Download - 3-Part LinkedIn Ad Checklist

[PDF Download] The 3-Part LinkedIn AdChecklistSeptember 18th, 2015 by Ted Prodromou

Categories: Blog (http://www.digitalmarketer.com/category/dmblog/),

Drive More Traffic (http://www.digitalmarketer.com/category/drive-

more-traffic/)

9 6 2 4

2 0

So you’re dabbling in LinkedIn advertising…

I’ve been running LinkedIn ads since 2012 and I’ve done a

lot of testing in different markets — you could say I wrote

the book (http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-

LinkedIn-Business-ebook/dp/B00PSSFZTA

/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1442269385&

sr=1-1&keywords=ted+prodromou) on it (because I did).

There are essentially two types of LinkedIn ad campaigns

(three if you are a big brand with at least $25,000 to spend

on ads). The Self-Service ads and the Sponsored Update

ads.

(http://go.digitalmarketer.com/tnc-early-

bird-blog-banner-ad-9-9)

3-Part LinkedIn Ad Checklist http://www.digitalmarketer.com/linkedin-ad-checklist-traffic/?utm_sourc...

1 of 13 9/19/2015 6:21 AM

Before you can determine which is right for your business,

you need to know…

What is the Difference Between Self-Serviceand Sponsored Update Ads?

Self-Service ads are the small ads you see in the right

column of LinkedIn and at the top of pages as a text ad.

You’ll see the sidebar ads under the Ads You May Be

Interested In widget similar to the image below. The ads are

grouped in a series of three ads and contain a thumbnail

image and text.

Sponsored Update (http://adspecs.liasset.com

/category.php?category=Sponsored+Updates) ads allow

brands to deliver their content into the homepage feed of

members beyond those who are following their company.

They can be targeted to a specific audience, and can be seen

on desktop, smartphone and tablet device.

DRIVE MORE TRAFFIC

(HTTP://WWW.DIGITALMARKETER.COM

/CATEGORY/DRIVE-

MORE-TRAFFIC/)

BOOST CONVERSIONS


/CATEGORY/BOOST-

CONVERSIONS/)

INCREASE ENGAGEMENT


/CATEGORY/INCREASE-

ENGAGEMENT/)

(http://digitalmarketer.com/lp/perpetual-

traffic-podcast.html)

What Do You WantTo Boost Today?

POPULAR POSTS

Customer Value Optimization: How to

Build an Unstoppable Business

(http://www.digitalmarketer.com

/customer-value-optimization/)

How We Grew a Blog from ZERO to

$6 Million…(http://www.digitalmarketer.com

/6-million/)

The Ultimate List of Blog Post Ideas

(http://www.digitalmarketer.com/blog-

post-ideas/)

43 Split-Tests That (Almost) Always

Boost Conversions

(http://www.digitalmarketer.com/split-

tests-that-boost-conversions/)


2 of 13 9/19/2015 6:21 AM

So which is working best in LinkedIn Advertising ?

I recommend not running self-service ads unless you’ve

done a lot of testing and have winning campaigns.

In my experience, LinkedIn members don’t click on the

Self-Service ads as often as they click on Google ads and if

they do click, they don’t convert as well as Google and

Facebook ads. (LinkedIn is working hard to improve the

performance of Self-Service ads.)

For that reason, we’re focusing on Sponsored Update ads in

this post.

The Sponsored Updates were released in mid-2013 and

work very well in most cases. When you treat Sponsored

Updates as native ads, you receive a high Click Through

Rate (CTR), a low Cost Per Click (CPC), and high conversion

rate (CR).

Here is a sample Sponsored Update from Google. Notice

419 people liked this update and there are 16 comments.

Look for updates which receive numerous likes and

comments and save screenshots so you can use the same

approach in your sponsored updates.

Digital Marketer’s 101 Best Email

Subject Lines of 2014


/101-best-email-subject-lines-2014/)

How to Build an Email Marketing

Machine


/email-marketing-machine/)

How to Plug a Leaky Sales Funnel with

Facebook Retargeting


/funnel-facebook-retargeting/)

9 Lead Magnet Ideas and Examples

(And One That Generated 28,507

Subscribers in 45 Days)

(http://www.digitalmarketer.com/lead-

magnet-ideas-funnel/)

[New Formula] WCA + YC = Cheap,

High Converting Traffic from

Facebook


/cheap-high-converting-traffic-social-

media/)

How to Find People to Write For Your

Blog (http://www.digitalmarketer.com

/how-to-find-people-to-write-

for-your-blog/)


3 of 13 9/19/2015 6:21 AM

There are three parts to getting the best performance out

of your Sponsored Updates and I’ve created a checklist for

you to measure every time you set one up.

Check it out below and download a free PDF version of this

LinkedIn ad checklist when you’re done!

1. Optimizing content

Always Ask, “Why Would the Audience Want to Read This?”

Most online banners get little response because we see so

many banners and suffer from “banner blindness”. Online

marketers are always looking for tips to improve ad

performance so Google sharing examples which work for

them.

Use Concise and Compelling Intros and Headlines

Banner ads get a bad rap – but when done right, they can

really boost brand lift.

As an online marketer, you’re aiming for a headline

that grabs their attention so they’ will click on the ad to

learn more.


4 of 13 9/19/2015 6:21 AM

Ask Compelling Questions to Engage Your Target Audience

People are always looking for answers to their problems so

get their attention by asking them a question and giving

them the answer in your ad campaign.

Look at the interaction BrightRoll created by asking a

simple question. 649 Likes and 37 Comments is great

interaction for LinkedIn ads.

Always Include a Clear Call to Action

In the BrightRoll update, they’re inviting you to learn the

strategy Kellogg’s used to engage their audience on new

screens.

Optimize Your Landing Pages for Mobile Traffic

Most LinkedIn traffic is mobile.

The landing page for the BrightRoll ad is clean, mobile-

friendly and lets you fill out the form using your LinkedIn

contact information with one click. This is one of the biggest

benefits of LinkedIn Sponsored Updates where you can fill

in your web forms with a single click.


5 of 13 9/19/2015 6:21 AM

2. Managing Updates

Plan an Editorial Calendar and React to Timely Events

Plan your editorial calendar at least one quarter in advance

so you’ll be sharing relevant, timely information. Also plan

for holiday promotions and special events well in advance

so you have time to prepare high quality content.

Respond to Comments Quickly

Social media is all about timeliness so you need to monitor

your sponsored updates and reply quickly. Occasionally

disgruntled customers may vent in the comments of your

sponsored updates so you need to act quickly to defuse

their frustration.

Keep updates running 24x7x365

In today’s business environment, people can be working

online any time of day or night. Keep your ads in front of

them 24x7x365 so you maximize your chance of them

seeing your content.

Run 2-4 Sponsored Updates Simultaneously to Split Test

Always split test your ad campaigns testing different

headlines, ad text and images to see what your audience

responds to.


6 of 13 9/19/2015 6:21 AM

Test, Engage, and Refine

When people respond to your content, it tells you what

their biggest pain points are so you can create more

content to address their problems. This also gives you ideas

for new products and services which solve your customers

biggest issues.

3. Optimizing Visuals

Always Include an Engaging Image, Video or Presentation

Adding engaging images or videos to your blog posts,

articles, and online ads almost always increases

engagement.

Ensure Your Image is Relevant to Your Content

I’m sure you’ve seen a compelling image in an ad that made

you click on the ad then you were completely disappointed

when the landing page and offer had nothing to do with the

image. It’s a bait and switch and you immediately distrust

the business because they tricked you. Make sure your

image matches your product or service so you gain the

trust of the viewer.

Use similar visuals on your landing page

Here’s a great example of LinkedIn using the same image in

the sponsored update and again on the landing page. This

continues the conversation from the sponsored update to

the offer page which will improve your conversion rate

significantly.


7 of 13 9/19/2015 6:21 AM


8 of 13 9/19/2015 6:21 AM

You can see LinkedIn’s complete advertising specifications

here (http://adspecs.liasset.com/).

Remember, LinkedIn Sponsored Updates work very well

when you treat them like native ads. Make your Sponsored

Update look like content with an interesting image and

direct them to a landing page with great content and your


9 of 13 9/19/2015 6:21 AM

About Ted Prodromou

Ted Prodromou is the best-selling, award-

winning author of Ultimate Guide to

LinkedIn for Business and Ultimate Guide to

Twitter for Business (Entrepreneur Press).

Ted is also frequent contributor to

Entrepreneur Magazine and

Entrepreneur.com. Ted is an online

advertising consultant generating leads for

his clients using Google Adwords, Facebook

ads, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social

media platforms. He also teaches online and

conversion rates will skyrocket!

Download your LinkedIn Sponsored Update checklist here

(https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalmarketer-downloads

/website/content/uploads/2015/09/linkedin-checklist.pdf).

(https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalmarketer-downloads

/website/content/uploads/2015/09/linkedin-checklist.pdf)

9 6 2 2

4 0


10 of 13 9/19/2015 6:21 AM

in-person classes on LinkedIn, Twitter, and

online advertising. You can learn more about

Ted here (http://www.tedprodromou.com).

View all posts by Ted Prodromou ➞

(http://www.digitalmarketer.com/author

/ted-prodromou/)

How to Leverage

Facebook Data to Scale

Your Ad Campaigns


/scale-facebook-

ad-campaign/)

[Case Study] How Veeroll

Does YouTube In-Stream

Ads


/veeroll-youtube-

in-stream-ads/)

How to Sell High-Dollar

Event Tickets With Paid

Traffic


/sell-event-tickets-

paid-traffic/)

Start Here


/customer-value-

optimization/)

« Previous Post

Digital Marketer Is Giving

Away $6,843 In Free

Market Research

Related posts


11 of 13 9/19/2015 6:21 AM

Software…(http://www.digitalmarketer.com

/market-research-contest/)

Leave a ReplyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

You may use these HTML (HyperText Markup Language) tags and attributes:

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b>

<blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q

cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

POST COMMENT

L I K E O U R F R E E CO N T E N T ?

CLICK HERE (http://www.digitalmarketer.com/the-ultimate-marketing-shortcut/) for the best that DM has to offer…


12 of 13 9/19/2015 6:21 AM

Download - 3-Part LinkedIn Ad Checklist

Top Related