow (highly targeted, 20-50K audience) - If CPL too high, broaden targeting - If CPL acceptable, narrow further

Budget and bidding:

Minimum budgets: - Daily: $10/day minimum - Campaign: No minimum (but $1000+/month recommended for meaningful data)

Realistic budgets for B2B lead gen:

Small businesses ($3-5K/month): - 60-100 leads per month - CPL: $50-75 - 1-2 campaigns (Lead Gen Form ads) - Single gated asset (eBook or webinar)

Mid-market ($10-20K/month): - 200-400 leads per month - CPL: $40-60 (economies of scale) - 3-5 campaigns (awareness + lead gen + retargeting) - Multiple assets (eBooks, webinars, demo requests)

Enterprise ($50-100K+/month): - 1000+ leads per month - CPL: $30-50 - 10+ campaigns (ABM, awareness, demand gen, retargeting) - Full-funnel strategy

Bidding strategies:

(1) Maximum Delivery (Automated): - LinkedIn auto-optimizes bids - Best for: Beginners, maximizing reach - Note: Can overspend if not monitored

(2) Cost Cap: - Set maximum CPC or CPL - LinkedIn optimizes within constraint - Best for: Controlling costs while scaling - Example: "Don't pay more than $60 per lead"

(3) Manual Bidding: - Set exact bid amount - LinkedIn suggests bid range (e.g., $8-12 CPC) - Best for: Experienced advertisers, tight budgets - Start at mid-range, adjust based on performance

Campaign structure:

Campaign hierarchy: - Campaign → Ad Group → Ads (3-5 variations)

Recommended structure:

Campaign 1: Top-of-funnel (Awareness) - Ad Group 1A: VPs in Tech (50K audience) - Ad Group 1B: VPs in Finance (50K audience) - Each ad group: 3-5 ad variations (A/B test)

Campaign 2: Middle-of-funnel (Lead Gen) - Ad Group 2A: Webinar registration (Tech VPs) - Ad Group 2B: eBook download (Finance VPs) - Lead Gen Forms for instant conversion

Campaign 3: Retargeting - Ad Group 3A: Website visitors (last 90 days) - Ad Group 3B: Video viewers (watched 75%+) - Ad Group 3C: Lead Gen Form openers (didn't submit)

Creative best practices:

Image ads: - Image: 1200x627px (1.91:1 ratio) - High contrast, minimal text - Show outcome/result (not just product) - Faces increase engagement by 38%

Video ads: - Length: 15-30 seconds (LinkedIn recommends) - Captions mandatory (85% watched muted) - Hook in first 3 seconds - Square (1:1) performs best on mobile

Carousel ads: - 2-10 cards (optimal: 4-6) - Tell a story across cards - Each card: 1080x1080px - Clear CTA on final card

Copy: - Headline: 70 chars max (but 50 chars ideal) - Description: 150 chars (LinkedIn truncates beyond) - CTA: Clear, specific ("Download eBook" > "Learn more")

Lead Gen Forms:

Form fields: - Pre-filled: Name, email, job title, company (LinkedIn data) - Custom: 3-5 additional fields max (more = lower conversion) - Required vs optional: Only require essentials

Conversion optimization: - Thank-you message: Immediate download link - Privacy policy: Include link - Follow-up: Auto-email with asset within 5 minutes

Thank-you page: - Option 1: Stay on LinkedIn (higher completion) - Option 2: Redirect to website (track in GA)

Performance benchmarks:

Sponsored Content: - CTR: 0.3-0.6% (good), 1%+ (excellent) - CPC: $5-6 (avg), $3-4 (excellent) - Conversion rate (Lead Gen Form): 10-13%

Message Ads: - Open rate: 40-50% - CTR: 3-5% - CPC: $0.50-0.80

CPL by industry: - Tech/SaaS: $40-75 - Financial Services: $60-100 - Healthcare: $50-80 - Manufacturing: $30-60

ROI calculation:

Scenario: $5,000 monthly budget

(1) Leads: $5,000 ÷ $60 CPL = 83 leads/month (2) Sales Qualified Leads (SQL): 83 × 30% = 25 SQLs (3) Opportunities: 25 × 40% = 10 opportunities (4) Closed deals: 10 × 25% = 2.5 deals/month (5) Revenue: 2.5 × $30K ACV = $75K/month (6) ROI: ($75K - $5K) / $5K = 1400% ROI

Note: Your conversion rates will vary. Track actual SQL → Opp → Close rates.

Optimization checklist:

Week 1-2 (Learning phase): - Let campaigns run (don't adjust immediately) - LinkedIn needs 50+ conversions to optimize - Monitor for obvious issues (CTR <0.1%, CPL >$150)

Week 3-4 (Optimize): - Pause underperforming ads (CTR <50% of best performer) - Increase budget on top performers - Test new creative variations - Adjust targeting (narrow or broaden)

Ongoing (Weekly): - Review CPL trends - A/B test new headlines/images - Refresh creative monthly (avoid ad fatigue) - Check lead quality (SQL rate)

Integrations:

(1) CRM sync: - HubSpot: Native integration (leads auto-sync) - Salesforce: Via LinkedIn integration or Zapier - Marketo: Native integration - Benefit: Immediate lead routing, attribution tracking

(2) Analytics: - Google Analytics: UTM parameters for tracking - LinkedIn Insight Tag: Website retargeting, conversion tracking

Bottom line: Sponsored Content with Lead Gen Forms is most effective for B2B lead generation with 10-13% conversion rates and $50-75 average CPL. Budget $3-5K/month minimum for meaningful volume (60-100 leads). Target by job title + company size + industry for precision. Use Cost Cap bidding to control CPL. Integrate with CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce) for instant lead routing. Test 3-5 ad variations per campaign. LinkedIn Ads are 2-3x more expensive than Google/Facebook but deliver higher-quality B2B leads with 30-40% SQL rates.

Complete framework for LinkedIn analytics and KPI tracking:

LinkedIn Company Page metrics:

Organic performance (free, in LinkedIn Page Analytics):

(1) Follower metrics: - Total followers (vanity metric, but matters for credibility) - Follower growth rate: (New followers / Total followers) × 100 - Good: 5-10% per month - Excellent: 15%+ per month - Follower demographics: - Job functions (are you reaching the right roles?) - Seniority (decision-makers vs entry-level) - Industries (aligned with ICP?) - Locations (expanding into target markets?) - Tracked in: LinkedIn Page Analytics → Followers tab

(2) Post impressions: - Total impressions: How many times posts were seen - Unique impressions: How many people saw posts (deduplicated) - Organic vs paid impressions breakdown - Average reach per post - Tracked in: LinkedIn Page Analytics → Updates tab

(3) Engagement metrics: - Engagement rate: (Reactions + Comments + Shares + Clicks) / Impressions × 100 - Good: 2-3% - Excellent: 5%+ - Reactions: Likes, Celebrate, Love, Insightful, Curious - Comments: Total comments (conversation depth) - Shares: Strongest signal (virality) - Clicks: Link clicks, "See more" clicks, image clicks - Click-through rate (CTR): Clicks / Impressions × 100 - Good: 0.5-1% - Excellent: 2%+ - Tracked in: LinkedIn Page Analytics → Updates tab

(4) Visitor metrics: - Page views: Total visits to Company Page - Unique visitors: Deduplicated visitors - Visitor demographics: Same breakdown as followers - Tracked in: LinkedIn Page Analytics → Visitors tab

(5) Content performance: - Top-performing posts (by impressions, engagement, clicks) - Content type breakdown: Video vs Image vs Carousel vs Article - Best posting times (when your audience is most active) - Tracked in: LinkedIn Page Analytics → Updates tab

Content benchmarking:

Engagement rate by content type: - Video: 4-6% avg (highest) - Carousel: 3-5% avg - Image: 2-4% avg - Text-only: 1-2% avg (lowest)

Optimal post frequency: - 3-5 posts/week: Good baseline - Daily: Optimal for engagement - 2x per day: Can work for large brands (100K+ followers), otherwise dilutes engagement

Employee advocacy metrics:

(1) Participation rate: - (Active employee sharers / Total employees) × 100 - Good: 10-20% - Excellent: 30%+

(2) Employee reach: - Total impressions from employee shares - Compare to Company Page impressions (usually 3-10x higher)

(3) Engagement from employee shares: - Reactions, comments, clicks generated by employee posts - Employee posts get 8x more engagement than company posts

(4) Tools that track: - GaggleAMP: Gamified dashboard, leaderboards - LinkedIn Elevate: Official LinkedIn tool - Bambu: Analytics + content curation

LinkedIn Ads metrics:

Campaign performance (in LinkedIn Campaign Manager):

(1) Delivery metrics: - Impressions: Total ad views - Reach: Unique people who saw ad - Frequency: Avg times each person saw ad - Optimal: 2-3 (awareness) - Too high: 5+ (ad fatigue, refresh creative)

(2) Engagement metrics: - Click-through rate (CTR): Clicks / Impressions × 100 - Sponsored Content: - Good: 0.3-0.6% - Excellent: 1%+ - Message Ads: - Good: 3-5% - Excellent: 8%+ - Social actions: Reactions, comments, shares, follows - Engagement rate: (Social actions + Clicks) / Impressions × 100 - Good: 0.5-1% - Excellent: 2%+

(3) Cost metrics: - CPM (Cost Per 1000 Impressions): - Average: $33-35 - Competitive targeting: $50+ - CPC (Cost Per Click): - Sponsored Content avg: $5-6 - Text Ads avg: $2-3 - Message Ads avg: $0.50-0.80 - Cost per social action: - Like: $0.50-1 - Share: $3-5 - Comment: $2-4

(4) Conversion metrics: - Conversions: Actions taken (form fills, registrations, downloads) - Conversion rate: Conversions / Clicks × 100 - Lead Gen Forms: 10-13% (high, pre-filled) - Landing pages: 2-5% (lower, more friction) - Cost per lead (CPL): Total spend / Leads - B2B average: $50-75 - Enterprise (large deals): $100-150 acceptable - SMB (small deals): $30-50 target - Cost per acquisition (CPA): Total spend / Customers - Depends on close rate (track in CRM)

Lead Gen Form metrics (Sponsored Content campaigns):

(1) Form opens: How many people clicked to see form (2) Form completions: Submitted leads (3) Completion rate: Completions / Opens - Good: 10-13% - Excellent: 20%+ (4) Form fields impact: - Fewer fields (3-5) = higher completion rate - More fields (8+) = lower completion but higher quality

Lead quality metrics (track in CRM):

(1) Lead-to-SQL rate: - (Sales Qualified Leads / Total Leads) × 100 - B2B LinkedIn avg: 30-40% (higher than Google/Facebook) - If <20%: Targeting too broad or poor lead scoring

(2) SQL-to-Opportunity rate: - (Opportunities / SQLs) × 100 - B2B avg: 30-50%

(3) Opportunity-to-Close rate: - (Closed Won / Opportunities) × 100 - B2B avg: 20-30%

(4) Time to close: - Days from lead to closed deal - LinkedIn leads: 60-120 days avg (B2B SaaS)

(5) Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): - Total LinkedIn ad spend / New customers - Example: $10K spend → 10 customers = $1K CAC - Compare to LTV: CAC should be <33% of LTV

(6) Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): - Revenue from LinkedIn customers / Ad spend - Example: $100K revenue / $10K spend = 10x ROAS - Good: 5x+ - Excellent: 10x+

Attribution and tracking setup:

(1) LinkedIn Insight Tag (pixel): - Install on website (tracks conversions) - Enables retargeting (website visitors) - Conversion tracking: - Page visits (e.g., /thank-you page) - Events (e.g., demo request, trial signup) - Installation: Copy/paste code in website <head>

(2) UTM parameters: - Track LinkedIn traffic in Google Analytics - Format: ?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=q1-leadgen - LinkedIn auto-appends UTMs (can customize)

(3) CRM integration: - HubSpot: Native integration (auto-sync leads) - Salesforce: Via LinkedIn integration - Tracks: - Lead source (LinkedIn Ad) - Campaign name - Ad creative - Full-funnel attribution (first touch, last touch, multi-touch)

(4) Multi-touch attribution: - First touch: LinkedIn ad introduced lead - Last touch: LinkedIn ad closed deal - Linear: LinkedIn gets credit across all touchpoints - Time decay: More credit to recent touchpoints - Tools: HubSpot, Salesforce, Marketo (built-in attribution)

Dashboard setup:

Organic Company Page dashboard (weekly review):

(1) Follower growth: This week vs last week (2) Top 5 posts: By engagement rate (3) Engagement rate trend: Weekly avg (4) Best posting time: When followers are online (5) Content type performance: Video vs Image vs Carousel

Paid Ads dashboard (daily monitoring):

(1) Campaign performance: - Spend (vs budget) - Impressions - CTR - CPL - Leads (vs goal)

(2) Ad performance: - Top 5 ads by CTR - Bottom 5 ads (candidates to pause) - Avg frequency (check for ad fatigue)

(3) Audience performance: - CTR by job title - CTR by company size - CTR by industry - Adjust targeting based on data

Full-funnel dashboard (monthly review):

(1) Top of funnel: - LinkedIn ad impressions - Clicks - CTR - CPL

(2) Middle of funnel: - Leads → SQLs (conversion rate) - SQL → Opportunities (conversion rate) - Days to SQL

(3) Bottom of funnel: - Opportunities → Closed Won (close rate) - Revenue generated - CAC - ROAS

(4) Compare to other channels: - LinkedIn vs Google Ads vs Facebook vs Organic - Which channel has: - Lowest CPL? - Highest SQL rate? - Lowest CAC? - Highest ROAS?

Reporting tools:

(1) Native LinkedIn (free): - Company Page Analytics - Campaign Manager (ad performance) - Export to CSV - Best for: Small teams, basic reporting

(2) Google Data Studio (free): - Connect LinkedIn Ads via connector - Custom dashboards - Combine with GA, CRM data - Best for: Custom reporting, multi-channel view

(3) HubSpot Marketing Hub ($800+/mo): - Native LinkedIn integration - Full-funnel attribution - Campaign ROI reporting - Best for: HubSpot users

(4) Supermetrics ($19-199/mo): - Pull LinkedIn data into Google Sheets/Data Studio - Automated reporting - Best for: Marketers who love spreadsheets

(5) Third-party analytics platforms: - Sprout Social ($249+/mo): Social media analytics - Hootsuite Analytics ($x/mo): Multi-platform reporting - Best for: Agencies, enterprise teams

Optimization workflow:

Daily (Paid Ads): - Check spend vs budget (on track?) - Review CPL (any spikes?) - Check lead volume (hitting goals?) - Pause ads with CTR <0.1% (clearly broken)

Weekly (Paid Ads + Organic): - Review top/bottom performing ads - Pause underperformers (CTR <50% of best ad) - Launch new creative tests (2-3 variations) - Review organic post performance - Plan next week's content calendar

Monthly (Full funnel): - Calculate SQL rate (leads → SQLs) - Calculate opportunity rate (SQLs → Opps) - Calculate close rate (Opps → Customers) - Calculate CAC and ROAS - Adjust targeting, creative, budget based on data - Report to leadership (spend, leads, pipeline, revenue)

Quarterly (Strategic review): - LinkedIn vs other channels (Google, Facebook, Organic) - Budget reallocation (shift $ to best-performing channels) - Creative refresh (new themes, messaging, visuals) - Audience expansion (test new job titles, industries) - Goal setting for next quarter

Key questions to answer with data:

(1) Which content types drive the most engagement? (Video vs Carousel vs Image) (2) What posting times work best? (Tuesday 10 AM vs Thursday 2 PM) (3) Which ad formats have lowest CPL? (Sponsored Content vs Message Ads) (4) Which job titles convert to SQLs at highest rate? (VPs vs Directors) (5) Which industries have lowest CAC? (Tech vs Finance vs Healthcare) (6) Is LinkedIn more cost-effective than Google Ads? (Compare CPL, SQL rate, ROAS) (7) What's our payback period? (Months to recover CAC from customer revenue) (8) Which campaigns drive the most pipeline? (Awareness vs Lead Gen vs Retargeting)

Bottom line: Track Company Page follower growth (aim for 5-10%/month) and engagement rate (aim for 2-5%). For Ads, monitor CPL ($50-75 B2B avg), CTR (0.3-0.6% for Sponsored Content), and Lead Gen Form conversion rate (10-13%). Most important: Track lead-to-SQL rate (30-40% is good) and ROAS (aim for 5-10x) in CRM. Use LinkedIn Insight Tag for conversion tracking, UTM parameters for Google Analytics attribution, and CRM integration (HubSpot/Salesforce) for full-funnel visibility. Review ad performance weekly, pause underperformers, and test new creative monthly to avoid ad fatigue.

Comprehensive guide to LinkedIn management tools:

Native LinkedIn tools (free with LinkedIn account):

(1) LinkedIn Company Page Admin: - Post scheduling (up to 3 months in advance) - Basic analytics (followers, engagement, demographics) - Multiple admin roles (Super Admin, Content Admin, Analytics Admin) - Draft collaboration (team can review before posting) - Best for: Solo marketers, small teams, limited budget - Limitations: - No cross-posting to other platforms - Basic analytics (no custom reports) - One page at a time (can't manage multiple accounts in single view)

(2) LinkedIn Campaign Manager: - Create and manage ad campaigns - A/B testing (up to 5 ad variations) - Audience targeting and saved audiences - Conversion tracking (with Insight Tag) - Budget management and bidding - Performance reporting and exports - Best for: In-house marketers running LinkedIn Ads - Limitations: - LinkedIn-only (can't manage Google/Facebook in same place) - No automated rules (must manually pause/optimize) - Basic reporting (no custom dashboards)

(3) LinkedIn Sales Navigator (for individual outreach, not Company Page): - Advanced search and lead generation - InMail messaging - CRM integration - Best for: Sales reps doing prospecting - Not for: Company Page management

Third-party social media management platforms:

(1) Hootsuite ($99-249+/mo, or Enterprise custom pricing): - Features: - Multi-account management (10+ LinkedIn Company Pages in one dashboard) - Cross-platform scheduling (LinkedIn + Twitter + Facebook + Instagram) - Team collaboration (assign posts for approval) - Content calendar view (drag-and-drop scheduling) - Bulk scheduling (CSV upload) - Analytics and custom reports - Inbox management (all comments/messages in one place) - Best for: - Agencies managing multiple client accounts - Larger marketing teams (5+ people) - Companies active on multiple social platforms - Limitations: - Expensive for solo marketers - Can't manage LinkedIn Ads (only organic posts) - Pricing: - Professional: $99/mo (10 social accounts, 1 user) - Team: $249/mo (20 accounts, 3 users) - Enterprise: Custom (unlimited accounts, advanced analytics)

(2) Sprout Social ($249-499+/mo): - Features: - Similar to Hootsuite (multi-account, scheduling, analytics) - Superior analytics (custom reports, competitor benchmarking) - Smart Inbox (unified inbox for all platforms) - Listening tools (monitor brand mentions) - CRM integration (Salesforce, HubSpot) - Employee advocacy (built-in) - Best for: - Enterprise teams prioritizing analytics - Companies needing social listening - Teams wanting employee advocacy built-in - Limitations: - More expensive than Hootsuite - Overkill for small teams - Pricing: - Standard: $249/mo (5 profiles) - Professional: $399/mo (unlimited profiles) - Advanced: $499/mo (includes listening)

(3) Buffer ($6-12/mo per channel, or $120/mo for Teams): - Features: - Simple scheduling interface - Content calendar - Basic analytics - Browser extension (share from anywhere) - Mobile app - Best for: - Solo marketers, small businesses - Budget-conscious teams - Simple posting without bells and whistles - Limitations: - Basic features (no advanced analytics) - No team collaboration workflows - No inbox management - Pricing: - Essentials: $6/mo per channel - Team: $120/mo (unlimited channels, 6 users) - Agency: $240/mo (10 channels, 6 users)

(4) Later ($25-80+/mo, primarily Instagram, but supports LinkedIn): - Features: - Visual content calendar (drag-and-drop) - Media library - Scheduling - Basic analytics - Best for: - Visual-first brands - Instagram + LinkedIn combo - Limitations: - Limited LinkedIn features (not LinkedIn-focused) - Pricing: - Starter: $25/mo (1 user, 6 social sets) - Growth: $45/mo (3 users, 12 social sets) - Advanced: $80/mo (6 users, 25 social sets)

LinkedIn Ads management platforms:

(1) HubSpot Marketing Hub ($800+/mo, includes CRM and marketing automation): - Features: - Native LinkedIn Ads integration - Create and manage campaigns from HubSpot - Lead Gen Form auto-sync (leads flow directly to HubSpot CRM) - Full-funnel attribution (track leads from LinkedIn → SQL → Closed Won) - A/B testing and optimization - Automated workflows (e.g., email nurture for LinkedIn leads) - ROI reporting (which campaigns drive revenue) - Best for: - Companies already using HubSpot - Teams wanting unified marketing stack (ads + CRM + email) - Full-funnel attribution - Limitations: - Expensive (requires Marketing Hub Professional at minimum) - Overkill if you only need LinkedIn Ads (not full marketing platform) - Pricing: - Marketing Hub Professional: $800/mo - Marketing Hub Enterprise: $3,600/mo

(2) Metadata.io ($x/mo, ABM-focused ad platform): - Features: - Automates LinkedIn (and Google/Facebook) ad creation - AI-powered optimization (auto-pauses bad ads, scales winners) - Account-based marketing (ABM) focused - Audience syncing from CRM (target specific accounts) - Experimentation engine (A/B tests creative, audiences, budgets) - Best for: - B2B companies running ABM - Teams running ads on multiple platforms (LinkedIn + Google + Facebook) - Performance marketers wanting automation - Limitations: - Expensive (enterprise pricing) - Requires high ad spend to justify ($10K+/month) - Pricing: - Custom (contact sales, typically $2-5K/month + % of ad spend)

(3) Smartly.io ($x/mo, enterprise ad automation): - Features: - Cross-channel campaign management (LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, TikTok) - Creative automation (generate 100s of ad variations from templates) - Budget allocation (auto-shift budget to best performers) - Advanced reporting - Best for: - Enterprise teams ($50K+/month ad spend) - Agencies managing multiple client accounts - Limitations: - Enterprise-only (expensive) - Requires dedicated ad ops team - Pricing: - Custom (enterprise contracts)

Employee advocacy platforms:

(1) GaggleAMP ($x/mo per user): - Features: - Gamified employee advocacy (points, leaderboards) - Content library (employees choose what to share) - Pre-written posts (copy-paste ready) - Analytics (participation rate, reach, engagement) - Integrations: Slack, Microsoft Teams - Best for: - Companies with 50+ employees - Building employee advocacy programs - Pricing: - Custom (typically $5-15 per active user/month)

(2) Bambu by Sprout Social ($x/mo): - Features: - Content curation (suggest articles, posts for employees to share) - Scheduling (employees can schedule shares in advance) - Analytics (track amplification) - Best for: - Companies already using Sprout Social - Content-heavy employee advocacy - Pricing: - Contact sales (add-on to Sprout Social)

(3) LinkedIn Elevate (enterprise pricing): - Features: - Official LinkedIn employee advocacy tool - Content recommendations - Mobile app for easy sharing - Analytics - Best for: - Enterprise companies (1000+ employees) - Official LinkedIn integration - Limitations: - Expensive (enterprise-only) - Requires large employee base to justify - Pricing: - Contact LinkedIn sales (enterprise contracts)

Analytics and reporting tools:

(1) Google Data Studio (free): - Features: - Custom dashboards - Connect LinkedIn Ads (via Supermetrics connector) - Combine with Google Analytics, CRM data - Shareable reports - Best for: - Budget-conscious teams - Custom reporting needs - Limitations: - Requires setup (not plug-and-play) - Limited LinkedIn support (need third-party connector)

(2) Supermetrics ($19-199/mo, or Enterprise custom): - Features: - Pull LinkedIn data into Google Sheets, Data Studio, Excel - Automated daily/weekly reporting - Combine LinkedIn with other platforms (GA, Facebook, Google Ads) - Best for: - Marketers who love spreadsheets - Multi-channel reporting - Pricing: - Essential: $19/mo (1 data source) - Core: $99/mo (5 data sources) - Super: $199/mo (10 data sources) - Enterprise: Custom

(3) Tableau / Power BI (enterprise BI tools): - Features: - Advanced data visualization - Connect to LinkedIn API (via connectors) - Executive dashboards - Best for: - Enterprise teams with data analysts - Complex multi-source reporting - Limitations: - Expensive - Requires technical expertise - Pricing: - Tableau: $70/user/month (Creator license) - Power BI: $10/user/month (Pro license)

Content creation and design tools:

(1) Canva Pro ($12.99/mo): - Templates for LinkedIn posts - Brand kit (consistent colors, fonts, logos) - Stock photos and graphics - Video editing (basic) - Best for: Creating images, infographics, carousels

(2) Adobe Creative Cloud ($54.99/mo): - Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro - Professional design and video editing - Best for: In-house design teams

(3) Loom ($12.50/mo): - Screen recording + webcam - Perfect for LinkedIn video content - Best for: Product demos, tutorials

Recommended tech stack by company size:

Solo marketer / Small business (<10 employees): - Organic posts: Native LinkedIn + Buffer ($6/mo) - Ads: LinkedIn Campaign Manager (native) - Design: Canva Pro ($12.99/mo) - Analytics: Native LinkedIn Analytics + Google Analytics (free) - Total: ~$20/month

Small team (10-50 employees): - Organic posts: Hootsuite Professional ($99/mo) - Ads: LinkedIn Campaign Manager + Supermetrics ($99/mo for reporting) - Employee advocacy: GaggleAMP (optional, ~$500/mo for 50 users) - Design: Canva Pro ($12.99/mo) - Total: ~$200-700/month

Mid-market (50-500 employees): - Organic posts: Sprout Social Professional ($399/mo) - Ads: HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional ($800/mo) - includes CRM, email, attribution - Employee advocacy: GaggleAMP or Bambu (~$1,000/mo for 100+ users) - Design: Canva Pro or Adobe Creative Cloud - Analytics: Supermetrics + Google Data Studio - Total: ~$2,000-3,000/month

Enterprise (500+ employees): - Organic posts: Sprout Social Advanced ($499/mo) or Hootsuite Enterprise (custom) - Ads: HubSpot Marketing Hub Enterprise ($3,600/mo) or Metadata.io (custom) - Employee advocacy: LinkedIn Elevate or GaggleAMP (enterprise pricing) - Design: Adobe Creative Cloud (team licenses) - Analytics: Tableau or Power BI + Supermetrics - Total: $5,000-15,000+/month

Selection criteria:

(1) Team size: - 1-2 people: Native tools + Buffer - 3-10 people: Hootsuite or Sprout Social - 10+ people: Sprout Social or enterprise tools

(2) Budget: - <$500/mo: Native LinkedIn + Buffer + Canva - $500-2K/mo: Hootsuite + HubSpot Starter + Supermetrics - $2K-10K/mo: Sprout Social + HubSpot Pro + employee advocacy - $10K+/mo: Enterprise stack (HubSpot Enterprise, Metadata.io, Elevate)

(3) Use case: - Organic-only: Hootsuite or Sprout Social - Ads-only: Native Campaign Manager or HubSpot - Organic + Ads + CRM: HubSpot (all-in-one) - Multi-client agency: Hootsuite or Sprout Social - Employee advocacy: GaggleAMP or Elevate

(4) Integration needs: - Already using HubSpot? → Add HubSpot Marketing Hub (LinkedIn integration built-in) - Already using Salesforce? → Sprout Social or Hootsuite (both integrate) - Need Google Analytics reporting? → Supermetrics + Data Studio

Bottom line: For small teams, use native LinkedIn tools + Buffer ($6/mo) for scheduling. For growing teams, invest in Hootsuite ($99/mo) or Sprout Social ($249/mo) for multi-account management and better analytics. For Ads + CRM integration, HubSpot Marketing Hub ($800/mo) provides full-funnel attribution. For employee advocacy at scale, GaggleAMP (~$500-2K/mo) gamifies employee sharing. Enterprise teams should consider Metadata.io for AI-powered ad optimization and LinkedIn Elevate for official employee advocacy program. Expect to spend $200-3,000/month on tools depending on company size and needs.

Complete guide to Account-Based Marketing on LinkedIn:

What is ABM on LinkedIn?

Account-Based Marketing targets specific high-value companies (accounts) with personalized messaging, rather than broad lead generation. LinkedIn is ideal for ABM because you can target by company name, decision-maker job titles, and seniority - precision impossible on Google or Facebook.

ABM strategy framework:

Step 1: Identify target accounts (ICP definition)

(1) Criteria for target accounts: - Company size: Revenue or employee count - Example: "500-5000 employees" (mid-market to enterprise) - Industry: Specific verticals - Example: "SaaS companies" or "Financial Services" - Geography: Target markets - Example: "US + Canada" or "EMEA" - Technographics: Companies using specific tech - Example: "Using Salesforce" (indicates sales maturity) - Intent signals: Companies showing buying intent - Example: "Visited pricing page 3+ times in last 30 days" - Firmographics: Growth stage, funding - Example: "Series B+ funded startups"

(2) Account list size: - Tier 1 (strategic accounts): 20-50 companies - Highest revenue potential ($100K+ deals) - Hyper-personalized campaigns - Tier 2 (core accounts): 100-500 companies - Strong fit, good revenue potential ($25-100K deals) - Personalized campaigns by industry/use case - Tier 3 (target accounts): 1,000-5,000 companies - Solid fit, lower deal size ($10-25K) - Segmented campaigns by company size or industry

(3) Account research: - Identify key decision-makers (titles): - Economic buyer: CFO, VP Finance (budget authority) - Technical buyer: CTO, VP Engineering (technical evaluation) - Champion: Director, Manager (day-to-day user, internal advocate) - Company priorities: - Recent news (funding, acquisitions, leadership changes) - Pain points (from LinkedIn posts, earnings calls, Glassdoor reviews) - Competitive landscape: - Who are they currently using? (tech stack via BuiltWith, G2 reviews)

Step 2: Upload account list to LinkedIn

(1) Matched Audiences - Company List: - In Campaign Manager → Plan → Audiences → Create Audience → Company - Upload CSV with company names (minimum 1,000 companies recommended, but can be as few as 300) - Format: One company name per row - LinkedIn matches by official company name (e.g., "Microsoft Corporation" not "Microsoft") - Match rate: Typically 60-80% (LinkedIn finds company pages) - Re-upload quarterly (add new accounts, remove closed/lost accounts)

(2) Matched Audiences - Contact List: - Upload email addresses or LinkedIn profile URLs - LinkedIn matches emails to member accounts - Match rate: 40-60% (lower than company matching) - Use case: Re-engage leads from past campaigns, webinar attendees, trial users

(3) Lookalike Audiences: - Create audience similar to your best customers - LinkedIn finds companies with similar attributes - Expansion: 10-20% similar (narrow) or 50%+ similar (broad) - Use case: Scale ABM beyond initial target list

Step 3: Layer targeting for decision-makers

(1) Job title targeting within account list: - AND logic: Target "VP Sales" at "Target Account List" - Example layers: - Campaign 1: C-level (CEO, CTO, CFO, CMO) at Tier 1 accounts - Campaign 2: VPs (VP Sales, VP Marketing) at Tier 1 accounts - Campaign 3: Directors and Managers at Tier 2 accounts

(2) Seniority targeting: - CXO, VP, Director, Manager, Senior, Entry - Best for ABM: Focus on Director+ (decision-makers)

(3) Job function: - Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Finance, Operations - Useful when job titles vary across companies

(4) Skills (optional): - Add skills relevant to your solution - Example: "Account-Based Marketing," "Salesforce Administrator"

Step 4: Create personalized ad creative

(1) Personalization levels: - Tier 1 (20-50 accounts): Account-specific creative - Example: Ad shows prospect's company logo - Ad copy: "See how [Company Name] can 3x pipeline with [Product]" - Landing page personalized with company name - Tier 2 (100-500 accounts): Industry or use case creative - Example: "How SaaS companies reduce churn by 40%" - Separate creative for each industry (SaaS, Finance, Healthcare) - Tier 3 (1,000+ accounts): Segmented creative - Example: SMB vs Enterprise messaging

(2) Dynamic ads (company-specific): - LinkedIn Dynamic Ads automatically insert: - Viewer's name - Profile photo - Company name - Company logo - Best for: Personalized feel at scale - Use case: "Hi [First Name], see how [Company] can save 20 hours/week"

(3) Video ads (high engagement): - Custom video for Tier 1 accounts - Record 15-30 sec personalized video mentioning company - Tool: Vidyard (tracks who watched) - Industry-specific video for Tier 2/3 - "How we helped [Similar Company] achieve [Result]"

Step 5: Campaign structure

Campaign hierarchy:

Campaign Group: Tier 1 Accounts (20-50 companies) - Campaign 1: C-level decision-makers - Ad Group 1A: CEOs - Ad Group 1B: CTOs - Ad Group 1C: CFOs - Campaign 2: VP-level influencers - Ad Group 2A: VP Sales - Ad Group 2B: VP Marketing

Campaign Group: Tier 2 Accounts by Industry - Campaign 3: SaaS companies (100 accounts) - Ad Group 3A: VPs in SaaS - Ad Group 3B: Directors in SaaS - Campaign 4: FinTech companies (100 accounts) - Ad Group 4A: VPs in FinTech - Ad Group 4B: Directors in FinTech

(1) Why separate campaigns by tier/persona? - Different budgets (Tier 1 gets 50% of budget, Tier 2 gets 30%, Tier 3 gets 20%) - Different creative (personalized vs segmented) - Different KPIs (Tier 1 = meetings, Tier 2 = SQLs, Tier 3 = leads)

Step 6: Multi-touch ABM sequence

(1) Touchpoint sequence (spread over 60-90 days): - Week 1: Awareness (Thought leadership content) - Ad: "5 trends changing [Industry] in 2024" - Objective: Brand awareness, introduce your company - Week 2-3: Education (Problem/solution content) - Ad: "The #1 challenge facing [Job Title]: How to solve it" - Objective: Establish expertise, build trust - Week 4-5: Consideration (Customer proof) - Ad: "How [Similar Company] achieved [Result] with [Product]" - Objective: Social proof, credibility - Week 6-8: Conversion (Offer) - Ad: "Book a personalized demo for [Company Name]" - Lead Gen Form: Request demo - Objective: Generate meeting

(2) Frequency capping: - Show ads 2-3x per week per person (not daily) - Avoid ad fatigue (burning out audience) - Rotate creative every 2-3 weeks

Step 7: Coordinated sales outreach

(1) Sales + Marketing alignment: - Share target account list with sales team - Sales does personalized outreach while ads run: - LinkedIn connection requests (personalized message) - InMail (if Sales Navigator subscriber) - Email (via Apollo, Outreach, SalesLoft) - Phone calls (if contact info available) - Timing: Sales reaches out 1-2 weeks after ads start (warm intro)

(2) Signal-based outreach: - LinkedIn provides engagement signals: - "John Smith at Target Corp viewed your ad 3 times" - "Jane Doe at Target Corp clicked on case study" - Sales can reference: "I saw you checked out our [Asset], curious what caught your eye?" - Tool: LinkedIn Website Demographics (see which companies visited website)

Step 8: Retargeting engaged accounts

(1) Website visitors: - LinkedIn Insight Tag tracks website visitors - Create audience: "Visited website from Target Account List in last 30 days" - Retarget with: - Demo request CTA - Case study download - Webinar invite

(2) Video viewers: - Create audience: "Watched 50%+ of video ad" - Retarget with next-step content

(3) Lead Gen Form openers (didn't submit): - Create audience: "Opened Lead Gen Form but didn't submit" - Retarget with: - Different offer (lower friction) - Testimonial ad (build trust)

Step 9: Measure ABM success

(1) Account-level metrics: - Account engagement rate: % of target accounts who engaged with ads - Good: 20-30% - Excellent: 50%+ - Decision-maker reach: % of target personas reached - Example: "Reached 45 out of 50 CEOs at Tier 1 accounts" = 90% - Multi-touch rate: % of accounts with 3+ ad touchpoints - Target: 50%+ (awareness requires repetition)

(2) Pipeline metrics (track in CRM): - Accounts with open opportunities: % of target accounts in sales pipeline - Good: 10-20% (from Tier 1 list) - Pipeline value from target accounts: Total $ in pipeline - Sales cycle length: Days from first ad impression to closed deal - ABM typically shortens sales cycle by 20-40%

(3) ROI metrics: - Cost per target account reached: Total spend / Accounts reached - Cost per meeting (from target accounts): Total spend / Meetings booked - Closed deals from target accounts: # and $ value - ABM vs non-ABM close rate comparison: - ABM accounts: 25-40% close rate (higher intent, better fit) - Non-ABM accounts: 10-20% close rate

Step 10: Tools for ABM on LinkedIn

(1) LinkedIn native: - Campaign Manager: Run ads, upload account lists - Sales Navigator: Sales outreach, InMail, lead tracking - LinkedIn Insight Tag: Website retargeting

(2) ABM platforms (integrate with LinkedIn): - 6sense ($x/mo): Intent data, account identification, orchestration - Shows which accounts are "in-market" (researching solutions) - Syncs intent data to LinkedIn for targeting - Demandbase ($x/mo): Account intelligence, advertising, sales intelligence - Runs LinkedIn ads + display ads across web - Terminus ($x/mo): ABM advertising platform - Multi-channel (LinkedIn + display + email) - Metadata.io ($x/mo): AI-powered campaign automation - Auto-creates and optimizes LinkedIn ABM campaigns

(3) Sales engagement platforms: - Outreach, SalesLoft, Apollo: Coordinate sales outreach with ad campaigns - Vidyard: Personalized video for Tier 1 accounts

(4) CRM (for attribution): - Salesforce, HubSpot: Track which accounts move through pipeline - Tag leads with "ABM - Tier 1" for segmentation

ABM campaign budget:

Tier 1 (20-50 accounts): - Monthly budget: $5,000-10,000 (50% of total ABM budget) - Expected: 5-10 meetings per month - Cost per meeting: $500-2,000 (acceptable for high-value accounts)

Tier 2 (100-500 accounts): - Monthly budget: $3,000-6,000 (30% of total) - Expected: 15-30 SQLs per month - CPL: $100-200

Tier 3 (1,000+ accounts): - Monthly budget: $2,000-4,000 (20% of total) - Expected: 40-80 leads per month - CPL: $50-75

Total recommended ABM budget: $10,000-20,000/month minimum for meaningful results

Common ABM mistakes:

(1) Targeting too many accounts (dilutes personalization) - Fix: Start with 50-100 Tier 1 accounts, expand later

(2) Generic creative (not personalized) - Fix: Segment by industry, use case, or company size

(3) Ads only (no sales outreach) - Fix: Coordinate with sales for multi-touch ABM

(4) No retargeting (one-touch approach) - Fix: Build 60-90 day nurture sequence

(5) Wrong personas (targeting too junior) - Fix: Focus on Director+ decision-makers

(6) Not tracking account-level metrics - Fix: Tag accounts in CRM, measure account engagement rate

Bottom line: LinkedIn ABM campaigns work by targeting specific companies (upload account list of 100-5,000 companies) and layering job title targeting (VPs, Directors, C-level). Budget $10-20K/month minimum for 20-50 Tier 1 accounts. Create personalized creative by industry or company. Run multi-touch sequence (awareness → education → proof → conversion) over 60-90 days. Coordinate with sales outreach (LinkedIn + email + phone). Use Lead Gen Forms for instant conversions (10-13% rate). Retarget website visitors and video engagers. Measure account engagement rate (aim for 30%+), pipeline contribution, and close rate (25-40% for ABM accounts vs 10-20% non-ABM). Tools: 6sense or Demandbase for intent data, Metadata.io for automation, Vidyard for personalized video. ABM delivers 3-5x higher ROI than broad lead gen but requires patience (90-120 day sales cycles).