Learning from the Pros

If I had to boil down my entire job as a marketer into one sentence, it’d be this: I listen to customers and then build campaigns that sound like them. 
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Voice of customer (VOC) isn’t just a tactic. It’s the strategy. It’s the thing AI can’t fake, dashboards can’t predict, and competitors can’t steal. It’s also where all my best ideas come from.
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Here are 10 detailed ways I collect, activate, and scale the voice of a customer across everything I do.

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1. Start every new role by talking to customers. Relentlessly.

When I joined ContactMonkey, the very first thing I did wasn’t digging into attribution models or revamping landing pages. It was scheduling as many customer and prospect conversations as I could fit into my calendar. 
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I even made it part of my official 30-60-90 plan. 
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In those early weeks when your brain is still fresh and your to-do list is short, there’s nothing more valuable than hearing firsthand what people love, hate, and don’t understand about your product or category. 
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One of my favorite moves? 
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Posting on LinkedIn asking if anyone in my network is willing to get on a quick call. In this case, I posted asking if anyone in my network owns internal comms and would be willing to chat (our ICP at ContactMonkey). 
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I offered to buy them a coffee in exchange for a chat (no sales pitch). 
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I got 12+ responses. If you don’t have a network in your space yet, no problem.
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Shadow your CS or AM teams. Listen to support calls. It’s not about volume, it’s about patterns. 
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When I start hearing the same pain points and language again and again, that’s when I know I’ve struck gold.
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2. Replace vague promises with oddly specific customer results

Years ago at Chili Piper, we ran one of our most successful landing page tests using a stat pulled directly from a customer. 
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The control copy said “Double your meetings”. A nice round promise. The variation said “Book 48% more meetings”. Not as flashy, but 100% real results from a real customer. 
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And it crushed. Why? 
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Because people can smell BS. “Double” sounds too good to be true.
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But “48%” feels like someone actually ran the numbers. The same logic applied to our newsletter sign-up. We swapped “Join 15k+ marketers” for the actual number, like “14,889 marketers”, and updated it monthly. Way better engagement. 
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I’ve learned that authenticity beats hyperbole every single time. 
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Whether it’s landing pages, ads, or CTAs, I always ask: can I anchor this in a real result? If I can, that’s the copy I go with.
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3. Scale testimonial collection

Most marketers want more testimonials. But very few make it easy for customers to give them. 
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That’s where tools like testimonial.io come in. At Chili Piper, we used it to collect both video and text testimonials at scale.
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What I loved is that it wasn’t just a form. It created a nice-looking landing page where we could showcase quotes, filter by industry or persona, and make it dead simple for sales to grab proof on demand. 

We even layered in rewards: For example, $10 for a written review, $20 for a video. 
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It made the process feel fun, not transactional. If you don’t have the budget for a tool, you can still make this work with forms and folders. It just requires more manual work. 
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But either way, the key is removing friction. Make it easy, incentivize smartly, and watch the social proof roll in.
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4. Map the moments when asking for testimonials feels natural

I used to be hesitant about asking happy customers for quotes or reviews. It felt too much like asking someone who’s already paying us for more favors.
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Now I’ve learned that timing is everything and when you get it right, people are actually eager to help. 
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At Chili Piper (and coming soon to ContactMonkey!), we built simple workflows around high-NPS scores.

If someone gave us a 9 or 10, they’d get an email asking if they’d share a quick testimonial (with an incentive if we needed it). 
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Renewal time is another great moment. If the CSM is having a positive QBR, that’s your window.
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And if you have an in-app experience, even better. Prompt people when they’ve just hit a milestone or seen a big win. 
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These are the moments when they’re feeling the value and that’s when you should make the ask. Not months later in a generic email blast.
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5. Mine sales calls using Gong alerts

If your sales team uses Gong, Clari, or any call recording tool, you’re sitting on a goldmine of unfiltered customer language. 
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At Chili Piper, I set up custom alerts for keywords like “love this,” “so helpful,” or “amazing”. 
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Whenever a prospect or customer said something positive, I’d get an alert. Sometimes we’d clip those and turn them into ads. Other times we’d just use them for internal messaging work. 
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At ContactMonkey, I’ve taken it further. I created an alert for the word “chaos” because we were testing a new homepage copy around that theme. 
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Now I can see in real time if that word is spiking in conversations. It’s like a heartbeat monitor for customer sentiment. 
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Pro tip: Make sure your alerts only track customer speech, not your reps. Otherwise, you’ll get a lot of noise. This is one of the lowest-lift, highest-impact VOC tactics I’ve ever used.
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6. I always prioritize real photos over polished stock

In one of my previous companies, we ran a bunch of Facebook ads targeting college professors. We tested beautifully lit, high-production images.
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We even went to a local university campus and took our own photos. 
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But the creative that won? 
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A grainy, dimly lit shot of a real professor with a projector half-illuminating his face. It looked like a scene from a low-budget documentary and it worked like magic. 
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Why? 
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Because it was instantly recognizable to our audience. They saw themselves in that ad. That lesson stuck with me. 
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I now prioritize real customer images (with permission, of course) over generic visuals, especially on social platforms like LinkedIn.
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Even if the photo isn’t perfect, the context is. It builds trust faster than any stock model with a laptop ever could.
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7. Engineer VOC moments at in-person events

One of the most underrated ways to capture and activate the voice of a customer is through small, curated in-person dinners. 
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At Chili Piper, we’d pick anchor events, like INBOUND or SaaStr, and then build a dinner party around them. We invited a mix of customers and high-fit prospects. No pitch. Just dinner.
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But the magic was in the seating chart. 
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When a prospect ends up next to a customer, the VOC starts flowing naturally. It’s not a case study. It’s a conversation. And it’s way more persuasive than sitting them beside someone from your sales team. 
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These dinners don’t have to break the bank. We’d partner with other Martech brands targeting the same ICP, split the cost, and divide the invite list. We typically budgeted around $200 per head depending on the city (this can vary wildly). 
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But if you can’t swing a dinner? Start by gifting tickets to customers so they can attend the event. That alone builds goodwill and puts your brand top of mind.
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8. Create memorable, feel-good moments for customers 

One of my favorite VOC plays was when we ran a billboard that was not about us, but celebrating our customers. 
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People took selfies with it. It created a moment. 
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You can apply the same principle with award nominations, speaking opportunities, or simply amplifying your customers’ successes. 
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These aren’t transactional gestures. I don’t do them expecting a quote or post in return. I do them because they’re the right thing to do. 
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People remember how you made them feel. When you make your customers feel seen and valued, they’re more likely to become your advocates. 
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Reciprocity is real but only when it’s authentic. Whether it’s putting them on stage, giving them swag, or celebrating their wins, this kind of VOC is quiet but powerful.
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9. Recycle everything into retargeting gold

Once you start collecting VOC, don’t let it sit in Notion or your testimonial page. Use it. In your retargeting campaigns especially. 
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At Chili Piper we  ran video snippets from customer calls as YouTube pre-roll. We sliced a single testimonial video into six different LinkedIn ads. We even ran static image ads that are just screenshots of nice LinkedIn posts or tweets. 
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If someone says something amazing about you on LinkedIn, screenshot it and run it as an ad. That’s what I used to do before Thought Leader ads were even a thing. 
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Don’t worry about fancy production. Don’t wait until you have a full video library. Start with what you have.
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Voice of the customer doesn’t always need tons of polish. It needs visibility.
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10. Amplify customers with Thought Leader ads (yes, from their accounts)

This one is super meta, but wildly effective. 
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If a customer writes a post about your event, product, or company, don’t just repost it from your brand page. 
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With LinkedIn’s Thought Leader ad type, you can run their post as an ad from their account. It’s voice of customer, directly from the customer’s mouth. 
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Chili Piper is doing this with people who attended their ChiliPalooza event. They encouraged them to post their takeaways, then promoted those posts with paid. I haven’t tested it yet at ContactMonkey, but it’s high on my list. 
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It’s a modern version of influencer marketing, except the influencer is your actual user. Just make sure they’re comfortable with it, and always get consent. 
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Bonus: If you can’t run it as an ad, screenshot it and use it in your retargeting. It still works.
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The voice of the customer isn’t a box I check. It’s the lens I try to apply to everything I do, from homepage headlines to how I design event experiences. 
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Because at the end of the day, no copy I write will ever be more compelling than something a real customer says when they don’t know they’re being marketed to.
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That’s the voice that cuts through the noise.
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Hope you found this article helpful! 
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‍If you’re looking to pick up an advertising course, check out these free courses that will teach you how to launch, optimize, and scale ad campaigns effectively. 
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And if you have any questions about using the voice of the customer in your campaigns, feel free to send me a message on LinkedIn, I love connecting with fellow marketers!

I see a lot of companies completely overcomplicate ABM on LinkedIn. 

Some think they need an expensive ABM platform just to get started. Others assume that simply uploading an account list and running ads will magically drive pipeline. 

Neither approach works.

I’ve tested LinkedIn Ads for ABM across different industries, budgets, and company sizes, and I’ve seen what actually moves the needle. The key isn’t just running ads. It's getting the fundamentals right and making sure ads, targeting, and sales outreach all work together.

In this post, I’m breaking down 10 practical, no-BS strategies I use to make ABM campaigns on LinkedIn drive real results. If you’re tired of wasted budget and low engagement, this is for you.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Tip 1: Your Account List is the Foundation. Get It Right
• Tip 2: Upload a Company List, Not a Contact List
• Tip 3: Monitor and Manage Ad Frequency
• Tip 4: Cap Impressions Using LinkedIn’s Company Feature
• Tip 5: Test One-to-One ABM Ads (But Avoid Germany)
• Tip 6: Use LinkedIn Ad Engagement as a Sales Trigger
• Tip 7: Split Campaigns by Employee Size
• Tip 8: Create ABM-Specific Remarketing Lists
• Tip 9: Don’t Sleep on Exclusions
• Tip 10: LinkedIn Ads Are Just One Part of ABM

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Tip 1: Your Account List is the Foundation. Get It Right

The account list is the backbone of any ABM campaign.

If your account list is wrong, everything else will fail. Your targeting, your engagement, your pipeline.

A lot of companies just pull a list from a data provider using filters like industry, employee size, and technology stack and assume it’s good to go. But here’s the issue:

• Data providers are never 100% accurate. I’ve used ten different data providers, and they all have their problems.
  
  
• You’ll end up with bad data. You might export 5,000 accounts, but not all of them are actually relevant.

How to Build a Better Account List
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1. Work with sales. Most companies create their ABM list in a vacuum and don’t loop in sales. That’s a mistake.
   
   
2. Look at past closed-won deals. If you’re just pulling a list of the biggest logos you can think of (Nike, Google, Microsoft) you’re probably missing accounts that actually convert.
   
   
3. Check the late-stage pipeline. What do these accounts have in common?
   
   
4. Ensure coverage. What accounts are missing? Just because a sales rep Slack-ed over a few high-profile accounts doesn’t mean they’re the only accounts worth targeting.

A well-built account list makes every impression valuable. If your impression itself isn’t worth anything, your list is wrong.
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Tip 2: Upload a Company List, Not a Contact List

Once you have a strong account list, the next step is uploading it to LinkedIn Ads.

This is where a lot of folks make a critical mistake. They upload a contact list instead of a company list.

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Why Contact Lists Are a Bad Idea

• Low match rates: You’ll be lucky to get 30-70% of your contacts matched in LinkedIn.
  
  
• People change jobs constantly: Your contact list gets stale fast. People get promoted, leave, or switch roles.
  
  
• You’ll miss key decision-makers: If someone new joins a company in the target role, they won’t be in your contact list.

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Why Company Lists Work Better

• Match rates are 95-100%: LinkedIn recognizes companies better than individual contacts.
  
  
• Dynamic audience updates: If someone gets promoted or a new decision-maker joins the company, they’ll automatically be included.
  
  
• More precise targeting: You can layer on job titles, seniority, and functions to ensure you’re reaching the right people within those accounts.

If you only upload a contact list, you’ll have to constantly update it. That’s an operational nightmare.

If you upload a company list and use job title filters, LinkedIn does the updating for you. Plus, you get better match rates.

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Tip 3: Monitor and Manage Ad Frequency

Since ABM campaigns target smaller audiences, ad frequency can get out of control fast if you’re not careful.

If people see the same ad 40 times in a month, they won’t just ignore you, they’ll actively resent your brand.

I always check my frequency metrics and aim for around three impressions per week per person.

If my frequency goes beyond that, I rotate in new creatives.

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How to Manage Frequency

• If an ad is performing well, keep it running until engagement drops.
  
  
• If performance starts declining, pause it and swap in a new version.
  
  
• Small tweaks work. You don’t need an entirely new creative. Sometimes just changing the headline, background color, or image is enough to reset engagement.

A good ABM strategy requires constant creative refreshes.

If you don’t monitor frequency, you’re going to annoy your target accounts instead of influencing them.

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Tip 4: Cap Impressions Using LinkedIn’s Company Feature

One of the biggest budget-wasters in LinkedIn ABM campaigns is uneven ad distribution.

Let’s say you’re targeting 500 companies. If Amazon is on that list, Amazon employees alone might eat up 50% of your budget. Why? Because Amazon has more employees in your target roles than smaller companies.

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How to Fix This

LinkedIn has a Company Engagement Feature that lets you cap impressions per company.

• Create dynamic exclusion lists for companies that have received 500+ impressions in the past 7 days.
  
  
• Once a company hits that limit, it gets automatically excluded, forcing LinkedIn to spread the budget to other accounts.

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How to Adjust Your Cap

• If none of the companies hit the cap → Lower the threshold (e.g., 300 impressions).
  
  
• If too many companies are excluded → Raise the cap (e.g., 700 impressions).

This simple tweak ensures that no single company dominates your budget, and every account on your list gets a fair share of impressions.

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Tip 5: Test One-to-One ABM Ads (But Avoid Germany)

I’ve been testing one-to-one ABM ads for a while now, and the results have been insane.

A standard LinkedIn image ad usually gets a 0.5% to 1% click-through rate.

But when I run personalized one-to-one ABM ads, I’m seeing 5% - 10% CTRs.

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How to Run One-to-One ABM Ads

1. Create a simple template.
   
   
2. Dynamically insert the company name or logo.
   
   
3. Tweak the messaging slightly to make it feel personal.

These ads stand out because they look like they were designed specifically for the company.

But before you go all-in, there are two major caveats:

• Don’t run these in Germany: German companies will hit you with a legal notice if you use their name or logo in an ad.
  
  
• This works best for MarTech, SalesTech, and Customer Success industries: If you’re targeting IT buyers, this approach might feel too aggressive.

If you’re hesitant to use logos, you can still personalize these ads by:

• Mentioning the company in the ad copy instead of the image.
  
  
• Using a screenshot from the company’s website instead of their logo.

One-to-one ABM ads aren’t for every industry, but in the right space, they massively outperform standard image ads.

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Tip 6: Use LinkedIn Ad Engagement as a Sales Trigger

A big mistake I see in ABM campaigns is running LinkedIn ads in isolation and expecting them to create pipeline on their own.

That’s not how it works.

You need to use LinkedIn ad engagement as a sales trigger to prioritize outreach.

Instead of sales reaching out cold, why not time it based on actual engagement? If an account is consistently clicking on ads or engaging with content, that’s a strong signal that they might be open to a conversation.

LinkedIn lets you create dynamic audience lists based on engagement, which means I can track things like:

• Paid clicks: Who has clicked on an ad multiple times over a set period?
  
  
• Video views: Who has watched a certain percentage of a video ad?
  
  
• Impressions: Which accounts have received a high volume of impressions?

I can then send this data to sales as a prioritized list of accounts.

A sales rep reaching out to an account that has clicked on an ad three times in the past two weeks is going to have way more success than reaching out completely cold.

Some companies use tools like Fibbler to track progression of clicks over a period of month, all the way towards becoming an opportunity.

But even if you’re just using LinkedIn’s native company engagement feature, you can still set up alerts for sales when an account’s activity spikes.

This is one of the easiest ways to align marketing and sales, yet most companies don’t do it. If you’re just running LinkedIn ads without tying them into your outbound strategy, you’re leaving money on the table.

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Tip 7: Split Campaigns by Employee Size

A CEO at a 50-person company is very different from a VP at a 10,000-person company.

You can’t treat them the same.

The way LinkedIn distributes ad spend also makes this even more important. If you mix small and large companies in the same campaign, the large companies will dominate your spend.

Why? Because they have more employees that fit your targeting criteria.

I split campaigns into two groups:

• 500+ employees: Exclude managers. There are too many, and they don’t always have decision-making power.
  
  
• Under 500 employees: Keep managers in. At smaller companies, managers have more influence over decisions and often report directly to the CEO.

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At big companies, targeting managers is usually a waste of money.

If I’m running an ad campaign for a marketing software company, the CMO at Amazon isn’t going to care about my ad.

But at a 200-person company, the CEO or VP of Marketing might be the final decision-maker.

This segmentation also allows me to write better ad copy. If I know I’m speaking to executives at smaller companies, my messaging will be more direct and high-level.

If I’m speaking to senior managers at larger companies, I might focus more on how my product solves day-to-day problems.

If you’re running a single campaign for all employee sizes, chances are your budget is being wasted on the wrong people at big companies while ignoring the right people at smaller ones.

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Tip 8: Create ABM-Specific Remarketing Lists

Most people run generic remarketing campaigns, but for ABM, you need to build remarketing lists specific to your target accounts.

This means you’re not just retargeting anyone who clicked on an ad. You’re only retargeting people from your ABM account list who showed engagement.

Here’s how I structure my ABM remarketing lists:

• Image ad remarketing: People from ABM accounts who clicked on an image ad.
  
  
• Video view remarketing: People from ABM accounts who watched at least 50% of a video ad.
  
  
• Website remarketing: Visitors from ABM accounts who landed on key pages (e.g., demo request, pricing, case studies).

This ensures I’m spending remarketing dollars on accounts that actually matter rather than random people who engaged once and never came back.

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What should you show in these remarketing campaigns?

In remarketing, I shift the content to focus on social proof and direct response ads. This could be:

• Case studies featuring similar companies
  
  
• Testimonial ads showing a customer’s face and a short quote
  
  
• Comparison ads (e.g., "Us vs. Them")
  
  
• Before and after ads that show the pain before using my product and the results after

In some cases, I also test demo CTAs and incentives, especially for enterprise deals where a small push (like a free assessment or report) can make a big difference.

If you’re only running top-of-funnel awareness ads and never segmenting high-intent ABM accounts into remarketing, you’re missing a huge opportunity to convert engaged prospects.

Side Note: Check out all the cool ads that Tim Davidson put together over here.

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Tip 9: Don’t Sleep on Exclusions

A lot of people think that because they’re targeting an account list, they don’t need to add exclusions.

That’s a mistake.

Even if your account list is perfect, LinkedIn’s targeting isn’t.

Here’s the problem: LinkedIn doesn’t always match job titles and company names correctly. If someone has multiple roles in their profile, LinkedIn might target them under the wrong company.

For example, let’s say someone runs a side business while working full-time at Amazon. LinkedIn might show them your ad under both companies, meaning you’re wasting budget on someone who isn’t actually part of your ABM target.

To fix this, I always:

• Check LinkedIn’s Demographics Report to see which job titles and industries are getting served ads.
  
  
• Exclude job functions that don’t matter. If I’m selling to CMOs and VPs of Marketing, I don’t want my ads going to HR or IT.
  
  
• Exclude competitors.

Just because you’re running ABM doesn’t mean you can trust LinkedIn to get everything right.

If you’re not actively reviewing exclusions, you’re burning ad dollars.

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Tip 10: LinkedIn Ads Are Just One Part of ABM

I need to make this very clear. Running LinkedIn Ads alone is not ABM.

ABM is about orchestrating multiple touch points across marketing and sales. If you’re just running ads and waiting, you’re missing the point.

Here’s how I integrate LinkedIn Ads into a full ABM strategy:

1. Pick a set of high-priority accounts (start with 50-100).
   
   
2. Run LinkedIn ads to build awareness.
   
   
3. Monitor engagement signals (clicks, views, impressions).
   
   
4. Trigger sales outreach when accounts show activity.
   
   
5. Use email, cold calls, events, and direct mail to reinforce messaging.
   
   
6. Retarget engaged accounts with case studies and demo CTAs.
   
   
7. Track movement through the funnel and adjust the strategy.

One of the best ways to start is by working closely with an enterprise sales rep.

Pick 100 accounts and run a coordinated campaign, where marketing runs ads and sales follows up based on engagement.

If you’re just running LinkedIn Ads and calling it ABM, you’re not doing ABM. You’re just running ads to a list.

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Hope you found this article helpful! 

‍If you’re looking to learn more about LinkedIn Ads, check out these free LinkedIn Ads courses, that will teach you how to launch, optimize, and scale LinkedIn Ads campaigns effectively. 

And if you have any questions about LinkedIn Ads, feel free to send me a message on LinkedIn.   

Over the past 5 years, I’ve helped hundreds of B2B SaaS companies develop a strong LinkedIn Ads funnel architecture. 

This has allowed them to show up in front of the right audiences, with the right messages, at the right time, ultimately leading to more pipeline and revenue. 

I’ll be breaking down my entire methodology below.

Let’s dive in.👇

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Tip #1: Outline your variables
• Tip #2: Whiteboard your funnel
• Tip #3: Set clear campaign goals
• Tip #4: Create ads that match the funnel stage
• Tip #5: Don’t forget attribution
• Tip #6: Get efficient before getting fancy
• Tip #7: Retarget like a pro
• Tip #8: Test smart, not random
• Tip #9: Keep tabs on performance
• Tip #10: Learn, improve, repeat

Tip #1: Outline your variables

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Before you do anything else, you want to outline all your variables.  

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What audiences do you need to target? Are they actually active on LinkedIn or will you have to try with a different platform? How large are your audience sizes? How much budget do you have? What content do you have available to you and what gaps do you currently have? 

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You need to put all those pieces on the table to understand if LinkedIn is a viable channel for you in the first place. 

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If you have minimal content, a small budget, and an audience that isn’t very active on LinkedIn, you’re setting yourself up for failure. 

Tip #2: Whiteboard your funnel

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Once you have your pieces on the table, you can use Figma, Miro, or simply pen and paper (my personal preference) to start mapping out your funnel. 

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For example, let’s say you’ve created your audience and have identified that your TAM is around half a million people. But maybe your ideal ICP — which you want to start targeting with ads — is only 65K people. 

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Now, you need to ask yourself the question: what type of content would this audience find interesting and push them further down the funnel? 

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Maybe, to start, they’d want to see something funny related to a pain point they’re having. Next, they might want to see more content related to this pain point, in addition to product videos and testimonials. Eventually, they might be open to requesting a demo.

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Ultimately, you want to map out the journey that you want your prospects to take; even if they don’t follow this exact journey — which they probably won’t — doing this exercise forces you to have empathy for them, and your content ecosystem will be more likely to move the needle. 

Tip #3: Set clear campaign goals

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A goalie, defender, midfielder, and striker all have different roles and shouldn’t be judged by the same criteria. 

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The same is true for ad campaigns. 

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Top of funnel, bottom of funnel, cross-sell, upsell, and pipeline acceleration campaigns are completely different, and need to be judged by completely different metrics. 

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Before spending any money, it’s important to clearly define the KPIs for your campaigns. 

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For example, for a top of funnel campaign to a cold audience, your goal might be to maximize engagement, and you might be looking at metrics such as engagement rate and cost per engagement. 

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For a bottom of the funnel campaign, you might be assessing performance by looking at metrics such as cost per demo, cost per SQL, or cost per opportunity. 

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Defining these key metrics is essential — if you fail to define them, your leadership team might ask you to pause all your top of funnel/awareness campaigns because they haven’t generated enough demo requests 😥

Tip #4: Create ads that match the funnel stage

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A lot of people these days say things like the B2B buyer’s journey isn’t linear and the funnel isn’t actually real, and sure, that’s true, but it’s still meaningful to match the content/offer to the level of awareness of your prospect. 

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Someone who visited your LinkedIn company page 11 months ago probably shouldn’t be seeing the same content as someone who visited your pricing page yesterday. 

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With the ads in the cold layer, you’re showing up unannounced in someone’s feed, and you’re simply looking to pique their curiosity. 

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Once they’ve engaged with you multiple times, you can start being a bit more direct (promoting demos, trials, sign ups, etc.). 

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Aside from the funnel stage, you also might want to segment your ads by persona — for example, CFOs, salespeople, and product people will all care about different things, and should be seeing customized messaging based on their needs and concerns. 

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One caveat: you have to be careful to not make your audience too small. 

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If you segment by region, funnel stage, and persona, you may not have a large enough audience size to run a campaign. 

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If this happens, you’ll have to triage and decide which targeting criteria to prioritize. 

Tip #5: Don’t forget attribution

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This might seem basic but it has to be said. 

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You don’t need a super complex attribution setup, but you do want to have an idea of what campaigns are driving an incremental lift in pipeline. 

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If you don’t have access to an attribution tool like Dreamdata or HockeyStack, here’s a simple way to start doing this: 

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For high-value conversions (ie qualified lead, demo request, or opportunity), in addition to your standard last touch/last conversion event, set up a duplicate last touch/each conversion event, with a 90-day click/90-day view window and a very small value (ie 1 cent). 

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By doing this, you’ll find that some campaigns that you believed weren’t performing are actually driving — or at least influencing — a significant amount of conversions. 

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Aside from this, it’s a good idea to look at different sources to build a more complete picture of what’s working: in-platform attribution, your CRM, self-reported attribution, Gong call mentions, conversion API, the revenue attribution report, etc. 

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It’s also helpful to look at both directly attributed and blended pipeline quarter over quarter. If these numbers, along with your pipe-to-spend ratio, are consistently increasing, it’s a good indicator that your campaigns are working. 

Tip #6: Get efficient before getting fancy

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In order to be effective, you first need to be efficient. 

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I like using the example of a car: if you need to drive 50 miles, it’s going to be much more difficult if your oil hasn’t been changed, your tires are flat, and you only have a quarter tank of gas. 

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The same thing is true for LinkedIn Ads: using the LinkedIn audience network, enabling audience expansion, not leveraging exclusions, using too many exclusions, targeting too many people, not targeting enough people, using OR instead of AND or AND instead of OR, using the wrong campaign objective, choosing the wrong bid strategy, etc.

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These are issues I see all the time, and though they may seem minor, they have a huge impact on overall performance. 

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You won’t hit your pipeline and revenue targets if you don’t pay attention to the smaller details. 

Tip #7: Retarget like a pro

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Effective retargeting requires a nuanced approach. 

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Prospects who have visited your site in the past 30 days are more likely to request a demo/book a call, so it’d be appropriate for them to see ads with a more direct CTA. 

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Prospects in your general 90-day remarketing audience might be considering different products/services, so case studies, testimonials, thought leadership, and other trust-building content might push them further down the funnel. 

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People in your 180-day remarketing audience may not be in-market anymore, but you can stay in front of them for a very low cost using different LinkedIn ad formats such as text and spotlight ads. 

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If the prospects in your 90 or 180-day remarketing audiences engage with your ads and visit your site, they’ll enter the 30-day remarketing audience and see more direct demo request/book a call ads. 

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If the prospects in the 30-day remarketing audience don’t engage with your demo ads, they’ll get pulled into the 90-day remarketing layer. 

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Ultimately, by creating this remarketing ecosystem, you’ll make sure you’re A) capitalizing on people who are in-market and B) staying top of mind with prospects who aren’t ready to buy just yet. 

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To learn exactly how to set up your retargeting audiences, take a look at this retargeting blueprint. 

Tip #8: Test smart, not random

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You should be constantly testing elements in your campaigns to maximize performance: different copy, pain points, landing pages, targeting criteria, etc. 

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But you want to make sure that all your tests are both meaningful and insightful. 

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For example, testing a blue creative vs. a red creative wouldn’t be meaningful; instead, you’d want to test more significant elements, e.g. testing one messaging angle vs. another, or testing a native audience vs. an ABM audience. 

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Also, it’s important to conduct proper A/B tests — they’re called A/B tests and not A/B/C/D/E/F/G tests for a reason 😅— to extract accurate insights from your experimentation. If you’re simultaneously testing copy, creatives, pain points, landing pages, and targeting, you’ll have no idea what led to an improvement in results. 

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Pro tip: To ensure that your tests are both meaningful and insightful, you can use this simple experimentation formula If we do X, I believe Y, as measured by Z. 

Tip #9: Keep tabs on performance

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This is another tip that might seem obvious, but is often overlooked. 

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If you’re testing campaigns with different audiences, you need to keep a close eye on which audience performs better. 

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If you’re testing two ads with different messaging angles, you need to see which ad has more engagement and a higher CTR. 

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If you’re testing two different landing pages, you need to see which page has the most engaged visits and conversions. 

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To be clear, I’m advocating for keeping a close eye on performance — not constantly tweaking things in your account.

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If you’ve set your campaigns up strategically, you don’t need to be making changes every day, and want to give LinkedIn’s algorithm the time to optimize and learn. 

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Pro Tip: I typically recommend allowing an ad to spend around $100 before shutting it down — sometimes, an ad that starts out slow can end up being a top-performer. 

Tip #10: Learn, improve, repeat

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With ad campaigns, you never reach a final destination; in other words, your job is never finished. 

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If your ads performed well this quarter, you’ll need to find a way to improve performance the following quarter. 

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You’ll have to sit down and ask yourself:

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1. What worked well that we should continue doing in the future?

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2. What didn’t go well that we should pause moving forward? 

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3. Based on what we’ve learned, are there any new tests that could move the needle and improve results?

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If you aren’t constantly improving, you’ll likely get left behind by the competition. 

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Hope you found this article helpful! 

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‍If you’re looking to learn more about LinkedIn Ads, check out these free LinkedIn Ads courses, that will teach you how to launch, optimize, and scale LinkedIn Ads campaigns effectively. 

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And if you have any questions about LinkedIn Ads, feel free to send me a message on LinkedIn.   

Running Google Ads today isn’t the same as running Google Ads in 2015. 

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What years ago was a winning strategy no longer is, and will only lead to headaches, poor leads, and wasted spend. 

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Many marketers have already abandoned Google entirely, claiming that it doesn’t work anymore or it’s a waste of money — but this, in my experience, isn’t true. 

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Over the past few years, I’ve helped B2B SaaS companies such as Dreamdata, Airtame, and Templafy drive millions in revenue through Google Ads, and have developed a repeatable strategy to maximize performance. 

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I’ll be sharing my tips for success below 👇

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Tip#1: Set up quality conversion tracking
• Tip #2: Consolidate your campaigns and ad groups
• Tip #3: Focus on exclusions
• Tip #4: Create fast and relevant landing pages
• Tip #5: Leverage smart bidding
• Tip #6: Decrease the amount of RSAs per ad group 
• Tip #7: Pin you headlines
• Tip #8: Don’t forget about device adjustments
• Tip #9: Figure out whether you should bid on your own brand or not
• Tip #10: Separate Brand and Non-Brand in your reporting
• Bonus tip: Dive deeper into your performance by country

Tip #1: Set up quality conversion tracking

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Many companies are simply tracking form submits, without paying attention to lead quality. This makes optimization challenging, both for the performance marketer managing the account and for the Google Ads algorithm. 

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To improve performance, make sure you send all the lifecycle stages from your CRM back into the Google Ads platform — this might look like MQLs, SALs, opportunities, etc. — and assign higher values to higher value conversions, so that Google’s algorithm understands what to optimize for. 

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If you’re using HubSpot as a CRM, this process will be very simple, as your Click IDs will automatically be captured without requiring a manual setup. 

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If you’re using a different CRM, you’ll need to manually push your click IDs into your CRM using hidden fields — this process might seem complicated, but you should be able to find a marketing operations specialist on Upwork that can help you with the initial setup. 

Tip #2: Consolidate your campaigns and ad groups

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In the past, when exact match was still exact, SKAGs (single keyword ad groups) made sense. 

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By including one keyword per ad group and using that keyword in the ad and landing page copy, you could improve your overall quality score. 

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Now that exact match is a lot less exact, this approach doesn’t make sense anymore. 

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These days, consolidation is the way to win — by grouping relevant keywords into the same ad group, we give the Google Ads algorithm more data points to make optimizations. 

Tip #3: Focus on exclusions

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With exact match being less exact, exclusions are now more important than inclusions. 

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In other words, instead of trying to come up with hundreds of keywords to include in your campaigns, it’s better to spend your time excluding hundreds of irrelevant keywords. 

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For example, maybe you want to show up for the keyword customer journey tracking, but notice in your search terms report that you’re consistently showing up for the term customer journey mapping, which isn’t relevant to your core offering. By excluding different variations of customer journey mapping, you’ll be able to improve your overall targeting and get in front of more relevant prospects. 

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Pro tip: In the Google Ads reporting section, you can easily create a search terms report and schedule it to be emailed to you on a weekly basis. This will allow you to be more proactive about making exclusions in your account. 

Tip #4: Create fast and relevant landing pages

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Landing pages are one of the most overlooked aspects of Google Ads performance. 

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If they aren’t loading quickly, Google will lower your quality score and it will be nearly impossible to get in front of your prospects. Before launching any campaign, double check that your landing pages are loading quickly on both mobile and desktop devices. 

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Next, make sure your landing page is as closely related as possible to the keywords in your ad group. For a product analytics ad group, you’d want your landing page to focus on product analytics. For a marketing analytics ad group, you’d want your landing page to focus on marketing analytics.

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Take a look at the customized landing pages below:

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This message match will improve your quality score and will also improve the relevance for your prospects, leading to better performance. 

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I know that creating new landing pages can be a heavy lift, especially if you have a small team. If this is the case, I recommend duplicating an existing landing page and simply modifying the hero section. Once you start seeing some initial traction from this simple landing page, you can put in the extra effort to create a fully customized experience. 

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Pro tip: To check the speed of your landing pages, you can use a free tool such as PageSpeed Insights. 

Tip #5: Leverage Smart Bidding

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Sometimes, smart bidding doesn’t make sense. For example, if you’re starting a new campaign and have zero conversions, it’s a better idea to start with manual CPC or maximize clicks with a bid cap. 

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However, once you have 10+ conversions per campaign, you’ll typically see better performance if you switch over to smart bidding and let Google optimize for you. 

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This wasn’t always the case — in the past, Google’s algorithm was much less sophisticated, and you were better off trying to control every single bid adjustment. 

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But these days, you’ll usually see more traffic and an increase in conversions by letting go of control, as long as you’re feeding Google high quality signals from your CRM. 

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As with everything in marketing, there are exceptions, and there are instances where you’ll switch to smart bidding and your CPCs will skyrocket 😨

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If this happens, consider testing a portfolio bidding strategy with a target CPA and a bid cap — this will mimic max conversions bidding while giving you more control over the cost per click. 

Tip #6: Decrease the amount of RSAs per ad group

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Most people think that having more responsive search ads = more variations for Google = better performance. 

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But the opposite is actually true. 

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Let’s say you create 3 RSAs, and have 15 headlines per ad. This means that Google will have to test 45 different headlines until it finds a winning combination, which could take years 😅

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If you only include 1 RSA per ad group (maximum two), your headlines will be tested much faster and Google will be able to find a winning combination more easily, minimizing wasted spend and improving overall results. 

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Pro tip: If you have a small budget, you might want to take things a step further, and test 6-9 headlines instead of 15. This way, Google will be able to test all the headlines in a matter of weeks (not years). 

Tip #7: Pin your headlines

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There’s still a lot of debate around pinning vs not pinning headlines. 

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Some people say that pinning is a bad idea, since it will negatively impact your ad strength, but ultimately, Google’s ad strength has no bearing on performance. 

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I’ve seen more success with pinning because it makes your headlines more legible — if your ads are clear and searchers have a better understanding of what your company does, you’ll see an improvement in performance. 

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If your headlines are redundant — as often happens with unpinned headlines, which leads to words like Google Ads agency and Google Ads consultant being next to each other — prospects are less likely to trust you, and much less likely to click. 

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Here’s the exact formula that I like to follow for my headlines:

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Headline 1: Include your target keyword to maximize relevance

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Headline 2: Include unique selling points or social proof

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Headline 3: Include your company name or a relevant CTA

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For each headline, I like to create 2-3 variations that Google can test. 

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Pro tip: Spend most of your time crafting headlines 1 and 2. Headline 3 is much less important these days, as Google rarely displays it in the SERP. 

Tip #8: Don’t forget about device adjustments

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Oftentimes, certain devices will significantly outperform others. 

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For example, if you see that 20% of your spend and 90% of your conversions are happening on desktop, you might want to add a negative bid adjustment to mobile devices or tablets, in order to increase the budget allocated to desktop. 

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You could argue that mobile impressions are still valuable, and that decreasing spend on mobile could negatively impact performance if people are researching on their phones and then converting on desktop, but based on my experience, it’s best to work with the data that’s available to you — if a certain device is converting at a higher rate, I would recommend adding negative bid adjustments to the other devices. 

Tip #9: Figure out whether you should bid on your own brand or not

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Running brand campaigns vs not running them at all is a controversial topic. 

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Some people say that the impact of brand campaigns is minimal — prospects were already looking for you and may have converted organically — and that they simply exist to inflate performance marketing metrics. 

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However, in my experience, this isn’t the case, and it usually is a good idea to run brand campaigns to protect your brand, especially if competitors are bidding on your company name. 

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Back when I was working at Momondo, a B2C company, we were driving a ton of revenue from competitive campaigns, bidding on our competitor, Kayak, who wasn’t running brand campaigns to protect themselves. 

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Now, you might be thinking: sure, that’s B2C, but in B2B, especially enterprise B2B, you probably won’t change the course of a deal with a single ad. 

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But from what I’ve seen with my B2B clients, this isn’t true — my clients have driven a significant amount of revenue by bidding on competitor terms, which validates that bidding on your own terms to protect yourself is a good idea. 

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Check out the example from Mixpanel below. If they didn’t bid on their own brand name, competitors like Pendo and Heap might end up stealing some of their prospects. 

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If you’re undecided about whether you should run brand campaigns or not, you can run a holdout study. 

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Stop running brand campaigns in a specific region — maybe start with one of your less important regions — and see if the amount of demos or trials goes down. If it does, you can assume that you’re losing out on pipeline and revenue by not bidding on your own terms. 

Tip #10: Separate Brand and Non-Brand in your reporting

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Brand and non-brand campaigns are completely different. 

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Brand campaigns are defensive. Someone already found out about your brand through other marketing efforts, and they’re looking for you specifically — you’re bidding on your own name in order to protect your brand from competitors trying to steal your traffic. 

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On the other hand, non-brand campaigns are offensive. You’re trying to show up for relevant solutions that your prospects might be looking for, and you’re trying to drive interest from a colder audience. 

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In other words, getting a conversion on a non-brand campaign is significantly more challenging than driving a conversion on a brand campaign; you need to separate these campaign types in your reporting to truly understand what’s working. 

Bonus tip: Dive deeper into your performance by country

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Most companies and ad agencies tend to look at performance by region, but completely ignore performance by country, which results in inefficient spending. 

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For example, if you’re targeting France, Italy, Spain, DACH, Nordics, and the UK in the same campaign, if you drill down and analyze performance by country, you might realize that all your spend is going to the southern European countries, which typically have more affordable CPCs. 

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And if you look further down the funnel, you might see that Spain, DACH, and Nordics are generating a lot of form submissions, but that all your pipeline is actually coming from the UK. 

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Ultimately, you want to ask yourself: 

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1. Are any countries cannibalizing my spend and do they need to be separated into different campaigns?

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2. Are there countries that aren’t generating any form submissions that we might want to pause?

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3. Are there countries that are generating submissions but never convert into pipeline that we might want to invest less money in?

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If you ask yourself these questions consistently, you’ll be in a much better position than 99% of companies.

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Hope you found this article helpful! 

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If you’re looking to learn more about Google Ads, check out these free Google Ads courses, that will teach you how to launch, optimize, and scale Google Ads campaigns effectively. 

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And if you have any questions about Google Ads or paid media in general, feel free to reach out on LinkedIn. 

If you’re a marketer with some paid media experience, you’ve likely heard the same LinkedIn Ads advice many times: disable audience expansion, turn off the LinkedIn audience network, use manual bidding, etc. 

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This is all great advice, but following it doesn’t guarantee success – as the LinkedIn Ads market becomes increasingly saturated, it takes a more advanced approach to be successful.

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Below, I’ll be sharing some less common strategies that my LinkedIn Ads agency has used to generate millions in revenue, and that you can implement to take your LinkedIn Ads performance to the next level.  

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Tip #1: Leverage the LinkedIn Insight Tag
• Tip #2: Implement a solid paid search strategy
• Tip #3: Review the intent of your search terms on Google
• Tip #4: Use video
• Tip #5: Communicate with your sales team
• Tip #6: Have a monthly and quarterly maintenance plan
• Tip #7: Experiment with organic content
• Tip #8: Use thought leader ads
• Tip #9: Leverage ad scheduling
• Tip #10: Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to connect with your ICP
• Conclusion

Tip #1: Leverage the LinkedIn Insight Tag

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This might sound silly, but I think it’s important to say it: Make sure you’re leveraging the LinkedIn Insight Tag to its full potential. 

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I’ve audited so many accounts where the insight tag isn’t installed and all the spend is going to cold audiences, and I’ve also seen accounts where the tag is installed, but the right audiences haven’t been set up. 

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As soon as you create your account, set up your 30, 90, and 180-day website visits remarketing audiences – these audiences are extremely high value and aren’t retroactive. 

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In other words, if you set them up 6 months after creating your account, you’ll miss out on 6 months of website traffic that you could retarget 😢

If you haven’t installed the insight tag already, check out this tutorial.

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And for a full breakdown of the remarketing audiences you can create in LinkedIn Campaign Manager, take a look at this comprehensive guide. 

Tip #2: Implement a solid paid search strategy

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One of the best ways to improve your LinkedIn Ads results is to implement a solid paid search strategy – this could be Google Ads, Bing, or another paid listing. 

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Although LinkedIn’s targeting capabilities are incredible, you’re typically reaching a colder audience that isn’t actively searching for your solution, and have to take them from unaware to aware before driving conversions, which means longer sales cycles. 

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Meanwhile, with paid search, you can target people who are looking for your exact solution or researching the pain points you solve and shopping for vendors/solutions. 

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By running search ads and then retargeting with LinkedIn Ads, you can stay in front of in-market, warm audiences that are already problem and brand-aware, and significantly shorten your sales cycle. You can even qualify this in-market search traffic by layering in LinkedIn’s demographic and firmographic targeting filters on top of your warm website traffic to only retarget high-fit prospects. 

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Pro tip: If you’re investing a lot of money in paid search (30K+/month), you might be able to create a custom LinkedIn Ads remarketing audience with the UTM source “paid_search”, or “cpc”, or “google”. This way, you’ll only retarget high-intent prospects who have already clicked on your search campaigns. 

Tip #3: Review the intent of your search terms on Google

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There’s no point in running search campaigns if you’re not getting in front of your ICP.

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If you’re a performance marketer working at an agency, make sure you communicate with in-house marketers to confirm you’re showing up for the right search terms – their feedback is essential, because they know their business and ICP better than you do. 

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To make things simple, send the team a search terms report bi-weekly or monthly, and ask for feedback on what to exclude. 

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By doing this, you’ll improve the quality of your Google Ads traffic, and also significantly improve the quality of your LinkedIn Ads remarketing audiences. 

Tip #4: Use video

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Video is one of the most impactful formats on LinkedIn, as it allows you to build trust, communicate your value, and showcase your personality more effectively than images. 

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If you work at a service-based company, you can steal the exact strategy I use at my agency:

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1. Target your cold audience with videos that clearly describe what you do and what problems you solve – these videos don’t have to be super exciting, but they do have to be relevant to the right audience and weed out people who aren’t in your ICP. 

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2. In remarketing, use clips of yourself speaking on well-known podcasts – this will help you build more credibility with your ICP and make them more likely to reach out. 

If you‘re selling a product instead of a service, run video ads showcasing how leaders in your industry use your product to solve their problems – this third-party validation is extremely powerful and has helped my SaaS clients generate millions in revenue over the past few years. 

Tip #5: Communicate with your sales team

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There’s no point in having great CPCs, CTRs, and CPLs if the sales team has no interest in working with your leads. 

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At minimum, I’d recommend meeting with your sales team once a month to go over your lead quality – these conversations will help you refine your targeting and exclusions, and minimize the amount of ad dollars being wasted. 

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In addition to this monthly check-in, you can go one step further and set up automated lead alerts in Slack (using Zapier). When these alerts come in, your sales team can react – thumbs up for a good lead and thumbs down for a bad one – and you can use these reactions to get real-time feedback and make quick pivots in targeting. 

Tip #6: Have a monthly and quarterly maintenance plan

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This might seem a bit boring, but it’s important to have a monthly and quarterly maintenance plan for your account – the same way you have a maintenance plan for your car or for your health. 

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For example, if you launched new video campaigns, did you create video view audiences and add them to your remarketing campaigns? Is your insight tag still active and picking up website traffic? Is your ad budget staying on LinkedIn and not being wasted on the LinkedIn audience network? Are your conversion events still functional, or do you have to update them due to changes in your website URLs? 

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Without these consistent checks, things can easily go awry and you can waste thousands or even millions of dollars. 

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Here’s the exact maintenance checklist that we use with our clients – feel free to make a copy and use it for your own accounts. 

Tip #7: Experiment with organic content

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If a piece of content performs well organically, it will most likely also perform well as an ad. 

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Use organic social media as a testing ground – test different pain points, messages, formats, and styles, on both personal accounts and your company page, and make note of what’s attracting meaningful DMs and high-quality leads. 

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Once your posts have received a solid amount of engagement, you can boost them to your ICP and turn them into evergreen assets that will continue to generate inbound leads with minimal effort. 

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By maximizing distribution via paid, you’ll improve your organic performance, and by testing new concepts via organic social, you’ll improve the ROI on your paid media efforts. 

Tip #8: Use thought leader ads

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Posts from thought leaders will consistently outperform ads from company pages. This is partially due to a mindset shift – when we post from our personal pages our reputation is on the line, so we try to be less promotional and more helpful. 

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That being said, even if you promote the same exact post from a company page vs a thought leader’s page, the thought leader ad will typically perform better – this confirms that the saying is true: people want to buy from people, not companies. 

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By running thought leader ads, you can expect to see: 

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1. Increased engagements, which will allow you to build your remarketing audiences more quickly

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2. An increase in LinkedIn DMs from qualified prospects

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3. A spike in organic search traffic

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4. An incremental lift in conversions (my agency saw a 15-20% increase)

Pro tip: Experiment with different types of thought leader ads (videos, images, text, custom graphics) and double down on whatever works best. 

Tip #9: Leverage ad scheduling

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LinkedIn Ads start running on UTC time (8 p.m. EST), which means that a lot of companies are spending their money at nighttime and run out of budget by 5 or 6 a.m. – this leads to poor performance, as prospects are typically not as receptive to ads at these hours. 

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With ad scheduling, you can ensure that your ads are showing up at the right times. 

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For my agency, I like to run ads from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST, pause in the afternoons, and restart in the evenings. For you, this schedule might look a bit different, based on when your ICP is most active. 

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In addition to scheduling, it can also be interesting to experiment with ad rotation, especially if you’re a smaller company with limited budget. 

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For example, you could run 3 campaigns on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and 3 different campaigns on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. 

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Typically, to run 6 campaigns you’d need a budget of at least $60/day (due to LinkedIn’s $10/day per campaign minimum), but with ad rotation, you’d only need $30/day – in other words, your budget would go a longer way and you’d be able to reach more audiences. 

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Ad scheduling and rotation may not be necessary if you have a massive budget and are targeting a broad audience, but it can make a huge difference if you’re spending under $30K/month and want to make the most of your budget. 

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To get started with ad scheduling and ad rotation, you can use DemandSense, a tool that we developed at my agency.

Tip #10: Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to connect with your ICP

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If you’re experimenting with LinkedIn organic, paid, and thought leader ads, it’s a great idea to connect with your LinkedIn profile visitors to maximize the impact of your efforts. 

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Here’s exactly how you can do this:

1. Set up a filter in LinkedIn Sales Navigator for people who have visited your profile, aren’t connected with you (2nd or 3rd degree connections), and fit your ICP criteria (right company size + seniority level)

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2. Send connection requests to these people on a weekly basis – in my experience, it’s best to send blank connection requests to avoid coming across as a salesperson

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3. Once your connection request has been accepted, send a simple intro message such as: Hey X, saw you checked out my profile and thought it would be good to connect. If you ever have any questions about LinkedIn Ads or want to talk about B2B marketing, let me know. Here's the link to some resources that people commonly ask me for: [insert valuable link]

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With this approach, I typically see about a 60% acceptance rate, and I always get a lot of follow up questions, such as: Do you work for X company? Have you experienced X problem? 

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Plus, a lot of prospects end up visiting my company website, which means that I can stay in front of them for a longer period of time, since they get pulled into my LinkedIn remarketing audience. 

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Pro tip: You can start by doing this process manually with LinkedIn Sales Navigator, but you can also automate and simplify the process by using a tool like PhantomBuster. 

Conclusion

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Even if you’re doing everything right on LinkedIn – communicating with sales, using video, experimenting with organic social, amplifying your thought leadership, etc. – don’t expect to see tons of demos and opportunities right away. 

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Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and email are very transactional channels, but LinkedIn Ads are more similar to SEO – it takes time to see results but your efforts will pay dividends down the road. 

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Hope you found this article helpful!

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‍Feel free to reach out with any questions about LinkedIn Ads or paid media. 

Most B2B SaaS companies have a two-dimensional approach to paid media: prospecting campaigns to generate awareness, remarketing campaigns to capture demand. 

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This isn't necessarily wrong, but there are so many more possibilities, such as moving existing open deals faster to close – this is called pipeline acceleration.

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As a Demand Marketing Manager at Unmuted, I've helped my B2B SaaS clients drive revenue through pipeline acceleration.

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Here are my 10 tips on how to make this playbook work for you 👇

‍‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Tip #1: Communicate the goal to your internal stakeholders
• Tip #2: Start targeting your open opportunities with LinkedIn Ads
• Tip #3: Tailor your messaging to different personas
• Tip #4: Measure the impact of your campaigns
• Tip #5: Don’t forget to exclude your customers
• Tip #6: Apply the same playbook to upsells and cross-sells
• Tip #7: Incorporate different channels into the mix
• Tip #8: Use thought leader ads
• Tip #9: Leverage signals to understand how deals are progressing
• Tip #10: Use insights from closed lost campaigns to tweak your strategy

Tip #1: Communicate the goal to your internal stakeholders

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Before running any pipeline acceleration campaigns, make sure your executive team understands that the goal is NOT to drive new opportunities, but to increase the rate (and speed) at which open opportunities turn into revenue. 

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This might seem basic, but without this alignment, your campaigns may be considered a failure and paused prematurely, even if they’re extremely successful. 

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Tip #2: Start targeting your open opportunities with LinkedIn Ads

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Once you have buy-in from internal stakeholders, I recommend getting started with LinkedIn Ads. 

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For your targeting, you can create a dynamic list of open opportunities in HubSpot and connect it to LinkedIn Campaign Manager. And if you’re using another CRM, such as Salesforce, you can send your open opportunities to LinkedIn Campaign Manager via Zapier. 

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On top of this company list of open opportunities, you’ll want to layer on job titles within your DMU (decision-making unit) – these are all the people that may be involved in sales conversations. 

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For example, if you’re selling an attribution tool, you might want to reach RevOps, Marketing, Sales, and Business Development job titles at your target accounts. 

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Marketing job titles (VP of Marketing, Head of Demand Gen, Chief Marketing Officer) will likely push the deal forward, but other departments will need to sign off in order for a purchase to be made. By building trust within all these key departments, you’ll increase the likelihood of a deal moving over the finish line. 

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Pro tip: If you don’t have a massive list of open opportunities, you may not be able to layer on job titles, as your audience size will be too small. If you run into this issue, try using job function targeting instead.

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Tip #3: Tailor your messaging to different personas

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If you have a large enough audience size to do so, consider creating different campaigns for each persona within your DMU (decision-making unit). For example: 

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Campaign 1: Open opportunity companies + Marketing job titles

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Campaign 2: Open opportunity companies + Finance job titles

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Campaign 3: Open opportunity companies + Sales job titles

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By separating these different personas into different campaigns, you can create messaging that’s more relevant to each department – marketing ads could focus on measurement, finance ads could focus on revenue, sales ads could focus on closing more deals, etc. 

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With more tailored messaging, your ads are more likely to resonate and leave an impression on different departments. 

Tip #4: Measure the impact of your campaigns

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Once your campaigns are live, you need a way to measure (and prove) that they’re working. 

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Here’s how I recommend doing it:

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1. When a deal closes, go to the Companies tab in LinkedIn Campaign Manager and see how many impressions (and engagements) the Closed Won company received. If you see a lot of impressions and engagements, it’s safe to assume that your ads played a role in the eventual conversion. 

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2. To take things up a level, consider using a tool like Fibbler, which sends ad impressions on a company level back into HubSpot – this will allow both your marketing and sales team to see how many ads companies saw before making a purchase. 

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3. If you have a larger budget, consider investing in a tool like Dreamdata or HockeyStack, which will provide more details on the incremental lift driven by your pipeline acceleration campaigns. 

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4. For a true A/B test, manually split your open opportunities into two different groups, and expose only one of them to the pipeline acceleration ads. Are the exposed companies closing faster and at a higher rate? 

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5. To further understand the impact of your campaigns, ask the POC of your new customers if they happened to see your ads, and if those ads influenced their decision in any capacity. 

Tip #5: Don’t forget to exclude your customers

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This is simple, but extremely important: Don’t forget to exclude new customers from your pipeline acceleration campaigns. 

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If your customers continue seeing ads from your company during their onboarding phase, you may end up annoying them, in addition to throwing money down the drain. 

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Making these exclusions is straightforward: when a company transitions from opportunity to closed won in HubSpot, they should be added to a new dynamic list of customers, which can be connected to LinkedIn Campaign Manager and added as an exclusion list in your pipeline acceleration campaigns. 

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If you’re using a different CRM, the process is similar, you’ll just have to make the connection through Zapier instead. 

Tip #6: Apply the same playbook to upsells and cross-sells

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Once this playbook is working well for pipeline acceleration, you can apply it (with a few modifications) to upsells and cross-sells. 

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For example, if you launch a new product, you could target a list of all your existing customers highlighting its capabilities, and outlining how it will enhance their existing workflows. Check out an example from ZoomInfo below: 

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The possibilities are endless once you understand the fundamentals of LinkedIn’s targeting – any lifecycle stage can be targeted with relevant content and offers. 

Tip #7: Incorporate different channels into the mix

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Once LinkedIn Ads are working well for you, consider adding other channels and strategies into the mix to create a sense of omnipresence. 

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For example, maybe you could test Meta or Reddit retargeting ads (depending on where your audience spends the most time). 

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It’s also a great idea to leverage LinkedIn organic, to expand your reach beyond paid ads. 

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Your Head of Sales, Chief Commercial Officer, members of your marketing team, and other employees who are consistently posting on LinkedIn can connect with people within the DMU (Decision-making unit) at your open opportunity companies – this way, they’ll be seeing content from your organization constantly, and you’ll be top of mind throughout the entire sales process. 

Tip #8: Use thought leader ads

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To maximize the impact of your ads, you ideally want your team to be posting relevant content on LinkedIn, and you can take things to the next level by running thought leader ads, boosting the top performing posts from your team members to your list of open opportunities. 

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For example, if your Head of Sales makes a post related to the capabilities of your product and it goes viral, you can put some ad spend behind this post, targeting all your open opps – this will serve as great social proof, reassuring members of the DMU that working with your company is the right decision. 

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The added benefit of thought leader ads is that they don’t look like ads at all, and typically drive more interest and engagement than standard company ads. 

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Here’s a good example from Sendoso:

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Tip #9: Leverage signals to understand how deals are progressing

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To understand how deals are progressing, take a look at the signals that are available to you. 

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Is a specific company seeing your ads a lot? Are they engaging frequently? Are they going a step further and visiting your website? (you can easily see this using a tool like Warmly, LeadInfo, or Leadfeeder)

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If you’re in the US and have access to person-level identification tools, you can even see some of the people that are visiting your site. For example, if the CFO, CMO, and CTO are all visiting your website, you can infer that the deal is progressing rapidly and chances of a purchase are high. 

Tip #10: Use insights from closed lost campaigns to tweak your strategy

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Keep a close eye on closed lost deals and look for recurring patterns. 

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Are you consistently losing on pricing, timing, or to a specific competitor? 

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This is great intel for messaging in future pipeline acceleration campaigns – if you can get ahead of potential objections, the likelihood of an opportunity closing is significantly greater. 

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For example, let’s say you’re reviewing a year of data and notice that you lost most of your deals to a specific competitor. 

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In your future pipeline acceleration campaigns, you might want to run competitive ads, highlighting the benefits of choosing your product. This might help prospects who are thinking of working with your competitor choose to work with your company instead.  

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Here’s a great example from Cognism: 

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Hope you found this article helpful!

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‍‍Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn with any questions about pipeline acceleration, paid media strategy, or B2B marketing. 

Over the past five years, I’ve helped B2B SaaS companies like Clickhouse, WildSparq and EventsAir drive millions in pipeline and revenue through SEO. 

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My lesser-known strategies have been featured by CXL, Ahrefs, The Marketing Millennials and more.

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Along the way, I’ve developed an SEO playbook that B2B SaaS companies can follow (step by step) to start seeing high quality inbound leads in a matter of months. 

‍

I’ll be breaking down my entire process below 👇

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Tip #1: Define Your Money Keywords
• Tip #2: Understand What's Already Ranking
• Tip #3: Build a Best-in-Class Page
• Tip #4: Nail the basics
• Tip #5: Build Quality Backlinks for $0
• Tip #6: Publish At Scale
• Tip #7: Design Pages That Convert
• Tip #8: Leverage sales calls, customer success calls, and customer research
• Tip #9: Keep Improving
• Tip #10: Scale as you grow

Tip #1: Define Your Money Keywords

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Most B2B SaaS companies see SEO as a checkbox on their to-do list. 

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The CMO or CRO says, “Competitors are outranking us, we need to do some SEO.”

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And marketers, who are already juggling a million different tasks, simply go to Semrush or Ahrefs, find some keywords with low difficulty and high search volume, throw them into ChatGPT, and publish a few articles. 

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Unsurprisingly, this doesn’t yield inbound leads and has minimal impact on revenue. 

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For SEO to actually drive results, you need to focus on the keywords that your dream clients are searching, or what I like to call “money keywords.”

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Here’s a matrix that you can use to identify them: 

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Column 1: Make a list of your main offers (ie calendar scheduling)

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Column 2: Make a list of the industries you serve best (ie sales, HR, marketing, etc.)

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‍Column 3: Make a list of your main competitors (ie Chili Piper, Calendly, HubSpot)

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Column 4: Make a list of the problems you solve, or jobs to be done (ie struggling to route leads efficiently)

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Now, you can use these columns to create high-intent long-tail keywords. For example: 

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1. Best calendar scheduling software

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2. Calendar scheduling for sales teams

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3. Chili Piper alternatives

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4. How to route leads more efficiently

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Keep in mind, these “money keywords” will probably have a low search volume, and that’s okay. At the end of the day, you want traffic that will convert into pipeline, not a large number of visitors outside of your ICP. 

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When you’re doing this exercise, make sure to involve your founder (if you’re a smaller founder-led company) or your sales team (if you’re a larger sales-led organization) – they’ll likely have great insights related to the problems you solve. 

Tip #2: Understand What’s Already Ranking 

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Now that you’ve identified those money keywords, type them into Google to see what type of content is already ranking organically. 

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For example, if you type in “Chili Piper alternatives” you’ll find that the top organic search results are something along the lines of “Top 10 Chili Piper alternatives to consider”, or what is commonly referred to as a product listicle. 

Look through these existing articles and think about what your company can do even better. Can you include a comparative table or social proof, and clearly demonstrate why you’re the best without sounding overly biased?

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Or, if you’re creating an article on how to speed up the lead routing process, look at the guides at the top of the SERP and think: 

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How can I create similar articles that are even more helpful? How can I demonstrate greater experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness?

Maybe it’s by going much more in-depth, or weaving in relevant videos, or highlighting screenshots of your product. 

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Pro tip: Don’t be afraid of highlighting your product throughout your articles. As marketers, we often worry about sounding too promotional, but the truth is, you need to show that your product is the obvious solution to a problem in order to drive revenue. 

Tip #3: Build a Best-in-Class Page 

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Once you’ve researched what top-ranking pages are doing, it’s time to figure out how to blow them out of the water. 

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If you’re creating a listicle, can you add better visuals, weave in your product more, or add relevant CTAs? 

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If it’s a how-to article, can you link to a lead magnet or a YouTube video with more helpful context? 

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If it’s a landing page, can you add a more comprehensive FAQ section that answers all of your prospect’s questions?

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Pro tip: Always consider where your prospect might be in their journey based on their search query. For a more top of funnel how-to article, you can include more subtle CTAs and connections to your product, while for a competitor comparison article, it makes more sense to include a clear demo request CTA. 

Tip #4: Nail the basics

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Technical SEO is important for e-commerce sites with thousands of pages, but most B2B SaaS websites (which are often 50 pages or less) don’t need a ton of technical SEO to win. 

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Sure, you still need the basics. 

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For example, let’s say you write an article related to the keyword “Best calendar scheduling software.”

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You’d want your slug to be “best-calendar-scheduling-software”; you’d want to include your keyword in your H1, meta title, and meta description; and you’d want to incorporate the keyword naturally throughout your article.

You’d also want good UX, a clear menu nav, solid design and UI on both mobile and PC, some internal links to relevant topics throughout your website, and some other pages linking back to your article. 

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That’s really all you need. 

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After you have these basics in place, focus on producing a high volume of content that’s relevant to your prospects, and don’t lose sleep over technical optimizations. 

Tip #5: Build Quality Backlinks for $0

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Even if you have the best content, ranking for your dream keywords isn’t easy, especially if your competitors have been around for decades and have extremely high domain authorities. 

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To compete against the giants and set yourself up for success, you need high quality backlinks to your website. 

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Here’s one of my favorite ways to get them:

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1. Go to Semrush or Ahrefs, whichever keyword research tool you prefer, and paste the LinkedIn profile URLs of your thought leaders (Founder or other execs) into the backlinks tab. 

2. In the results, you’ll find a list of all the articles featuring your thought leaders and linking out to their LinkedIn profiles. 

3. Message these companies and see if they can update the articles to link to your website, not just to the LinkedIn profile URL. Even better if you can get a backlink to one of your high-intent pages. 

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After doing this, you can go a step further and visit the podcast search engine Listen Notes, type in your niche (ie B2B ads, recruitment, sales enablement), filter by top podcasts in your space, and make a list on a Google sheet. 

Next, have your thought leaders reach out to the podcast hosts via LinkedIn. 

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The message can be short and simple, such as: Hey Sam, enjoyed your recent episode on X, had an unusual idea for your show. Are you against a conversation?

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From my experience, around 20% of hosts will respond, and your thought leaders will start getting featured on amazing podcasts, which will eventually lead to more backlinks to the company website. 

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Pro Tip: To start seeing results quickly, aim to send 5-10 messages per week to podcast hosts in your space. 

Tip #6: Publish At Scale

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With SEO, quality matters, but quantity is a massive competitive advantage. 

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Larger companies are spending a lot of money on ads, content marketing, and events, but they typically have a ton of red tape. 

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They may take two weeks to approve a topic, a month to plan out the content, a month for design, a month for web development, a month to publish… Which is to say, by the time they’ve published 2 or 3 pages, you could have published 30, 40, or 50 quality articles, and started stealing some of the market share. 

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To start seeing results, publish as much content as possible focused on your money keywords (occasionally weaving in more top of funnel content). 

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Also, remember, unless you’re a super authoritative company, it’ll usually take 2-3 months for Google to crawl your pages, so the content you publish today is setting you up for success 90 days from now. 

Tip #7: Design Pages That Convert

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If you’re investing a lot of money in content, make sure you also invest in great design. The better the user experience, the more likely you are to drive conversions. 

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Here are some questions to ask yourself:

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• Are your pages aesthetically pleasing?
• Is your content skimmable on both mobile and PC?
• Are you including screenshots, videos, or aha moments that relate to your product?
• Can you add more social proof (customer quotes, guides, walkthroughs) to increase trust?
• Are you sprinkling relevant CTAs throughout your content? 
• Can you add sticky CTAs that are aligned with the funnel stage of each article (ie subscribe to newsletter for more top of funnel articles, request a demo for more bottom of funnel content)?

These changes, which might seem small, can lead to massive improvements in performance. 

Tip #8: Leverage sales calls, customer success calls, and customer research

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You can rank pages using generic AI-generated content that says things like “turbocharge your revenue” or “10X your productivity,” but prospects will immediately bounce. 

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If you want them to stay on your page – and possibly even schedule a demo – you need to write in-depth content that resonates with their exact pain points. 

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Looking at customer research and listening to calls is a great starting point. Even better if you can take your sales and CS teams out to lunch, walk them through the topics you’re tackling in your content, ask for additional insights, and weave these insights into your articles. 

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This way, all the content you create will be amazing for sales enablement in addition to SEO. 

Tip #9: Keep Improving

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As I mentioned previously, to win with SEO, you need to publish content quickly – when it’s ready, not when it’s perfect. 

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That being said, you should always be looking for ways to improve the content you’ve already published. 

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About 2 or 3 months after publication, check how your article is ranking. 

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For example, let’s say you write an article, and after a few months it settles at position number 7. You could look at this article more closely, and think of ways to get it closer to number 1. 

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Could you add a more comprehensive FAQ section, embed a relevant YouTube video, add nicer images of your product, include more customer quotes, or earn a few high quality backlinks? 

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These consistent optimizations can go a long way if you want to move up in the rankings. 

Tip #10: Scale as you grow

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SEO isn’t something you can set and forget – even if you’re an established company, there’s always room for improvement. 

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Once you’ve implemented tips 1-9, think of ways you can scale your efforts even further. 

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Can you increase your article production by hiring more team members or working with freelancers? Or create incredible resources (such as custom tools) that will be highly valuable to your ICP?

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Also, don’t just think about SEO – after all, SEO is only a piece of the marketing ecosystem – think of ways to improve your ads, your YouTube channel, your podcast, your LinkedIn page, etc. 

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Improvements in all these areas will lead to greater brand awareness and trust, which will lead to more successful SEO. 

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Hope you found this article helpful!

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Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn with any questions, or check out the Breaking B2B website or Breaking B2B podcast for more unusual B2B/SaaS SEO insights.  

‍

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People Also Ask

‍

How can I effectively measure the ROI of my SEO efforts in a B2B SaaS context?

Utilize key performance indicators (KPIs) such as organic traffic growth, conversion rates, and customer acquisition costs. Implement tools like Google Analytics and CRM systems to track the journey from organic search to lead conversion and revenue generation.

‍

What are the best practices for conducting keyword research tailored to B2B SaaS audiences?

Focus on identifying high-intent keywords that align with your product’s solutions to specific business challenges. Consider the different stages of the buyer’s journey and develop content that addresses each phase, from awareness to decision-making.

‍

How can I optimize my website’s technical SEO to support scalable growth for a B2B SaaS company?

Ensure your website has a clean architecture with logical URL structures, fast load times, and is mobile-friendly. Regularly audit for issues like broken links or duplicate content, and implement structured data to enhance search engine understanding.

‍

What role does content marketing play in enhancing SEO for B2B SaaS, and how can I develop an effective content strategy?

Content marketing is pivotal in attracting and engaging your target audience. Develop a strategy that includes creating valuable, informative content such as blog posts, whitepapers, and case studies that address your audience’s pain points and demonstrate your expertise.

‍

How can I build high-quality backlinks to improve my B2B SaaS website’s domain authority and search rankings?

Engage in thought leadership by contributing guest posts to reputable industry publications. Develop shareable content assets like original research or infographics, and foster relationships with industry influencers to encourage natural backlinking.

‍

Since their introduction in 2023, I’ve run hundreds of LinkedIn thought leader ads, for my demand gen agency, Omni Lab, and for my clients in B2B SaaS. 

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Through my experimentation with this format, I’ve developed a list of best practices to maximize the chances of success. 

‍

I’ll be sharing all my insights below 👇

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Tip #1: Remember that thought leader ads are just sponsored posts
• Tip #2: Make sure your ads connect to your product
• Tip #3: Create content people would pay for
• Tip #4: Add Premium CTAs to your LinkedIn profile
• Tip #5: Test Non-Employee Influencer Campaigns
• Tip #6: Optimize your LinkedIn profile as if it were a landing page
• Tip #7: Look at the right metrics
• Tip #8: Give yourself a reality check
• Tip #9: Put yourself in your buyer’s shoes
• Tip #10: Focus on Awareness, Not Conversions

‍Tip #1: Remember that thought leader ads are just sponsored posts

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First of all, remember that thought leader ads are not a silver bullet that will save your marketing program – they’re simply sponsored organic posts that can fit into your larger content strategy. 

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This isn’t to downplay the power of this format; targeting your ICP with content from your thought leaders is one of the most effective approaches to build brand awareness and mental availability. 

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That being said, your thought leader ads won’t be successful if you don’t have great positioning, messaging, content, or targeting. 

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The standard rules of marketing still apply. 

‍Tip #2: Make sure your ads connect to your product 

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If you’re putting ad dollars behind organic posts, make sure they connect back to your product in some capacity. 

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I don’t mean adding a demo request CTA to every post, but the content you promote should have a core dotted line back to your product. 

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For example, at Omni Lab, I could promote a post highlighting our unique POV and approach to Google Ads, which is one of the services we offer. If this POV resonates with my audience, they’ll most likely think of me when they’re looking for support with their Google Ad campaigns. 

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Personal posts, such as occasional pictures of food or selfies on the beach, are okay, but they don’t deserve to be promoted. 

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At best, they won’t generate significant awareness for your product, and at worst, they’ll end up confusing your audience. 

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If your ICP loves you but they have no idea what you do, you probably won’t be in business for long 😬

Tip #3: Create content people would pay for

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No matter how great your targeting or technical setup, you won’t get very far if you don’t have amazing content that people would be willing to pay for – this is true for ads in general, and especially true for thought leader ads. 

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Take some time to reflect on your offer. Are you just providing generic tips that people have heard many times? Or are you offering something unique and valuable that will pique the interest of your audience? 

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To give an example, for Omni Lab, I could run thought leader ads highlighting Google Ads bidding strategies. But it would be more effective to share in-depth campaign recommendations for my target accounts. 

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Or,  if you’re a company like Navattic, you could run ads talking about interactive demos, but it would be more powerful to build out personalized interactive demos for your dream companies. 

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Next time you run a thought leader ad campaign, focus on increasing the perceived value of your offer, and you’ll see a massive improvement in performance. 

‍Tip #4: Add Premium CTAs to your LinkedIn profile

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If you’re looking to  funnel people into an owned audience, such as your newsletter, consider adding a Premium CTA to your thought leader ads. This is something I do at Omni Lab, and it’s helped me generate hundreds of high quality email subscribers. 

This CTA option is only available to LinkedIn Premium users:  you can add CTAs such as View my newsletter, Visit my website, View my blog, etc., depending on the action you’d like your audience to take. 

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If you don’t have LinkedIn Premium, consider editing your post once the organic reach has died down (usually within 72 hours), adding a CTA with a link to your website. 

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Even though the primary goal of thought leader ads should not be to drive direct clicks and conversions, adding a CTA allows people to learn more about your company without having to go on a scavenger hunt. 

Tip #5: Test Non-Employee Influencer Campaigns

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After running hundreds of thought leader ads, both for Omni Lab and for my clients, I’ve found that thought leader ads from non-employees consistently outperform promoted posts from employees. 

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For example, at Omni Lab, we built out a media plan and campaign strategy for Navattic, and their Head of Growth and Operations (Natalie Marcotullio) made a post related to this. 

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We boosted this post to our target audience, and it was one of our top performing ads of all time, significantly outperforming all the thought leaders ads from me and my cofounder. 

Clay is another great example of non-employee thought leadership. Members of their creator program post about how they use the software, and Clay promotes these posts to increase awareness for their company, while simultaneously expanding the reach of their creators – they’ve created a symbiotic relationship where everybody wins.

If you’re working with well-known people in your industry, consider how you might be able to partner with them: this could look like an audit, a strategy, a discount, access to exclusive features, etc. in exchange for promotion on LinkedIn. 

Tip #6: Optimize your LinkedIn profile as if it were a landing page

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When you’re running thought leader ads, your LinkedIn profile turns into your landing page – it’s the place where people go for more information about you and your company. 

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Here are a few tips to optimize your profile that I always share with my clients:

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1. Make sure you have a banner image explaining what you do at a high level. 

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2. Make sure your profile photo is up to date, and use your primary brand color as the background. 

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3. Add what you do + the category you play in to your headline

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4. Use the About section to explain why your company exists and how you approach things differently (bonus if you can also add a few testimonials)

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5. Use the featured section to highlight your core CTA + top performing posts demonstrating your expertise

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‍Tip #7: Look at the right metrics

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Let’s say you have all the fundamentals in place: an optimized profile, great content, solid targeting, etc. 

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Now, the next step is to ask yourself: What metrics should we look at to understand if our content is working?

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Here’s what I recommend to my clients: 

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1. First of all, check your LinkedIn demographics report to make sure that you’re actually reaching your ICP. 

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2. Check in-platform metrics such as impressions, engagement, and CTR. If these metrics look healthy, you’ll know that your audience is finding value in your content. 

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3. Look at smaller microconversions, such as engaged visits on your website. Are the people reading your thought leader ads eventually navigating to your site to learn more? 

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4. Look at the self-reported attribution field on your demo request form. Are more people mentioning your thought leaders? If the answer is yes, you’ll know that your content is building trust with the right people. 

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5. Finally, you can look at more bottom of funnel metrics, such as sign ups or meetings booked, but ultimately, DO NOT obsess over these metrics. Prioritize numbers 1-4 to understand if your content is resonating – it might take a while to see a significant impact on pipeline and revenue. 

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Pro Tip: If you’re not sure what content to promote as thought leader ads, look for posts that had a 2-3% CTR organically. In my experience, these posts with a higher organic CTR are also the top performing ads. ‍

Tip #8: Give yourself a reality check

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Most people – and B2B buyers especially – aren’t making impulse decisions and can’t be pushed through a funnel. 

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As the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute has highlighted, if you look at how often prospects make a purchase in your category, you’ll quickly realize how few of the people you’re targeting are actually in-market. 

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Even if you run the greatest ads in the world, you can’t expect people to schedule a demo if they aren’t actively looking for a solution. 

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And even if they do book a demo, if you have a higher ACV, you’ll probably have an extremely long sales cycle. 

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My point is, you can’t expect hundreds of demos or millions in revenue right away. ‍

Tip #9: Put yourself in your buyer’s shoes

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This is a fun exercise I like to do with my clients. 

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I ask: “When you see posts on LinkedIn, what actions do you usually take?”

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Usually, the response is something along the lines of: 

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“I read and keep scrolling…” or “If I like something, I might react or leave a comment…”

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Then I ask the follow-up question: “If you see a post you like from a company you’ve never heard of before, would you immediately book a demo?”

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And typically the answer is “No, of course I wouldn’t.”

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Our prospects aren’t that different than we are; if we wouldn’t buy immediately, they probably won’t either. 

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If you’re getting good engagement and starting to see other signs of life (such as engaged website visits), you’re headed in the right direction, even if you’re not seeing more demos and sign ups right away. ‍

Tip #10: Focus on Awareness, Not Conversions

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Think of thought leader ads as a brand awareness play, not a direct response tactic. 

‍

Like any good brand marketing, your thought leader ads should relate to key buying situations, or category entry points. 

‍

For example, if I promote posts about how we help our clients improve their lead quality, prospects may think of Omni Lab if they ever run into lead quality issues. 

‍

Or maybe I talk about how we use paid media to increase brand awareness, and prospects may think of us if they’re having a brand awareness problem. 

‍

The key to succeeding with thought leader ads is putting the right messages in front of the right people. If you do this over a long enough period of time, the pipeline and revenue will follow.

‍

Hope you found this article helpful!

‍

Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn or Omni Lab with any questions about demand gen or paid media. 

‍

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‍

People Also Ask

‍

What are LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads?

LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads are sponsored posts that promote content from personal profiles, allowing companies to leverage the personal brand and credibility of their thought leaders to engage target audiences authentically. 

‍

How can I ensure my Thought Leader Ads align with my product?

Ensure that the content in your Thought Leader Ads connects back to your product or service, even subtly. While not every post needs a direct call-to-action, there should be a clear link between the content and what your company offers to maintain relevance and drive interest. 

‍

What type of content works best for Thought Leader Ads?

Content that offers unique, valuable insights or information that your target audience would find beneficial tends to perform well. Aim to create posts that people would be willing to pay for, as this indicates high value and relevance. 

‍

How should I optimize my LinkedIn profile for Thought Leader Ads?

Treat your LinkedIn profile like a landing page: use a banner image that explains your role, ensure your profile photo is professional, craft a headline that clearly states what you do, and utilize the ‘About’ section to detail your company’s mission and unique approach. 

‍

What metrics are important to track for Thought Leader Ads?

Monitor metrics such as impressions, engagement rates, click-through rates (CTR), and audience demographics to assess whether your content resonates with your target audience. Additionally, track website visits and self-reported attribution to understand the broader impact on your marketing funnel.

‍

‍

If you want your ads to drive conversions, you need the right messaging, positioning, design, tone, format, offer, etc. 

‍

This is especially true in B2B, where pushing prospects from initial awareness to conversion is extremely challenging. 

‍

Below are my top 10 tips to maximize your chances of success, based on my own experience working with dozens of B2B clients. 

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 

• Tip #1: Figure out what you want to say
• Tip #2: Don't use big words or acronyms
  
• Tip #3: Make it quick
• Tip #4: Use visuals that make your ad stand out
• Tip #5: Create ads that don't look like ads
• Tip #6: Steal from the greats
• Tip #7: Use powerful hooks
• Tip #8: Take up as much space as possible
• Tip #9: Speak like a human
• Tip #10: Stay in tune with what your customer wants

Tip #1: Figure out what you want to say

‍

This might sound obvious, but before creating any ad, you should get extremely clear on the problem your company solves. 

‍

All of your messaging should come back to this problem. 

‍

If you’re running case study ads, the case studies should be related to this problem. 

‍

If you’re promoting a GIF of your product, the animation should help tell the story of how you solve that problem. 

‍

As Eugene Schwartz said: The objective of advertising is to highlight a problem and demonstrate how you can solve it. 

‍

Here’s a template I like using  with my clients to clearly articulate the problems they solve. 

‍Tip #2: Don’t use big words or acronyms

‍

The more simple you keep your ads, the better they’ll perform. 

‍

There’s no need to drop in words like CAC, ROI, or ARPU into your copy. Acronyms are poo.

‍

Even if you’re talking about complex topics, aim to keep your explanation simple. 

‍

Also, keep in mind, it’s impossible to explain everything about your company in a single ad. 

‍

To fully understand what you do, a prospect might need to see 20, 30, or 40 different ads, highlighting what you do in different ways. 

‍

Think of the ads in your cold layer as an icebreaker. 

‍

The idea is to communicate the basics of what you do in a simple and interesting way – not to tell your entire story. 

Here’s an ad we made at Revenu for a client, to do exactly that.

‍Tip #3: Make it quick

‍

Prospects should know exactly what they’re signing up for in 3 steps or less. 

‍

We followed that formula for this ad we made for another client.

With very few words, you can easily understand the benefits of the product. 

‍

And if you’re thinking: There’s no way I could explain my offer in 3 steps or less… you need to simplify your process.

‍

When you truly understand your product story, it’s easy to simplify it. That’s where the first tip comes in.

‍Tip #4: Use visuals that make your ad stand out

‍

A picture is worth a thousand words.

‍

Ads that are filled with words don’t grab a users attention.

‍

Think about what you’re trying to say, and how you can visualise it.

‍

You can see how we did this for Scytale below. 

‍

It’s a fairly typical advert, but the way it’s broken out visually makes it much easier to digest.

Pro tip:  If you’re only using static image ads, try GIFs. Making something move makes people click it more… simples.

‍Tip #5: Create ads that don’t look like ads

‍

Want to triple your CTR? Make an advert that doesn’t look like an advert.

‍

Once you get a ton of clicks, you can then retarget them with more product-focused messaging, but they’ve now been introduced to your brand. 

‍

To create these types of ads, think of the things that you do on a daily basis. For example, listening to Spotify, watching Netflix, playing chess or other online games, etc. How can you incorporate these everyday concepts into your ads, so that they feel natural and less promotional? 

‍

Also, think of the memes that make you laugh while you’re scrolling through different social platforms. Can you create versions of these that are related to the problem your company solves? 

‍

Here are a few examples we made for inspiration:  

P.S. If you want more examples, check out my Sexy Ads Library, which contains over 300 of my favorite ads.

‍Tip #6: Steal from the greats

‍

As Pablo Picasso once said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” 

‍

Lately I’ve been diving into B2C ads to find inspiration for B2B, from companies like Porsche, Land Rover, McDonald’s, etc. 

‍

It’s extremely hard to create amazing ads if you’re starting with a blank canvas. 

‍

Here are a few great examples:

P.S. I’ll be dropping a new library on my LinkedIn soon with tons of B2C examples, drop me a follow to be the first to see it.

‍Tip #7: Use powerful hooks

‍

To perform well, your ads need to have powerful hooks. 

‍

In other words, you need to give your prospects a very specific reason to take action. 

‍

Are you offering an incentive to take a meeting, such as a gift card, free lunch, or free coffee?

‍

Are you sharing a company resource, such as ad credits, a price promotion, or a software add-on? 

‍

Are you providing knowledge, in the form of a consultation, an audit, a workshop, etc.?

‍

If you don’t give your prospects an obvious reason to take action, they probably won’t. 

‍

P.S. The hooks with the highest conversion rates are typically ones related to your unique company knowledge and resources. Check out a great example from Google below…

And this great visual from Cognism, making a joke about gift card ads.

P.S. Don’t get discouraged if your offer isn’t working the first time around –  most companies have to experiment with multiple approaches before they find one that works. And when you do, it’s your main driver of new business for the next 5 years.

‍Tip #8: Take up as much space as possible

‍

Ads that take up more space on the screen are more likely to stop the scroll, and typically perform better. 

‍

On LinkedIn Ads, square images (1200X1200) usually perform much better than rectangular images (1200X628).

‍

Test vertical images (628X1200) that only appear on mobile too. 

‍

This ad we made got a CTR in the 2%+ range on LinkedIn, with a CPC in the $3-6 range.

This tip also applies to Google Ads. Make sure you’re using ad extensions to take up more space on the SERP and increase the chances of getting a click. 

‍

P.S. If you’re curious about the ad specs you can use across different platforms, check out this comprehensive guide. 

‍Tip #9: Speak like a human

‍

When you’re writing ads for social, make sure you don’t sound like a company. 

‍

Be human – friendly, silly, colloquial, personable.

‍

You’re literally on a social media platform… be sociable.

‍

Influencers have all the power these days, because people want to hear from real individuals with a real personality. 

‍

So if you want people to listen to you, you need to sound like a human. 

‍

These ads we made follow that exact tone, and it’s much nicer to read.

P.S. Some companies have a more professional and corporate tone of voice, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be clear and straight to the point. There are ways of sounding human, without being cheeky.

‍Tip #10: Stay in tune with what your customer wants

‍

Even if you follow tips 1-9, you’ll still fail if your story is crap.

‍

The world is constantly changing. Over time, the problem you solve may stop being a problem. Or another company may solve it for a fraction of the cost. 

‍

When these changes happen, you need to update your product and story in order to stay relevant. 

‍

To verify that the problems you solve are important, talk to your customers and interview companies in your ICP that aren’t working with you.

‍

1. How much of a problem is XYZ to you?
2. Are you currently solving XYZ problem?
3. How are you solving it?
4. Be honest, would you use our product to solve it?
5. If not, why?
6. Do you use another company to solve this problem instead?
7. How much do you pay them?

‍

Asking these questions will help you verify that your product and story make sense. 

‍

Pro tip:  In addition to qualitative feedback from customer interviews, you can ask your G2 rep for an export of all your reviews and upload it into ChatGPT. Then, you can ask ChatGPT to identify the top pain points and benefits that are mentioned, which will help you further understand the problems your company solves. 

‍

Hope you found this article helpful!

Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn with any questions. 

‍Resources for mastering B2B advertising

If you’re serious about mastering B2B advertising then you definitely need to join 1,000+ B2B marketers leveling up their paid advertising skill sets in AdConversion. 

‍Here’s 4 reasons why you should consider joining. Every one of our on-demand courses are:

✅  100% free access.

✅  Taught by vetted industry experts.

✅  Have workbooks, resources, and templates.

✅  Less than 10 minutes per lesson.

We believe every marketer should know how to scale paid ads so they can:

• Scale their ideas
• Level up their careers
• Make a positive impact

Click Here to Join 1,000+ B2B Marketers Today and start leveling up your advertising skill set.

Takes < 90 seconds to sign up (seriously we timed it 😂)

‍

People Also Ask

‍

What are the key elements to consider when creating B2B ads that drive conversions?

Effective B2B ads require clear messaging that addresses the specific problem your company solves, simple language free of jargon, concise content, attention-grabbing visuals, and a human tone that resonates with your target audience. 

‍

How can I ensure my B2B ad stands out visually to capture attention?

Utilize compelling visuals that align with your message and consider incorporating movement, such as GIFs, to draw attention. Ads that don’t resemble traditional advertisements can also increase engagement by appearing more organic in users’ feeds. 

‍

Why is it important to avoid complex language and acronyms in B2B ads?

Using simple language ensures your message is easily understood, broadening your ad’s appeal and effectiveness. Avoiding industry jargon and acronyms prevents confusion and keeps the focus on the value your solution provides. 

‍

How can I create a compelling hook in my B2B ad to encourage action?

Offer clear incentives or unique value propositions that address your audience’s needs or pain points. This could include special offers, exclusive insights, or highlighting unique features that set your solution apart. 

‍

What role does understanding the customer’s problem play in crafting effective B2B ads?

A deep understanding of the customer’s problem allows you to tailor your messaging to demonstrate how your product or service provides a solution, making your ad more relevant and persuasive.

‍

Over the past decade, I’ve led content marketing for multiple B2B SaaS companies, and I’ve noticed a common problem: 

‍

Content marketers and performance marketers rarely communicate. 

‍

This leads to inconsistent targeting, positioning, and messaging, which ultimately leads to lackluster results. 

‍

If you want to hit your revenue targets, your content and paid media strategies need to be part of the same equation, not completely separate entities. 

‍

Below are my top 10 tips on how to get aligned with your content team. 

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 

• Tip #1: Don't Create "Ads"
• Tip #2: Repurpose the content you already have
• Tip #3: Use paid media to guarantee distribution
• Tip #4: Have a clear POV
• Tip #5: Make sure you have consistent messaging
• Tip #6: Don't be afraid to be different
• Tip #7: Leverage user-generated content
• Tip #8: Share the right content for the right stage of the customer journey
• Tip #9: Leverage retargeting
• Tip #10: Be willing to adapt and change as you learn

Tip #1: Don’t Create “Ads”

‍

It’s easy to fall into the trap of researching the ads of your competitors and trying to mimic them. Or creating ads with a preconceived idea of what an ad should look like. 

‍

But at this point, we’re all hardwired to scroll past the ads in our feed. 

‍

Ironically, in order to stop the scroll, your ads have to blend in with other organic content. 

‍

If you create great organic posts that are educational, memorable, and enjoyable, they’ll probably also perform well as ads. 

Tip #2: Repurpose the content you already have

‍

Are there carousels, newsletters, or podcasts that have performed well for you in the past? 

‍

Revisit this content. 

‍

Why do you think it performed well? How can you remix it to extend its longevity? 

‍

One caveat here: Just because something has performed well in the past doesn’t mean you should run it as an ad. 

‍

For ads, I recommend repurposing the content that has performed well AND: 

‍

1. Has a clear POV
2. Is consistent with your other content themes
3. Is related in some capacity to what your company does

‍

Otherwise, you may end up confusing your audience. 

Tip #3: Use paid media to guarantee distribution

‍

We need to stop seeing paid media as something separate from content. 

‍

Great ads are just incredible content with guaranteed distribution to the right people. 

‍

If you’re running ads, make sure you’re constantly talking to the content marketers on your team to understand what’s working. 

‍

What pieces of content are getting the most engagement, communicating important messages, or telling valuable stories? 

‍

Is there an opportunity to put money behind this content? 

‍

It’s hard to create winning ads if your team is working in silos. 

Tip #4: Have a clear POV

‍

There are so many ads that feel and sound the same. 

‍

Even if they're creative, they don’t feel different because they lack a unique POV. 

‍

What’s the core idea that you want to communicate to your audience? 

‍

How is your perspective or approach different from that of every other company? 

‍

If you’re not communicating this, your audience will forget about you almost immediately. 

‍

P.S. Don’t be afraid to have a slightly more controversial POV, as long as it makes sense for your brand. Sometimes, taking that risk is necessary in order to be memorable. 

Tip #5: Make sure you have consistent messaging

‍

When it comes to messaging, you shouldn’t be throwing spaghetti at the wall. 

‍

Instead, you should be repeating yourself constantly. Sharing your core message in different ways so that people can easily understand what you do. 

‍

A lot of marketers are afraid of repeating themselves. But in order for you to be known, liked, and trusted at scale, repetition is essential. 

‍

If you think of the brands that you trust, you’ve probably heard their core message millions of times, maybe without even realizing. 

Tip #6: Don’t be afraid to be different

‍

In order to succeed, you need to be interesting, and do things that other companies aren’t doing. 

‍

There’s so much noise these days. 

‍

If you’re running ads, everybody else is. 

‍

If you’re creating content, everybody else is. 

‍

So, ask yourself, what can you do that’s different?

‍

Why should prospects pay attention to you instead of other companies in your space? 

‍

Look at what everybody else is doing. Is there an opportunity for you to do the opposite?

‍

You have to be willing to take calculated risks in order to stand out. 

Tip #7: Leverage user-generated content

‍

User-generated content is a powerful and underutilized tactic to build trust with your prospects. 

‍

Do you have video testimonials or celebratory screenshots from your clients? 

‍

This is great for both organic content and ads. 

‍

Having testimonials from real people comes across as more authentic than the standard G2 reviews that everyone else uses. 

‍

P.S. I know it can be nerve-wracking to ask for testimonials, but I’ve found that clients are usually happy to help – all you have to do is send a simple email or LinkedIn DM. And if you work at a larger org, you can talk to your customer advisory board, or ask your sales or CS team to make the ask.  

Tip #8: Share the right content for the right stage of the customer journey

‍

A lot of companies make the mistake of promoting the same content to every single prospect, without considering what stage of the buyer’s journey they’re in. 

‍

If someone’s already heard of your brand and interacted with your company multiple times, they’ll likely want to learn more about your product features, and may even be interested in a demo. 

‍

But if someone has never heard of you before, they probably won’t be interested. 

‍

If you’re targeting a completely cold audience, your priority should be to educate them about the problems you solve, not to generate conversions right away. 

‍

The reality is – especially in B2B  – the demos you get now are a product of the work you did 6 months ago. 

‍

P.S. There are no shortcuts when it comes to building trust. Sure, you can use an intent provider and target people who are technically in-market, but typically, even those people need to see more content before requesting a demo. 

Tip #9: Leverage retargeting

‍

By retargeting, I don’t mean offering a demo to every single person that has interacted with your brand. 

‍

A lot of people in your retargeting audiences won’t be ready for a demo yet. 

‍

But they might be interested in attending your event or joining your webinar. Or they might want to learn more about your product, hear from your thought leaders, see testimonials from similar companies, etc. 

‍

What interactions have the people in your retargeting audience taken? 

‍

Based on these actions, what type of content do you think they’d be most interested in seeing? 

‍

It’s important to do this exercise to create a positive experience for your prospects. 

‍

If all you do is offer demos they’ll get tired of you pretty quickly.

‍

Pro tip: Think of your retargeting audience as a newsletter that prospects didn’t opt into. Just like a newsletter, you need a mix of different content to grow the trust of your audience over time. 

Tip #10: Be willing to adapt and change as you learn

‍

In both content and advertising, it’s important to create a strategy that’s firm but flexible. 

‍

It’s great to have a general plan in place, but it shouldn’t be an immovable object. 

‍

You have to be willing to adapt based on your audience’s response. 

‍

Are there certain messages that are resonating more? 

‍

Are there certain formats that are performing better? 

‍

Are there certain audience segments that are expressing more interest in your product? 

‍

Based on this feedback, you may have to modify your approach. 

‍

Hope you found this article helpful!

Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn with any questions about content strategy or distribution. 

‍

Resources for mastering B2B advertising

If you’re serious about mastering B2B advertising then you definitely need to join 1,000+ B2B marketers leveling up their paid advertising skill sets in AdConversion. 

‍Here’s 4 reasons why you should consider joining. Every one of our on-demand courses are:

✅  100% free access.

✅  Taught by vetted industry experts.

✅  Have workbooks, resources, and templates.

✅  Less than 10 minutes per lesson.

We believe every marketer should know how to scale paid ads so they can:

• Scale their ideas
• Level up their careers
• Make a positive impact

Click Here to Join 1,000+ B2B Marketers Today and start leveling up your advertising skill set.

Takes < 90 seconds to sign up (seriously we timed it 😂)

‍

People Also Ask

‍

Why is it important to align content marketing with paid media efforts?

Aligning content marketing with paid media ensures consistent messaging, maximizes reach, and enhances engagement by delivering valuable content to the right audience at the right time. This synergy leads to more effective campaigns and better return on investment. 

‍

How can repurposing existing content benefit a paid media strategy?

Repurposing high-performing content, such as carousels, newsletters, or podcasts, extends its longevity and leverages proven engagement. By remixing successful content, you can maintain audience interest and ensure consistency across channels. 

‍

What role does having a clear point of view (POV) play in content and paid media alignment?

A distinct POV differentiates your brand and makes your messaging memorable. Communicating a unique perspective helps your audience understand how your approach stands out from competitors, fostering stronger connections and recall. 

‍

Why is consistent messaging crucial across content and paid media channels?

Consistent messaging reinforces brand identity and ensures that your audience receives a unified narrative, regardless of the platform. Repetition of core messages builds trust and aids in brand recognition, making your campaigns more effective. 

‍

How can leveraging user-generated content enhance a paid media strategy?

Incorporating user-generated content adds authenticity and social proof to your campaigns. It showcases real customer experiences, building trust and encouraging engagement from potential clients who see relatable success stories.

‍

Over the past few years, I’ve helped dozens of B2B SaaS companies develop their LinkedIn Ads strategy. 

‍

Below, I’ll be sharing ten tips that I always give to my own clients, and that will significantly increase your chances of success with LinkedIn Ads 👇

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 

• Tip #1: Research Your Customers
• Tip #2: Define Your Targeting
• Tip #3: Distribute Your Content
• Tip #4: Repurpose Your Content
• Tip #5: Test Lead Gen alongside ungated content
• Tip #6: Capture Demand With Retargeting
• Tip #7: Use Text and Spotlight Ads
• Tip #8: Leverage your SMEs for thought leader ads
• Tip #9: Set up the right tracking combination
• Tip #10: Make a commitment of at least 6 months

Tip #1: Research Your Customers

‍

As a marketer, it can be challenging to fully understand your customers, especially since you’re not in direct contact with them. 

‍

In order to gain a better understanding, it’s a great idea to watch 3-5 sales calls, recommended to you by the Head of Sales. 

‍

Analyze how your sales team is presenting the product to make sure your messaging is aligned. 

‍

In addition to this, you can pull transcripts and summaries from hundreds of calls and have ChatGPT develop a content matrix and empathy map for you, summarizing the top pain points of your prospects. 

‍

Here is a templatized example of the outcome. ChatGPT can pull it out in this format based on the call summaries and give you a good foundation of commonalities for different prospects.

‍

Once you’ve identified the top pain points and topics with the help of ChatGPT, send them over to a few people on your sales team to validate them. It can be very subjective but can help you to ensure that you haven’t missed any important nuances. 

Tip #2: Define Your Targeting

‍

Next, define your targeting. 

‍

What job titles, job functions, industries, and company sizes do you want to target? 

‍

Once you’ve drafted your audiences, you can share and refine with your stakeholders. 

‍

To start out, you can use a simple targeting combination such as Job titles + Company Sizes + Industries. 

‍

If your audience is too small using only job titles, you could substitute for Job Function + Seniority + Skills. 

‍

A few additional notes: 

‍

1. Make sure to check the audience insights section of LinkedIn Campaign Manager to find exclusions that you could potentially make. (video walkthrough)

‍

2. If you have multiple personas, make sure to separate them into different campaigns so you can tailor your messaging.

‍

3. There is no ideal audience size on LinkedIn Ads – small audiences of 10K can work well and larger audiences of 100K can also work well. Start by targeting your ideal customers, and you can expand over time. 

‍

Recommendation: Use a validated company list for better targeting and reporting.

Tip #3: Distribute Your Content

‍

Once you’ve set up your audience, the next step is to distribute content towards them. 

‍

I highly recommend optimizing your ads for in-feed consumption – talk about the problems you solve directly in your ad copy. 

‍

This way, even if people don’t visit your landing page right away, they’ll still be learning about your company and can be retargeted later down the line with a more bottom of funnel offer. 

‍

Videos are a particularly great format for delivering these in-feed messages, and they also allow you to generate large retargeting pools. 

‍

When you run these ads, look at your impressions and views to make sure that you’re reaching your ICP. And check your engagement rate and dwell time metrics to ensure that the content is resonating. 

‍

Don’t expect demos or trials right away – the goal of these ads is to start generating some initial interest. 

Tip #4: Repurpose Your Content

‍

Do you have any great podcast or webinar clips related to your solution? 

‍

Has anyone on your team created a product demo walkthrough recently?

‍

Do you have any customer testimonials from recent events?

‍

This type of content can be easily repurposed for ads, and is great for both generating and capturing demand.

‍

Before you start creating new content, look at the content that you already have. 

Tip #5: Test Lead Gen alongside ungated content

‍

I know lead gen is an unpopular strategy, but it can be a great approach to run lead gen campaigns alongside ungated content. 

‍

If you’re getting leads from incredible people within your ICP, you can show that to your stakeholders as proof that you’re reaching the right audience, and this can help you get approval to run more ungated content. 

‍

I don’t recommend lead gen as a standalone tactic, but it can be a solid way to get some initial results and build your retargeting audiences, while also validating the quality of your targeting. 

Tip #6: Capture Demand With Retargeting

‍

On LinkedIn, lead gen forms aren’t just for content like ebooks and whitepapers. 

‍

They’re also great for capturing demo requests. 

‍

The benefit of using lead gen forms is that people don’t have to leave the LinkedIn platform to request a demo, so it helps to simplify the process. 

‍

To start, I recommend running these ads to your retargeting audience, since people who have already interacted with your brand are the most likely to convert. 

‍

Also, when it comes to these demo campaigns,  don’t be discouraged if you don’t see success right away. 

‍

In order to succeed, you need to test different types of messaging, different content, and different creatives until you find the right formula. 

‍

Another word of advice: Make sure you refresh the creatives in your retargeting audience at least once a month. Retargeting audiences tend to be small and have very high frequencies, so you may see signs of ad fatigue if you don’t refresh your creatives consistently. 

Tip #7: Use Text and Spotlight Ads

‍

Text and spotlight ads are an amazing and affordable way to stay top of mind with your retargeting audiences. 

‍

They’re very small and usually appear on the right side of the feed, and they get a ton of impressions but very few clicks. 

‍

I recommend setting these ads up with the website visits objective, so that you only pay when someone actually clicks. 

‍

Also, I recommend setting the lowest bid you can possibly set, along with a bid cap to avoid overpaying for clicks. 

‍

Another format to consider are follower ads, which are very similar to spotlight ads, but intended to drive more company page followers. This format is great for your colder audiences, and can help funnel your ICP into your organic audience for a longer term nurture. 

‍

You can use this template to draft the ad copy with ad specifications. You can also use dynamic macros in follower ads. 

Tip #8: Leverage your SMEs for thought leader ads

‍

If you have a founder or subject matter expert that’s active on LinkedIn, consider running their posts as thought leader ads. 

‍

Thought leader ads are great because: 

‍

1. They have high CTRs and very low CPCs compared to other formats

2. They allow you to get high-performing organic content in front of your ICP

‍

Customer stories and educational content related to the problem you solve typically perform well as thought leader ads. 

‍

I’d avoid overly promotional and generic, AI-generated content – you want to distribute content that’s memorable and valuable to your ICP. 

‍

For more thought leader ad ideas, check out 14 Powerful LinkedIn Thought Leader Ad Strategies Worth Testing. 

Tip #9: Set up the right tracking combination

‍

There is no perfect tracking combination, but you do have to make sure that you’re collecting enough data to understand what’s happening inside your account. 

‍

First of all, you can track online conversions, like form submissions on your website. Then, you can also set up conversion API to have a deeper understanding of which campaigns are turning into pipeline and revenue. 

‍

Also, make sure you’re using UTM parameters — it’s much easier now because LinkedIn has dynamic UTM parameters  — and pushing them into your CRM for full visibility. 

‍

And add “How did you hear about us” into your high-intent forms to capture additional insights about the sources that indirectly influence the prospects.

‍

Just by having these basics in place, you should already have a solid understanding of what’s happening inside your account. 

‍

If you want even more insights on which campaigns and ads are influencing pipeline, you could use a tool like Fibbler to look at multi-touch attribution. 

Tip #10: Make a commitment of at least 6 months

‍

If you’re going to get started with LinkedIn Ads, make sure you make a commitment of at least 6 months. 

‍

Once you have your audience, targeting, messaging, and content ready to go, you need to decide what your game plan will be and how much budget you need. 

‍

How much money will you need to generate awareness within your cold layer? 

‍

How will your retargeting audiences expand over time? 

‍

What metrics will you look at to determine initial success? Maybe reach and engagement as leading indicators, and conversions as a lagging indicator? 

‍

Present a clear plan to your stakeholders so that they know what to expect and are on the same page. Also, emphasize that success won’t happen overnight, and that it takes time and patience to start seeing results. 

‍

Hope you found this article helpful!

‍

Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn with any ad-related questions. 

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People Also Ask

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What budget allocation strategies should I use for LinkedIn Ads to maximize ROI?

Consider allocating budgets based on campaign objectives, such as lead generation, brand awareness, or engagement. Use test campaigns to identify high-performing audiences and scale your investment in those areas.

‍

How do I create LinkedIn Ads that effectively nurture leads through the sales funnel?

Use a multi-step approach by running awareness campaigns to introduce your brand, followed by engagement ads that highlight pain points, and finally conversion-focused ads with clear CTAs for demos or trials.

‍

What are the best LinkedIn ad formats for driving B2B SaaS conversions?

Explore formats like Lead Gen Forms for collecting information, Carousel Ads for showcasing multiple features, and Sponsored InMail for direct and personalized messaging to high-value prospects.

‍

How can I use LinkedIn retargeting to improve campaign performance?

Set up retargeting audiences based on website visits, video views, or previous ad interactions. Tailor your messaging to re-engage these prospects with personalized offers or content.

‍

What are some common pitfalls to avoid when running LinkedIn Ads for B2B SaaS?

Avoid overly broad targeting, neglecting to optimize ad creatives, underutilizing LinkedIn’s advanced audience features, and failing to test different campaign approaches for continual improvement.

‍

‍

I don’t need to be the one to tell you this, but B2B tech companies have it hard when it comes to getting their advertising to perform.

‍

They’ve got complicated products. And sophisticated audiences (who are all but totally allergic to buzzwords and fluff). And together, they make communicating your company or product’s value super hard.

‍

Having helped countless B2B companies over the past 9 years I’ve learned more than a thing or two about writing copy for these companies. 

‍

And today I’m sharing with you my top 10 copywriting tips – tips you can use right away (literally, try them out after you finish reading this) to evaluate your existing ad campaigns and improve their performance, stat.

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Tip #1: Sell The Click, Not The Product
• Tip #2: Take Something Out Of Your Ad Instead Of Putting More In
• Tip #3: Write First, Edit Later
• Tip #4: Remember How People Interact With Ads
• Tip #5: Use The Slippery Slope
• Tip #6: Don’t Be Afraid to Try Long Copy
• Tip #7: Try to Use Your Voice of Customer As Much As Possible
• Tip #8: Clear Before Clever
• Tip #9: Tie Benefits Back to Something Realistic
• Tip #10: Make Sure Your Copy Passes the “So What” Test

‍

Tip #1: Sell The Click, Not The Product

The first tip is more of a mindset shift: remind yourself that your ad is selling the click, not the product (as a whole). 

‍

Prospects don’t see your ad in isolation. They see it in the context of everything else that happens throughout their day, AND in the context of everything else they see on LinkedIn, Google, Facebook or whichever platform your ad is served to them. So unlike an ecom ad, the goal of your ad here is to build excitement and anticipation. You want your prospect to be inspired enough to click on the ad and go where they can learn more about what you have to offer. 

‍

This still applies even if you’re providing a free trial, or something else that is free.

‍

Because if you have an average contract value of $50,000-$100,000/year your prospect is NOT going to click on your ad and buy right away. 

‍

Instead focus on giving the prospect something – a tip, an idea, an emotional twinge – that will motivate them to click.

‍

This could be through: 

‍

• The  messaging you use (make sure you’re talking about how you solve business problems, not just “hey our product is really cool”)
• The type of call-to-action (CTA) (making sure it’s not too pushy for people who didn’t know you existed until now)
• The visual in your ad creative (making sure it hits an emotional soft spot)

‍

Remember: You can always go into more depth on the landing page. But that won’t happen if your prospect doesn’t click through in the first place. 

Tip #2: Take Something Out Of Your Ad Instead Of Putting More In

Focus on getting one really memorable takeaway across in your ad copy. 

‍

Writing copy by committee is never a great strategy and it’s easy to end up with ads that are saying so many different things that the prospect won’t take away any one thing in particular. 

‍

Let’s say your product’s main value propositions are: it’s fast, it’s easy to use, and it saves money. 

‍

Instead of stuffing all of that information into the same ad, I would write 3 variations:

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• Ad Variation 1: Fast 
• Ad Variation 2: Easy
• Ad Variation 3: Saves Money

‍

Test each message separately so you can see which performs better AND so the prospect can remember your core value proposition. 

‍

Pro tip: you can say the same message 1,000 different times or more by repurposing the way you communicate that message to the market through different creatives, ad types, and copy. 

Tip #3: Write First, Edit Later

There are so many times when we sit down to try to write an ad and it’s really hard.

‍

First get all your thoughts, ideas, and concepts out in a document, then let it sit for a couple of hours, and finally go back to it with fresh eyes.  

‍

If you just try to write it in one session it’s going to be messy and you’ll spend forever tweaking it. 

‍

The idea is that you get to write a really stupid first draft. But you KNOW that it’s going to be bad. So that gives you the chance to get the bad ideas out to make way for the good stuff. Your goal is to come back later to edit and make it better. 

‍

I’ve lost count of how many times my first line in the body copy becomes my headline or other parts of my copy shift places with each other because they’re better suited for a different part of the ad. But I’m only able to make these connections with fresh eyes. 

‍

Pro tip: you can use ChatGPT for brainstorming but even still you need to let the copy sit. Give yourself time to process it so you can edit it and not just run with it at face value.

Tip #4: Remember How People Interact With Ads

Each element of your ad is a part of the puzzle. 

‍

People will stop the scroll because the creative caught them. Then they'll look at the headline. Then they go up and read the body copy. And finally they go back down to the headline before clicking.

‍

The prospect's eyes are going all over the place which means you can’t afford to have copy that’s disjointed.

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The headline leads into the body copy and should support the creative. And the body copy should support the headline. All the elements have to work together. 

‍

As Eugene Schwartz once said “copy is not written, it’s assembled".

‍

Treat each element of your ad with equal importance and make sure it makes sense when you look at it from the eyes of your prospect.

‍

‍

Pro tip: you can’t create ads in isolation, you need your designer and copywriter working together to ensure each variable in your ad works together (headline, body copy, creative).

Tip #5: Use The Slippery Slope

Your first line of copy should get the reader excited to read the second line. The second line should motivate the reader to read the third line. And so on. Direct marketer Joseph Sugarman calls this the “slippery slope”. It makes sure your ad is interesting to read and that the ideas inside it are easy to digest.

‍

The best way to check and test your messaging for clarity and word choice is to read it out loud. 

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If you’re in the middle of a sentence and you paused for breath, you should place a period.  That will help your sentences flow more naturally one into the other.

Tip #6: Don’t Be Afraid to Try Long Copy

I have a bone to pick with people who say “nobody reads online!” Because of course they don’t – if they don’t have something interesting to read. 

‍

People binge on Netflix series, video games, novel trilogies, and more for hours in one go. 

‍

When you have people's attention you can keep sharing with them new details. But you have to earn their attention, first. (Which won’t happen with clickbait.)

‍

What can you give them in your ad that will make them feel they got value from this interaction, no matter how fleeting it was? 

• Did they learn something new?
• Did you make them feel something?
• Did you make them think for a second?

If you can do at least one of those three things you’ll earn their attention. 

‍

It’s hard to do this in 150 characters which is why long form copy is so powerful. 

‍

Don’t be afraid to push up until that 600 character limit if needed. 

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Long copy will also lead to a greater dwell time and provide so much more context and opportunity for you to build motivation so they have a reason to click through. 

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The takeaway here is that people will read your long form ads if it’s interesting to them. But they won’t read even short copy if it’s terrible.

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Side note: When writing ad copy I create 2-3 variations for the headline and the body, usually testing out different lengths (short vs long). 

‍

Here’s my simple but effective copywriting template I use in Google Docs:

‍

LinkedIn ads template | Eden Bidani

‍

Pro tip: it’s easy for ads to get stuck in the same creative loops, don’t forget to brainstorm new creative concepts to test. 

Tip #7: Try to Use Your Voice of Customer As Much As Possible

If no one in the product marketing or CS team is interviewing your customers do this ASAP. 

‍

Get on a call with them and ask them questions such as: 

‍

• How do you use the product?
• What is the impact of your product?

‍

The goal here isn’t to get testimonials, it’s to understand how your customers talk. 

‍

You’ll walk away knowing the benefits that matter to them and challenges. 

‍

I’d also recommend talking with sales and asking them what are the top customer objections that prospects say and exactly how they describe it. 

‍

Using the same words and language your customers use allows you to communicate in their voice. 

‍

These insights are so powerful that not even ChatGPT can brainstorm this for you. 

‍

For example I used to work with a company that created $700 work bags and I interviewed a customer that mentioned she used to carry around a “mom bag”.

‍

What did she mean by that? “A shapeless, old ugly bag.” 

‍

That word “mom bag” is so unique and reflective of the voice of our customers that using that in our landing page copy instantly resonated and resulted in tremendous lifts in conversion rates. 

‍

Five customer interviews can be all it takes. 

Tip #8: Clear Before Clever

Jay Abraham once said sometimes the easiest way to sell a horse is to say “horse for sale”. 

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You have a fleeting moment with your prospects engaging with your ads. 

‍

So even if you have to use specific, complicated terms (for your sophisticated audience) you need to focus on making your copy as clear as possible.

‍

For example, try to simplify your language as much as possible. Yes, this might result in you using less voice of customer, or using a different brand tone of voice, and other elements of your messaging. But clear will always convert best. 

‍

Consider the words you are using and find synonyms that imply the same meaning with less cognitive load. 

‍

John Carlton refers to these as “power words” for example: 

‍

Sometimes you want to say fast but you should be saying swift. 

‍

Swift implies a very different connotation than fast. 

‍

It’s a whole different level of sophistication above “fast” but it’s still a simple word. 

‍

How would you say this same thing to a friend? Is a great frame to have. 

‍

Remember to avoid complicated and overdone words like omnichannel 🤮

Tip #9: Tie Benefits Back to Something Realistic

Everyone LOVES to talk about benefits – think: “Grow your business!”, “Transform your workplace!", “Win more customers!”, or “Optimize your life…!” 🙄

‍

It’s not that it’s not true. They are. But they’re just so high-level and vague people struggle to grasp them.  You need to tie them back to something tangible  – something realistic that your prospects identify with. Otherwise, they just come off as fluff. 

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So make sure the claims you make in your ads are specific. And even better, back up your claims by connecting them to a feature or capability of your product.

‍

Take the step to connect your benefits back to something realistic. 

‍

Pro tip: even better than talking about how your benefits connect to something realistic, SHOW PROSPECTS HOW this happens with supporting images or videos. 

Tip #10: Make Sure Your Copy Passes the “So What” Test

You should be totally skeptical about your copy (just like prospects will be). 

‍

People aren’t stupid — even if they fall victim to clickbait they will bounce from your landing pages. 

‍

Every time you look at your copy ask yourself so what? And pick it apart to see where it’s fluff. 

‍

Sit back and look through to see where you’re missing proof points or what can be removed. 

‍

You’ll be able to find all those tiny things that will throw people off reading your ads. 

‍

At the end of the day your audience will look at the total sum of your ad (headline, body copy, creative) and if there are elements out of place such as:

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• Run on sentences
• Improper formatting
• Typos and obvious errors

‍

All of these details will affect whether the audience feels they can trust you with their click. 

‍

So what allows you a third person frame to find what looks off, and what can be stronger. 

‍

Pro tip: search for free ad mockup software on Google to find tools you can use to see what your copy will look like to your audience within the platform you’re advertising. 

‍

Hope you found this article helpful! 👏

‍Connect with me on LinkedIn and let’s keep the conversation going. 

And if you’re in need of copywriting assistance check us out at CAPE Agency.

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People Also Ask

‍

How can I effectively measure the success of my B2B SaaS copywriting efforts?

Utilize key performance indicators (KPIs) such as conversion rates, click-through rates (CTR), and engagement metrics to assess the effectiveness of your copy. A/B testing different versions of your copy can also provide insights into what resonates best with your audience.

‍

What are the best practices for aligning copywriting with the buyer’s journey in B2B SaaS marketing?

Tailor your copy to address the specific needs and pain points of your audience at each stage of the buyer’s journey—awareness, consideration, and decision. This ensures that your messaging is relevant and persuasive throughout the customer lifecycle.

‍

How can I incorporate SEO strategies into my B2B SaaS copywriting to improve search visibility?

Conduct thorough keyword research to identify terms your target audience is searching for. Integrate these keywords naturally into your copy, including headings, meta descriptions, and body text, to enhance search engine optimization (SEO) without compromising readability.

‍

What role does storytelling play in B2B SaaS copywriting, and how can I implement it effectively?

Storytelling helps humanize your brand and makes complex concepts more relatable. Incorporate customer success stories, use cases, or hypothetical scenarios that demonstrate the value and impact of your solution in real-world applications.

‍

How can I ensure my B2B SaaS copywriting maintains a consistent brand voice across different platforms and materials?

Develop a comprehensive style guide that outlines your brand’s tone, language preferences, and messaging guidelines. Ensure all team members and stakeholders adhere to this guide to maintain consistency across all marketing channels and content.

‍

Working with an advertising agency, freelancer, or consultant?

After the past 12 years working in-house I know what good and bad looks like. 

In this article I’m going to share with you my hard lessons learned on working with these partners. 

And if you’re an agency owner, freelancer, or consultant reading this (take notes!) 📝

These tips are bucketed into four parts: people, product, process, and results.

Let’s dive in! 

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Tip #1: Be clear on your communication needs and expectations 
• Tip #2: Decide your meeting cadence
• Tip #3: Get clear on who and what for your tools
• Tip #4: Review your brand foundations
• Tip #5: Make sure your extended team knows the audience targeting
• Tip #6: Define your operational plumbing 
• Tip #7: Share your historical benchmarks
• Tip #8: Be clear on your naming conventions
• Tip #9: Have clear trackable goals 
• Tip #10: Set clear timelines and deliverables

‍

[process] Tip #1: Be clear on your communication needs and expectations 

‍

You have to be upfront about this from the beginning. 

Where and how often are the two key questions here:

• Where will we be communicating? (ex: Slack)
• How soon should you expect a response? (ex: within 24 hours)
• How fast can I expect a certain task to be completed? (ex: 72 hours) 

You need to tell your partners what you expect from them in terms of communication. 

Steal this template:

“Hey {Name}, I want to be really clear that with the agencies I work with I expect a response from my slack or emails within {timeframe, ex: 12  business hours}”. 

This is equally as important for those of us managing clients as it allows you to more effectively prioritize your communications with clients and triage your day. 

[process] Tip #2: Decide your meeting cadence

‍

This tip connects with the previous around framing expectations. 

You have to get clear on how often you’re going to be meeting, is it weekly, bi-Weekly, monthly?

Communicate your expectations on how often you’ll meet and the options available. 

By getting clear on your needs and how fast you want to get things done will allow you to answer this. 

The best part about defined meeting cadences is that it allows you to hold people accountable. 

It’s a forcing function that makes sure you’re getting what you need fast enough. 

‍

My preferred meeting cadence:

Weekly for the first six weeks to build trust and create momentum then move towards bi-weekly. 

‍

Within the first 6-weeks of working with a new agency or consultant  you’ll want to ensure they are set up with:

• Systems access
• Clearly defined goals 
• Clarity on your ICP and audience 

From here everything is addressed and you can move to a bi-weekly cadence. 

Again this is my personal preference align according to your needs!

If you want some tips on how to run an effective meeting check out my LinkedIn post 🎉 

[process] Tip #3: Get clear on who and what for your tools

‍

The last thing you want is for it to take four weeks for your agency to get plugged into your system. 

Get your new partners access to your systems as fast as possible so they can begin adding value.

Build a document with a clear list of all the primary tools they’ll need access for and who to contact. 

If the agency, consultant, or freelancer you’re onboarding already has clear documentation already on how you can provide them access to their primary tools this is a green flag! 🟢

If you can take the initiative to build an internal version of this document even better.

You know your marketing operations person's name, make sure they know as well. 

The more people working together across teams the more important this becomes.

[product] Tip #4: Review your brand foundations

‍

Make sure your agency, freelancer, or consultant understands your brand.

Your brand foundations consists of:

• What does your solution do?
• What’s your unique value prop?
• What’s your origin story?
• Who are your competitors? 
• What’s your tone of voice? 

Even better if your partners can sit in on a live demo (or at the minimum watch a recording). 

If your partners don’t get sold on the unique value you provide they will never be able to make an impact with the campaigns they create for you (and red flag if they don’t want to know! 🔴). 

[product] Tip #5: Make sure your extended team knows the audience targeting

‍

We touched on this on tip #4 but this is so important it deserves its own tip. 

Audience targeting is the foundation of everything you’re going to be doing.

You need to be absolutely clear on: 

• Job titles
• Job functions
• Company size
• Industries

Really, really, really hone in on this! 🙏

Make sure your extended teams knows this as well. 

This is where your buyer persona comes into play, if you need help on how to craft one check out Module 2 of my B2B Advertising Foundations course where I show you how to piece it together. 

Give them as much customer information as possible because they have to know this. 

They need to know what good vs bad leads look like. 

‍

Pro tip: 

Keep all this customer information in a shared document so your partners can refer back to it in the future when needed and setup a shared channel to monitor lead quality 🔥

[process] Tip #6: Define your operational plumbing 

‍

You need to be specific on how things should be tracked. 

The goal isn’t to just drive leads, it’s to scale legit qualified pipeline and revenue. 

Work with your extended teams to map out your customer lifecycle operations. 

‍

For example, they should be clear on: 

• Once someone fills out a form, now what?
• How are leads being handed off to sales? 
• How is the team being notified on new leads? 
• How are they being followed up with? 

‍

From here it’s piecing together the right UTM conventions for measurement, connecting forms in our marketing automation tools so be able to route appropriately.

Walk through all of these steps and the points in-between so things are tracked. 

Take my word for it, defining this will save you a lot of headaches at the end of the quarter! 😅

[results] Tip #7: Share your historical benchmarks

‍

You need to first understand your historical benchmarks so you can share them. 

Reverse engineer your funnel to understand your performance between steps.

This will look different for every company but here’s an example for sales led:

• Meetings Booked
• Meetings Completed
• Opportunities
• Pipeline
• Revenue

Knowing the difference between steps is crucial to improve efficiency. 

If your agency or consultant  isn’t trying to reverse engineer your funnel that’s a red flag! 🔴

Share these historical benchmarks and hold them accountable. 

[Process] Tip #8: Be clear on your naming conventions

‍

Your partners need to be able to jump inside your ad accounts and understand what’s happening. 

The first step is making sure they are informed on your naming conventions.

Align on naming conventions for: 

• Forms
• Campaigns
• Creatives

And if you’re reading this and don’t have existing naming conventions, ask yourself: 

What are the questions I’d like to answer from my campaigns? 

For example, I want to know:

• What’s my performance by region? 
• What’s my performance by campaign objective?
• What’s my performance by ad?

Then use these answers to include them in your naming convention. 

This is a really small in the weeds tactical step but worth sharing. 

[results] Tip #9: Have clear trackable goals 

‍

Determine the metrics that matter that your advertising partners should track and the frequency in which they should be reporting on these goals to you. 

I personally like to report on these weekly to make sure everything is pacing appropriately. 

This also allows you to pivot quickly when things start to go off track.

When determining the metrics that matter, also brainstorm your leading indicators. 

Leading indicators are clear metrics that help you determine early signs of success.

For example, depending on your campaigns objective it might look a bit different: 

• Lead gen = qualified leads created
• Awareness = engagement rate by ad type

Just choose something that can happen quickly within the first 7 days of a campaign going live and is a relevant milestone that will ultimately lead to your end goal. 

‍

🟢 An early and specific goal is better than no goal at all.

‍

Without this clarity you or your partners won’t be able to prioritize what needs to be done. 

If you’re struggling with deciding on your goals go back to tip #7 and understand your benchmarks. 

[results] Tip #10: Set clear timelines and deliverables

‍

Defining the success metrics that matter and the roadmap to get there is CRUCIAL.

You have to be clear upfront timelines for both parties or it’s going to get squirrely 🐿😅

If it’s not defined upfront as you go things will go sideways. 

‍

Communicate to your agency, consultant, or freelancer:

Here’s what we expect from month 1, 2, and so on…

You’re hiring these experts to come in and solve a specific problem. 

‍

The goal is to hold your partner accountable to the outcome and not tasks. 

This keeps you focused on the things that matter (ex: funnel optimization, benchmarks, goals). 

I hope you found these 10 tips helpful and the best of luck in your future partnerships! ♥️

‍

Connect with me on LinkedIn, and let’s keep the conversation going. 

You can also visit my website here for more valuable content.

‍

Jumpstart Your B2B Marketing Career

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People Also Ask

What should I look for when evaluating a digital marketing agency’s or freelancer’s portfolio?

Look for case studies or examples of work relevant to your industry or goals. Examine metrics like ROI, lead generation, or brand awareness improvements. Ensure their style and results align with your business objectives.

‍

How can I assess the expertise of a digital marketing agency or freelancer before hiring?

Ask about their certifications (e.g., Google Ads, HubSpot), years of experience, and client testimonials. Request examples of campaigns they’ve worked on and inquire about their understanding of your niche.

‍

What key questions should I ask during the discovery call with a potential agency or freelancer?

• Questions might include:

• What industries have you worked with?

• How do you approach campaign strategy?

• What KPIs do you typically focus on?

• How often will we receive updates or reports?

‍

How can I ensure smooth communication and collaboration with a marketing agency or freelancer?

Establish clear communication channels (e.g., Slack, email) and agree on response times. Schedule regular check-ins or status meetings to align on progress and adjust strategies as needed.

‍

What are red flags to watch out for when hiring an agency or freelancer?

Be cautious if they guarantee immediate results, avoid sharing clear metrics, or lack transparency about pricing or deliverables. A reputable partner will provide realistic expectations and detailed proposals.

‍

Should I choose an agency or freelancer for my marketing needs?

Agencies offer a team with diverse expertise, while freelancers may provide more personalized attention. Choose based on your budget, the complexity of your campaigns, and the need for specific skills.

‍

How can I track the ROI of hiring a digital marketing agency or freelancer?

Set clear goals and KPIs upfront, such as lead volume, cost per lead, or revenue growth. Use analytics tools to monitor campaign performance and schedule regular reviews with your partner to evaluate progress.

‍

With so many different tools available for competitor research it can be a bit overwhelming. 

I’ve lived and breathed paid ads over the past eight years, and in this article I’m going to share with you 10 tips on how to conduct competitor research for free using ad libraries. 

Grab a notebook and let’s dive in!

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Tip #1: Familiarise yourself with all the available ad libraries
• Tip #2: Leverage time and location filters
• Tip #3: Estimate platform demand by volume of creatives
• Tip #4: Build a swipe folder of ad inspiration
• Tip #5: Research brands in adjacent industries 
• Tip #6: Build a matrix to document your competitors’ movements
• Tip #7: Build a checklist to uncover strategic insights
• Tip #8: Review the ad formats being used 
• Tip #9: Clickthrough to review landing pages in use
• Tip #10: Review your competitors’ UTM string

Tip #1: Familiarise yourself with all the available ad libraries

‍

The first step is to know what options you have available.

Here are the primary ad libraries available for the top 3 ad platforms: 

LinkedIn Ad Library

Meta Ads Library

Google Ads Transparency Center

Within each library you can study creatives for your competitors and relevant brands. 

Using them on a quarterly basis to spy on your competitors is a key habit to develop. 

Tip #2: Leverage time and location filters

You can filter by time and location within each ad library to understand: 

• Which markets are my competitors investing in?
• How many creative variations are my competitors testing?
• Are they testing localised campaigns outside of english?

You won’t know exactly how much your competitors are investing but you can use the volume of ads as a proxy to estimate the level of investment, and interest for a given market. 

If you spot certain markets where you’re finding organic traction AND you see your competitors have gone through the commitment of localising these regions,these are great signals for you to consider running a pilot campaign. 

Tip #3: Estimate platform demand by volume of creatives

‍

We touched on using the volume of as a proxy to estimate the level of investment for a market.

The same logic applies to also understanding the demand for a specific ad platform. 

Let’s use a hypothetical example, imagine you see the following for your competitor:

• LinkedIn Ads = 20 active ad variations in the past month
• Meta Ads = 10 active ad variations in the past month
• Google Ads = 5 active ad variations in the past month

Based on the volume of ads you can assume LinkedIn could be their primary platform followed by Meta, and finally Google. Look up your competitors and take note of their volume of ads by platform.

You’ll never know with 100% certainty but it’s a good approximation for at least the effort they are expending on each channel, if not their level of success.

‍

Pro tip: get buy-in from leadership to test new ad platforms by showing them how active your competitors are within those channels, this creates FOMO which is quite powerful. 

Tip #4: Build a swipe folder of ad inspiration

‍

A swipe folder is a simple collection of screenshots of ads, landing pages, and offers that stand out.

As you’re going through the ad libraries take note of the ads that catch your attention from competitors, relevant brands, and from scrolling through social platforms.  

Inspiration comes from all sources and by building this swipe folder you can:

• Better communicate and share guidance with your creative team
• Avoid reinventing the wheel with tested concepts
• Reduce the time to produce new creatives

This can be as simple as a folder in a Google Drive, it doesn’t need to be complicated.

If you want to be organised about it you can also group ads by concept, such as:

• Social Proof
• Thought Leadership
• Product Marketing

The most important piece to takeaway from this is you have some sort of folder to refer to. 

‍

Pro tip: create a shared slack channel for people across teams to upload examples of great ads they come across to crowdsource inspiration. 

Tip #5: Research brands in adjacent industries 

‍

Oftentimes your competitors might be behind the ball when it comes to advertising. 

In these instances researching them won’t be very helpful or worthwhile. 

Instead what you can do is research brands in adjacent industries, for example:

• eCommerce 
• E-learning
• Retail 

You can take what works in other industries and adjust it to fit in yours. 

Creativity is often taking what works from one sphere and applying it to another. 

Tip #6: Build a matrix to document your competitors’ movements

‍

If you want to take your competitors’ research to the next level, build a documented matrix. 

This can be as simple as:

• Competitor Namesome text
  • Month/Year
  • Channel
  • Ad Count

It will take a bit of work to put this together but the primary benefit is you can now monitor your competitors’ activity by ad platform on a quarterly basis. 

Here’s a simple example of what this can look like in Google Sheets: 

Pro tip: if you’re looking for a role in paid media, do a competitor research analysis on the brand you’re applying for. It's a great way to differentiate yourself against other candidates. 

‍

Tip #7: Build a checklist to uncover strategic insights

‍

When reviewing your competitors’ ads in the library you’ll want to think deeper than just the surface level of the styles and examples of ads in front of you to uncover strategic insights. 

Create a simple checklist to remind yourself to think about: 

• Are the ads running to gated or ungated content?
• Is there a mixture of content that focuses on demand creation or capture?
• What stage of the funnel are their ads focused on? (ex: ToFu, BoFu)
• What mixture of offers are they testing? (ex: Conferences, Webinars) 
• Are they driving to a landing page or lead form? 

Compare the insights you uncover against your current approach.

If you notice 3 of your competitors are promoting events and you’re not then it’s worth testing. 

Tip #8: Review the ad formats being used 

‍

This was touched on slightly before but it deserves to be in its own tip. 

As you’re reviewing competitors in the library take notes of the ad formats being used. 

For example, when it comes to LinkedIn are they testing: 

• Image 
• Video
• Spotlight
• Carousel
• Document
• Conversation

If you notice a large volume of a certain ad format it’s safe to say it must be working. 

Compare the formats they are using against your own to inspire future experiments. 

For videos take special note of aspect ratio, short vs long form, and other nuances like humour. 

‍

Pro tip:assign your competitor research tasks to an intern or junior person as pulling these insights is quite time-consuming and  can be done by an entry level team member.

Tip #9: Clickthrough to review landing pages in use

‍

The remarkable thing about these libraries is that you can click through on the ad and view the landing pages your competitors are using. This insight is  not otherwise easily discoverable. 

This all of sudden opens up a lot of homework for you to perform landing page teardowns. 

• What are the calls to action on the landing page?
• How is the page structured compared to yours?
• Do they have better social proof than you?

Now suddenly your swipe folder can be filled with print screens of their entire landing pages. 

Which can be shared with your team to test new page variations. 

Pro tip:

If you’re using Google Chrome you can use the extension called GoFullPage to take screenshots of entire pages with the click of a button. 

Tip #10: Review your competitors’ UTM string

‍

To close out on our final tip, I wanted to share a more advanced approach.

When you’re clicking through to the landing page of your competitors’ ads take note of the UTM string in place to potentially uncover insights on how they’ve set up their campaigns. 

By reviewing the URL structure I might gather the following information:

• Network = g | they’re advertising on Google Search
• Device = c | they’re running ads on Desktop devices
• Keyword = crm software | they’re bidding on crm software
• Matchtype = e | they’re using exact match 

‍

Hope you found this article helpful! 👏

Connect with me on LinkedIn and let’s keep the conversation going. 

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People Also Ask

‍

How can I ensure the insights gained from ad libraries are effectively integrated into my marketing strategy?

Establish a systematic process for documenting and analyzing the information gathered from ad libraries. Regularly share these insights with your marketing team to inform campaign planning and creative development, ensuring alignment with current industry trends and competitor strategies.

‍

What are the ethical considerations when using ad libraries for competitor research?

While ad libraries provide publicly available information, it’s important to use this data responsibly. Avoid directly copying competitors’ ads; instead, use the insights to inspire and inform your unique strategies, maintaining originality and respecting intellectual property.

‍

How frequently should I review competitors’ ads in ad libraries to stay updated?

Conduct reviews on a regular basis, such as quarterly, to stay informed about competitors’ advertising activities and market trends. More frequent reviews may be necessary in rapidly changing industries to ensure your strategies remain competitive.

‍

Can ad libraries provide insights into the performance of competitors’ ads?

Ad libraries typically showcase the creatives and targeting details but do not provide direct performance metrics. However, by analyzing factors like ad longevity and variations, you can infer which ads might be performing well for your competitors.

‍

How can I use ad libraries to identify emerging trends in my industry?

By regularly reviewing a diverse set of competitors and industry leaders in ad libraries, you can spot recurring themes, new product offerings, and innovative ad formats, helping you stay ahead of emerging trends.

‍

Do you need to scale your paid search campaigns and find new ways to increase demand capture?

As the head of Marketing at Catalyst, I build and mentor teams to maximize ROI in paid ad channels including Google.

Here’s my top 10 tips & tactics to scale your Google ads efforts.

(In no particular order, they all matter) 

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Tip #1 - Leverage Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI)
• Tip #2 - Tap into Device & Location Bid Modifiers
• Tip #3 - Shift Towards Smart Bidding ASAP
• Tip #4 - Sync Your CRM with Google Ads
• Tip #5 - Steer Away From Broad Match As Much As Possible
• Tip #6 - Take Advantage of the Google Ads Editor
• Tip #7 - Lean on Google Ads Script & Rules
• Tip #8 - Exclude Search Partners & Display Network
• Tip #9 - Install Behavioral Analytics Tools for Landing Page Optimizations 
• Tip #10 - Consider Bing as a Second Demand Capture Channel

‍

Tip #1 - Leverage Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI)

‍

DKI is a powerful method to improve the relevancy of your ads based on user search terms. 

When managing ad groups with multiple keywords on a similar theme, this technique ensures that you are displaying ads that closely align with users' query terms.

How Dynamic Keyword Insertion Works:

‍

DKI automatically updates the ad’s headline to include the exact keywords that triggered the ad. 

This way, the ad's first impression is highly relevant to the user's search, which improves overall engagement.

Even a slight increase in click through rate (CTR) can impact the performance of a campaign by driving more traffic to the landing page.

‍

Best Practices for Using Dynamic Keyword Insertion:

‍

Prioritize the First Headline: Always aim to have the first headline of your ad matches as closely as possible to the user’s search query. 

Group Keywords by Theme: Make DKI more effective by grouping your keywords by themes.

There are generally 6 buckets of themes for search ads:

• Brand
• Non-brand
• Competitive
• RLSA (Search Remarketing)
• Content
• Dynamic Search Ads

With this organization, DKI can create more coherent ads that display the most relevant headline for each bucket.

Tip #2 - Tap into Device & Location Bid Modifiers

‍

A critical aspect often overlooked in Google ads is the optimization of device and location modifiers. 

For most B2B SaaS campaigns, the quality of traffic can vary significantly across different devices.

‍

Desktop vs. Mobile vs. Tablet: 

‍

Typically, desktop traffic yields the highest quality in terms of conversion rates and user intent. 

Users on desktops are generally more engaged and possibly in a professional setting, compared to mobile users who might be multitasking or browsing casually. 

Tablets often perform the worst in terms of conversion rates and traffic quality, which is why many advertisers choose to exclude them entirely from campaigns.

‍

Strategic Use of Location Modifiers:

‍

If you target several states or countries, you should modify your bids based on the areas that perform best.

This could mean adjusting bids upward in high-performing regions to capture more traffic or decreasing bids in lower-performing areas to conserve budget. 

In extreme cases, you can exclude low-performing regions altogether.

Pro Tip:

Start with a conservative approach focused on proven strategies. As results come in and budget allows, gradually introduce new variables and expand your focus to optimize the overall campaign performance. Maintain detailed records of campaign performance across different devices and platforms. This data will be invaluable for making informed decisions about where to allocate resources most effectively.

Tip #3 - Shift Towards Smart Bidding ASAP

‍

Smart bidding strategies can help improve campaigns’  performance by focusing on conversions rather than clicks. 

The Maximum Conversion strategy is particularly effective, as it lets Google optimize your bids to meet a specific CPA target, ideal for campaigns with regular conversions.

‍

Key Considerations for Smart Bidding:

‍

Google recommends having at least 30 conversions per month to effectively utilize Target CPA. 

However, for campaigns with lower conversion rates, setting a minimum threshold of 10-15 conversions can still be sufficient.  

Ensure that your conversions are properly set up and that Google receives clear signals about which conversions to prioritize by setting specific values for each conversion action. 

This is crucial for smart bidding algorithms to function properly, as mixed signals can dilute the focus of your campaign optimization.

‍

Pro Tip:

For businesses, especially in B2B sectors where conversion volumes are low, it's important to track higher funnel events. These can include engaged visits, interaction with forms, and even form abandonment. Each of these steps can be set through Google Tag Manager (GTM), providing richer data for optimization. Apply a structured conversion funnel that captures various stages of user engagement. From initial website interaction to form submissions or CRM entries, each stage should be defined and tracked as separate conversion events. You can then design custom goals and bundle your conversion actions together to add them to your campaigns.

‍

Tip #4 - Sync Your CRM with Google Ads

‍

Performance marketers thrive on optimizing for meaningful conversions. It will take emotions out of the decision-making process.

Integrating CRM lifecycle stages into Google Ads can profoundly impact your ad optimization and overall marketing strategy. 

By linking stages such as MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead), SQL (Sales Qualified Lead), opportunities, and customer status directly from a CRM platform like HubSpot, you enable a more nuanced and powerful approach to ad targeting and bid adjustments.

‍

How to Implement Your CRM Sync:

‍

Depending on your CRM system, various tools and plugins can facilitate this integration. Ensure that the tool you choose can sync data reliably and in real-time to maintain accuracy in your campaigns.

Define which CRM milestones are important for your campaigns and set Google Ads to track these as conversions

Use the data from your CRM to set up automation rules in Google Ads. For example, you could decrease bids or pause campaigns if the cost per SQL exceeds a certain threshold, ensuring you maintain profitability.

Regularly review the data flow and synchronization between Google Ads and your CRM to ensure accuracy. Adjust your strategies based on new insights and continually refine your approach to improve outcomes.

Tip #5 - Steer Away From Broad Match As Much As Possible

‍

Broad match can drive a high volume of traffic due to its extensive reach. This can result in a large number of conversions, which initially might seem cost-effective. 

However, the quality of these conversions often needs to be revised when scrutinized more deeply in the sales funnel.

Despite lower upfront costs, the conversions from broad match often fail to convert into valuable leads or sales. 

They may also attract clicks from irrelevant queries, leading to wasted ad spend and diluted performance metrics.

‍

Best Practices for Keyword Match Types:

‍

Phrase match offers a balance by allowing your ad to show only when a searcher's query includes the exact phrase or close variations of the phrase, in the same order. This strikes a better balance between reach and relevance, providing more control than Broad match type.

Exact match targets queries that are much closer to the keywords. 

While this reduces reach, it increases the relevance and quality of traffic, making it ideal for targeting high-intent users and optimizing conversion rates.

Regardless of the match type used, a comprehensive negative keyword list is crucial.

Finally, test different match types to see what works best for your specific campaigns. This could mean comparing the performance of Phrase match versus Exact match or testing different variations of your keywords.

Tip #6 - Take Advantage of the Google Ads Editor

‍

Google Ads Editor is an indispensable tool for marketers aiming to streamline their campaign management processes. 

This desktop application allows users to manage their Google Ads campaigns offline, offering robust functionalities for bulk editing and optimization.

Google Ads Editor is particularly advantageous for managing large accounts with numerous campaigns and extensive lists of keywords.

‍

Best Practices for Using Google Ads Editor:

‍

Develop a standardized template with predefined columns and settings that align with your campaign's requirements. 

This setup ensures that you can quickly import data from spreadsheets directly into Google Ads Editor without compatibility issues.

Always synchronize Google Ads Editor with your online account to ensure all changes are up-to-date and to avoid discrepancies between offline edits and online status.

Before uploading changes to the live environment, use the review function to ensure accuracy and prevent potential errors from impacting your campaigns.

While Google Ads Editor is incredibly powerful, it does have a learning curve.

 Invest time in learning its features and shortcuts. 

Tip #7 - Lean on Google Ads Script & Rules

‍

Automation is a key component in optimizing campaigns. Google Ads scripts and rules offer powerful tools to automate routine tasks and strategic operations.

Scripts allow for advanced, customized automation that can modify bids, pause ads, or adjust budgets based on specific conditions. 

Rules can be set to trigger based on performance metrics such as CTR, conversion rates, or cost per acquisition.

For example, automatically increasing the budget for high-performing campaigns or reducing bids for underperforming keywords helps maintain efficient spending.

Utilize scripts to automatically apply a tracking template across all campaigns, incorporating dynamic elements like campaign and ad group names.

This will detach personal bias from campaign management. Scripts and rules operate based on data, not preference, enabling objective decisions that focus solely on performance metrics.

You must regularly review the outcomes of automated actions. Automation is powerful, but it requires oversight to ensure it aligns with changing campaign goals and market conditions.

Tip #8 - Exclude Search Partners & Display Network

‍

When managing Google Ads, especially for substantial budgets, it's crucial to ensure that every dollar spent is driving quality traffic and conversions. 

A common oversight is not excluding search partners and the display network from search campaigns. 

While these features can increase visibility, they often compromise the quality of traffic and the overall effectiveness of your campaigns.

‍

Understanding the Impact by Network:

‍

Including Search Partners and Display Networks can inflate your impressions without a corresponding increase in clicks. 

This dilution of CTR can harm your campaign's overall performance metrics, misleading you about its effectiveness.

Google's quality score is a critical metric in determining your ad rank and the cost per click (CPC) you pay. 

A lower CTR resulting from irrelevant impressions on search partners and display networks can decrease your quality score, leading to higher costs and reduced ad placement.

Pro Tip:

Conduct regular audits of your Google Ads accounts to identify any inefficiencies or overlooked settings that could be draining your budget or diminishing your campaign’s effectiveness. While Google may provide recommendations, always assess them critically in the context of your specific campaign goals and historical data.  Consider experimenting with settings on a smaller scale before applying them broadly, especially when dealing with large budgets. This cautious approach allows you to gather data and make informed decisions based on actual performance metrics.

Tip #9 - Install Behavioral Analytics Tools for Landing Page Optimizations 

‍

One of the most effective strategies for enhancing landing page effectiveness is to implement behavioral analytics tools, such as Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity. 

These tools provide deep insights into how users interact with your page, allowing for data-driven improvements.

‍

The Importance of Behavioral Analytics:

‍

Most of these tools offer features like heatmaps, scroll tracking, and session recordings that reveal how users interact with your landing page. 

You can identify which parts of the page attract the most attention and where users lose interest.

You can make informed decisions about layout adjustments, content placement, and calls to action. 

For instance, if users frequently abandon a form, you might simplify it or adjust its placement on the page to increase completion rates.

Use the insights gathered to A/B test different versions of your landing page.

‍

Pro Tip:

Before implementing any changes based on behavioral data, be clear about what you’re trying to improve. Having specific goals will guide your optimization efforts, whether it's increasing time spent on the page, reducing bounce rate, or boosting form submissions. Combine quantitative data from analytics tools with qualitative feedback from user surveys or feedback forms. Keep a detailed record of all changes made and the results they yield. This documentation will help you understand what works, what doesn’t, and how future landing pages can be designed for maximum impact.

Tip #10 - Consider Bing as a Second Demand Capture Channel

‍

To extend the reach of your successful Google Ads campaigns without significantly increasing your budget, consider importing your best campaigns into Bing Ads. 

Bing, while smaller than Google, still captures a unique audience segment that may not overlap completely with Google users. This can increase your campaign's overall reach and exposure.

Generally, competition on Bing is lower than Google Ads, leading to lower cost-per-click (CPC) rates. 

Hope you found these 10 tips helpful! 

For more tips or to connect, please reach out via LinkedIn.

‍

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• Planning: Putting It All Together
  
  

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• Visibility: How To Find the Hole Sucking Profits
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• Troubleshooting: How To Solve Inevitable Problems
  
  

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• Methodology: How to Vertically Scale Google Ads From A-Z
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‍

People Also Ask

How can Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) enhance my Google Ads performance?

DKI automatically updates your ad’s headline to include the exact keywords that triggered the ad, increasing relevance and engagement by closely aligning with user search terms. 

‍

What are the benefits of using device and location bid modifiers in Google Ads?

Adjusting bids based on device and location allows you to allocate budget more effectively, ensuring your ads reach the most relevant audience segments and improving overall campaign performance. 

‍

Why should I consider implementing smart bidding strategies in my campaigns?

Smart bidding utilizes machine learning to optimize bids for each auction, enhancing conversion rates and return on investment by automatically adjusting bids based on performance data. 

‍

How does integrating my CRM with Google Ads contribute to demand capture?

Syncing your CRM with Google Ads enables precise tracking of leads and conversions, allowing for more accurate measurement of campaign effectiveness and better-informed optimization decisions. 

‍

What role do Google Ads scripts and rules play in campaign optimization?

Utilizing scripts and rules automates routine tasks and strategic operations, such as modifying bids or adjusting budgets based on specific conditions, leading to more efficient and effective campaign management.

‍

Want to drive qualified pipeline and revenue from your LinkedIn Ads campaigns? 

I’ve worked with 50+ startups, and managed 7-figure LinkedIn ads budgets for B2B SaaS.

My goal with this article is to show you ten proven tips for improving your LinkedIn ads ROI. 

Irrelevant of the order, all of these tips have equal importance.

Let’s jump into it! 🚀

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Tip #1: Use auto bidding for the first 7 days of a new campaign
• Tip #2: Never use the Audience Network
• Tip #3: Penetrate your audience with the reach objective
• Tip #4: Leverage exclusions for focus
• Tip #5: Job functions give you best visibility and reach
• Tip #6: Always start with even rotation upon launch
• Tip #7: Check your demographics report weekly
• Tip #8: Target mobile devices exclusively with 628 x 1200
• Tip #9: Review your performance by device
• Tip #10: Use LinkedIn’s bulk import and export feature

‍

Tip #1: Use auto bidding for the first 7 days of a new campaign

‍

When launching a new LinkedIn Ads campaign start with automated bidding for the first week. 

‍

The thought process behind this is it will give LinkedIn’s algorithm enough time to learn and give you an average bid of what it takes to win auctions for your target audience. 

‍

After the first week switch to manual bidding and set the bid amount 20% lower than your average. 

‍

This works almost 99% of the time allowing you significant cost per click reductions. 

‍

Once you make the switch keep an eye on your daily spend over the next five days, if you set your bids too low it can negatively impact your visibility. 

‍

The key is to find the optimal bid between cost and maximum visibility (ex: impressions, views). 

‍

Give it a shot and send me a DM on LinkedIn with how much money you save! 🤑

‍

This tip applies to traffic and conversion campaigns. 

Tip #2: Never use the Audience Network

‍

This one might be a bit controversial, but no matter what you LinkedIn reps say this is a no no.

‍

If you’re not familiar, the LinkedIn audience network is a conglomerate of website partners. 

‍

 This allows you to distribute your content outside of LinkedIn and on their websites. 

‍

Sounds amazing in theory but in practice the problem with the audience network is:

🔴 90-95% of your ENTIRE LinkedIn Ads budget is spent on websites outside of LinkedIn 

‍

Which completely destroys the point of running LinkedIn ads in the first place 😂

‍

The LinkedIn algorithm always prioritizes the audience network because it’s cheaper and it’s trying to optimise for the greatest number of impressions for the lowest cost with your budget. 

‍

I’ve personally tested the audience network over multiple quarters with the same exact campaign and the only difference is one is using the audience network and other isn’t. 

‍

The campaign using the audience network had a CTR of 0.03% compared to 1% without. 

‍

You also have no ideas which websites placed your ads as it’s a black box. 

‍

Save your budget and improve your ROI by turning it off.  

Tip #3: Penetrate your audience with the reach objective

‍

If you’re trying to reach a large audience (ex: target account list) and want to do so in the most cost effective way, leverage the reach campaign objective. 

‍

Obviously if you’re trying driving the most clicks then this tip wouldn’t be applicable. 

‍

Instead in that case you should focus on using the website visits objective. 

‍

The caveat here is if you truly know:

• Your ideal customer profile
• That your content resonates with them 

‍

Then you can make the case that these people will click through anyways regardless of objective.

‍

Through testing I’ve found that if you have great content using reach you’ll actually serve towards more people and generate more net new clicks given the reduction in CPM costs. 

‍

The major benefit of reach is that it is optimised for driving more unique impressions per viewer. 

‍

Pro tip:

Contact your LinkedIn Ads rep to send you a report on audience penetration on a monthly and quarterly basis to see how many unique users you’re reaching in your target audience. 

Tip #4: Leverage exclusions for focus

‍

Most LinkedIn advertisers underestimate the power of exclusions.

It’s one of those things most  leveraged  but not to its fullest capability. 

‍

Everyone knows you need to exclude the obvious things like competitors, students, customers, etc…

‍

But they haven’t built the habit of checking LinkedIn Demographics Report once per week to find irrelevant titles for exclusion. 

‍

It’s really important to be mindful of multiple current roles when excluding as you can accidentally block your ads from being visible from high value audience members. 

‍

For example, let’s say you only help businesses with more than 1,000 employees. 

‍

Conventional logic would be exclude people who work at companies with < 1,000 employees but what happens when your perfect prospect:

• Volunteers at a nonprofit organization with < 100 employees 
• Started a side hustle that only has with a size of “myself only” 

‍

The answer is, they won’t see your ads. 

‍

Remember that exclusions are always prioritised over inclusions.

‍

When excluding focus on using job titles to refine your audience and prevent accidental conflicts. 

Tip #5: Job functions give you best visibility and reach

‍

This point is a bit controversial but from my own testing I’ve found job functions give you better visibility and reach than job titles. 

‍

This doesn’t mean you should never use job title targeting, I’ve actually found for certain personas titles work better than functions but if you’re in the following scenario: 

• Targeting a high value account list 
• Promoting ads that speak to a general pain point/benefit
• Your ideal audience has a million variations of the same title

‍

Then you’re better off using job functions to reach as many relevant audience members. 

‍

Here’s some great combinations of job function targeting to test:

• Job functions AND seniority
• Job functions AND  seniority AND member skills OR interest

‍

Make sure you’re checking your demographics report on a weekly basis to find all the irrelevant job titles you’re reaching and exclude them on an ongoing basis. 

‍

This process can take up to two and half months but the goal is to eventually get to the point where you only see relevant titles inside of the demographics report. 

‍

Highly recommend excluding unpaid, training, and entry seniority as a starting point. 

Pro tip:

Study LinkedIn profiles of your best prospects and take note of the member skills, certifications, and schools they’ve listed to find commonalities for targeting. 

Tip #6: Always start with even rotation upon launch

When launching your new campaigns you have the option to choose how to serve your ads.

The thought process behind this is you want to understand which ad will perform the best by receiving enough budget for proper testing. 

‍

Unfortunately if you start with optimising for performance LinkedIn will prematurely assign 40-50% of your budget to one variation of ad while the others only receive what’s remaining. 

‍

In order to avoid this, start with rotating ads evenly for the first 7-14 days when launching a new campaign to serve budget equally and then switch to optimise for performance. 

Tip #7: Check your demographics report weekly

‍

I’ve hinted at this multiple times across all these tips but it’s so important to driving a return on investment with LinkedIn Ads that it deserves to be its own tip. 

‍

You need to know what’s happening across your account. 

‍

Review your demographics report for:

• Ad performance
• Campaign performance
• Campaign group performance 

This will ensure your budget is going towards reaching the right people and companies. 

‍

Pro tip:

LinkedIn has reporting minimums when using the demographics report in platform, get around this by using a third party data connector to push the data into G-Sheet or Looker. 

Tip #8: Target mobile devices exclusively with 628 x 1200

‍

LinkedIn has a 628x1200 image ad spec that allows you to only appear on mobile devices. 

‍

If you know that your audience performs well for you on mobile devices you can set up a campaign leveraging this specific image ad dimension to serve exclusively on LinkedIn mobile. 

‍

The same is true for targeting desktop devices with text or spotlight ads. 

‍

Learn more about your audiences device behaviour with Google Analytics 4: 

Tip #9: Review your performance by device

‍

You can review your performance in LinkedIn by clicking on Breakdown > Impression by Device Type

‍

The AdConversion team analysed 10,000,000+ impressions and found: 

• 85.1% of impressions serve on Mobile App
• 9.6% of impressions serve on Desktop Web
• 5.3% of impressions serve on Mobile Web

‍

That’s 90.4% of total impressions serving on mobile devices! 🤯

Pro tip:

Use the LinkedIn Ads preview to see what your ad will look like when displayed on mobile and optimise your copy to best fit this device over desktop. 

Tip #10: Use LinkedIn’s bulk import and export feature

‍

This tip is one that even my most savvy marketing friends aren’t aware of. 

‍

Changing bids, and creating campaigns on LinkedIn is a REAL pain. 

‍

You don’t need to suffer this pain and instead can use LinkedIn’s bulk import and export feature. 

‍

You can simply just export your ads, campaigns, or groups to make bulk changes. 

‍

Voila, a task that would take hours has been cut down into minutes. 

‍

Learn more about bulk actions  in this article by LinkedIn. 

‍

Hope you found these 10 tips valuable! 👏

‍

Implement the ones that resonate most with you to improve your ROI from LinkedIn Ads.

‍

Connect with me on LinkedIn, if you have any questions or want to connect!

‍

Master B2B LinkedIn Ads with these 3 Free Courses:

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If you want to become a LinkedIn Ads pro, check out my free B2B LinkedIn Ads courses, where you'll learn how to launch, optimize, and scale your campaigns to drive pipeline and revenue.

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Here's what you'll learn in each course:

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⚙️ B2B LinkedIn Ads 101 - The Ultimate Crash Course for New LinkedIn Advertisers

• Foundations For LinkedIn Ads Success
• Measurement: Tracking & Key Principles
• Targeting: Reaching Your Dream Buyers
• Ads: Mastering The 9 Ad Formats

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🎯 B2B LinkedIn Ads 102 - The Blueprint for LinkedIn Ads Optimization

• Monitoring: How To Spot Performance Trends
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• Reporting: How To Transform Data Into Insights
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• Concepts of Scaling
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Takes < 90 seconds to sign up (seriously we timed it 😂)

‍

People Also Ask

‍

How can I effectively research my customers to improve LinkedIn Ads targeting?

To gain a deeper understanding of your customers, watch 3-5 sales calls recommended by your Head of Sales. Analyze how the sales team presents the product and ensure your messaging aligns. Additionally, use tools like ChatGPT to develop content matrices and empathy maps from call transcripts, summarizing top pain points of your prospects. 

‍

What strategies can I use to distribute and repurpose content for LinkedIn Ads?

Distribute valuable content that addresses your audience’s pain points and showcases your expertise. Repurpose high-performing content into different formats, such as turning a blog post into a video or infographic, to reach a broader audience and maintain engagement. 

‍

How can I leverage Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in my LinkedIn Ads?

Utilize your SMEs for thought leader ads by having them post insightful content on their personal profiles. Promote these posts through your company’s LinkedIn Ads to build credibility and trust with your target audience, positioning your brand as an industry leader. 

‍

What tracking setup is recommended for LinkedIn Ads?

Implement a comprehensive tracking system that combines LinkedIn’s Insight Tag with your CRM and marketing automation platforms. This setup enables accurate tracking of leads and conversions, providing valuable data to optimize your campaigns effectively. 

‍

Why is a long-term commitment important for LinkedIn Ads success?

Committing to at least six months allows sufficient time to test, learn, and optimize your LinkedIn Ads campaigns. This duration helps in understanding what resonates with your audience and enables continuous improvement, leading to better results over time.

‍

Do you need to find out if ABM is the right approach for you & how you can get the most out of your efforts? 

I had the pleasure of interviewing Brandon Alisoglu who’s  achieved a 300% increase in demo bookings for B2B companies while maintaining a 50% SQL rate from ABM campaigns. 

‍

Here’s Brandon’s top 10 tips & tactics to maximize return on effort (ROE) for your ABM ads.

(In no particular order, they all matter)

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Tip #1 - Assessing the Suitability of ABM for Your Business
• Tip #2 - Embracing the Long Game in Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
• Tip #3 - Create a Dossier of Information
• Tip #4 - Breaking Content to Audience Segmentation
• Tip #5 - Focusing on Outcomes: The "So What?" Factor in ABM
• Tip #6 - Drilling Into Personas & Messaging
• Tip #7 - A/B Testing Value Propositions
• Tip #8 - Set Aside Time to Ideate
• Tip #9 - Streamlining the Process with Templates
• Tip #10 - Don’t Skip Google
• Conclusion
• Resources for mastering B2B advertising

‍

‍

Tip #1 - Assessing the Suitability of ABM for Your Business

When evaluating ABM for your business, consider the nature of your target accounts and the practicality of a personalized marketing approach.

‍

ABM is particularly effective for targeting large organizations or "whales" where the potential return justifies the extensive effort and resources required for highly tailored campaigns.

‍

Challenges with ABM in Smaller Companies

In smaller companies, the lack of numerous distinct roles and seniority levels may limit the effectiveness of ABM strategies that rely on granular targeting and personalized messaging. 

‍

If a company is too small to segment effectively based on these criteria, the impact of a tailored ABM approach may be diminished.

‍

ABM often involves high-ticket offerings and significant investment in marketing resources.

If the target account does not have the financial capacity or the organizational complexity, the return on investment might not be worth it.

‍

Strategic Considerations for ABM

Evaluate potential accounts not just by their immediate size but by their strategic importance and the potential lifetime value they offer. 

‍

Consider more generalized targeted advertising strategies for smaller accounts that do not justify a full ABM approach. 

‍

These can still be effective by focusing on industry-specific pain points and solutions but do not require the level of customization and operational complexity associated with traditional ABM.

‍

Identifying the Annual Contract Value (ACV) Benchmark

An ACV of around $20,000 is generally seen as a threshold where ABM becomes viable. 

‍

This benchmark suggests that the deal size is significant enough to warrant the detailed and personalized marketing efforts required in ABM.

‍

Another practical measure is whether the contract value requires CFO approval. 

‍

The involvement of a CFO generally indicates that the deal is substantial enough to require careful consideration and alignment with strategic financial goals.

Tip #2 - Embracing the Long Game in Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

Unlike traditional demand generation tactics that may prioritize immediate results, ABM focuses on building engagement through a more deliberate and personalized approach.

‍

The idea here is to build a meaningful relationship with key accounts.

‍

In the same way, you wouldn't ask for a hand in marriage on the first date, successful B2B marketers shouldn’t ask prospects to talk to sales unless they've had some interaction before.

‍

‍

The Importance of Educating and Engaging

The early stages of ABM should center around education and awareness. 

‍

Allow targeted accounts to familiarize themselves with your brand and value propositions.

This foundational phase is important for setting the stage for deeper engagement.

‍

Jumping directly to aggressive sales tactics like pushing for demos with accounts that have minimal interaction with your brand, is less likely to yield positive results. 

‍

Instead, nurturing relationships over time fosters trust and increases the likelihood of conversion when the account is ready.

‍

Balancing Immediate Needs with Long-Term Strategy

While the emphasis on the long game is important, we realize the need to meet short-term sales targets is a pressing reality for most B2B marketers. 

‍

In such cases, employing a robust account scoring system can help identify which accounts are most ready to engage based on their behaviors such as:

• Website visits (specially high-intent pages)
• Ad engagement 
• Email interactions
• Webinar attendees

‍

For accounts that show clear signs of being in-market or closer to the decision stage, tailor your approach to convert these opportunities. 

‍

This can involve more direct calls to action, such as personalized demo invitations and running incentivized offers.

‍

If your company is product-led, this would be a good time to offer free trials.

‍

Sample of free trial ad by Plauti:

Tip #3 - Create a Dossier of Information

Understanding your prospects' interests, pain points, and engagement history comprehensively is the key to crafting personalized and effective ABM strategies.

‍

This information equips sales teams with the required data to personalize their outreach effectively and accelerate the sales process.

‍

Building & Targeting Prospect

Compile data on prospect activities, including the specific ads they clicked, pages they visited, or any communications they have sent. 

‍

This dossier should act as a dynamic document that sales teams can use to personalize their approaches. 

‍

By understanding what content the prospect has engaged with, the sales team can address specific interests or pain points, making their pitches more relevant and compelling.

‍

Marketers can also use this data to launch 1:1 campaigns featuring social proof and objection handling.

‍

If the list of accounts is not large enough for a 1:1 approach, then gather the top 3-5 most common objections that resonate with the majority of the accounts.

‍

You can reduce the overall cost by dynamically excluding any account that has contacted sales.

‍

Implementation Tips for Effective ABM

‍

1. Identify in-market accounts by using advanced analytics and account scoring to determine which of your target accounts are actively engaging with your content.
   Tools like HubSpot or Marketo can help streamline the process. 
   ‍
2. Once these engaged accounts are listed, segment them for targeted campaigns that address their specific stages in the buyer’s journey. 
   
   This segmentation allows you to apply more aggressive sales tactics appropriately while continuing to nurture less-ready accounts with educational content.
   ‍
3. Distribute content that educates and engages at various stages of the customer journey. 
   
   This tactical approach ensures that when you invite accounts to a demo or free trial they are informed and more likely to be receptive.
   
   Successful ABM is a blend of patience and strategic agility, tailored to meet both the immediate and long-term goals of your business.

Tip #4 - Breaking Content to Audience Segmentation

The purpose of this step is to develop and deliver content that addresses specific pain points and interests identified in your prospect dossiers.

‍

Strategies for Deepening Prospect Engagement

As you gather more data on your prospects' behaviors, such as the ads they click or the pages they visit, use this information to guide them through a personalized buyer's journey. 

This involves crafting content that speaks directly to their needs and leading them to web pages that provide further value and deepen their engagement with your brand.

Regularly update and refine your ads to keep them in line with your audience's changing interests and needs.

‍

Creating a Content "Buffet"

Offer a Variety of Content Options.

Imagine setting up a buffet of content options tailored to different tastes and preferences within your target accounts. 

‍

By providing a range of topics and formats—from whitepapers and case studies to webinars and interactive tools—you allow prospects to self-select the content that most resonates with them.

‍

Use the insights from observed interactions to refine your understanding of what each prospect cares about. 

This personalized approach not only enhances the relevance of your outreach but also increases the likelihood of a prospect's deeper engagement with your content.

‍

‍

Integrating Technology for Efficiency

While managing this level of personalized engagement can become complex, employing an ABM platform can streamline the process. 

‍

These platforms can help organize and automate content delivery based on user behavior, keeping track of interactions across different channels to maintain a cohesive and personalized marketing approach.
‍

Pro tip:
Before fully investing in an expensive ABM tech stack, validate your strategy with simpler tools or minimal setups to prove its effectiveness. 

A simple way is to use LinkedIn's demographic reporting to see which companies have been exposed to impressions, and which ones are actually engaging.
You can take it a step further and leverage a third-party data connector like data slayer to pull the demographic data from LinkedIn through API.

Tip #5 - Focusing on Outcomes: The "So What?" Factor in ABM

A critical aspect of effective ABM is ensuring that every piece of data, every content interaction, and every campaign has a clear and compelling answer to the question: "So what?" 

Every action should educate, nurture, or capture leads, to bring you closer to revenue.

‍

‍

The Importance of Outcome-Based Messaging

In ABM, it's not enough to highlight the features of your product or the hours it can save a potential client’s team. 

The key is to articulate what these benefits mean in the context of the customer’s specific business challenges and goals. 

When discussing a product feature, such as "saves your engineering team 20 hours a week," it's essential to connect this benefit to tangible business outcomes. 

‍

For example, what does saving 20 hours a week mean for the company?
Could it lead to faster project completions, cost savings, or better resource allocation? 
These outcomes are what will truly capture the interest of decision-makers.

‍

By consistently focusing on the "so what?" of your actions and messaging, you can lift your ABM efforts from functional to transformational.

‍

Pro-tip:
Establish Leading Indicators to Measure ABM Progress:

By establishing clear leading indicators across your marketing funnel, you can quantify progress and tie every action back to tangible business outcomes.

From initial awareness through engagement to conversion, each stage can be monitored and analyzed to ensure marketing efforts move potential clients closer to a sale.
These indicators provide a roadmap that justifies the investment by showing how specific activities contribute to moving accounts through the sales pipeline.

If you want to learn more about creating leading and lagging indicators along with actionable free templates check out the AdConversion Paid Media Program course; Module 2, lesson 1.

‍

Tip #6 - Drilling Into Personas & Messaging

Within any given company, different levels of management and seniority have distinct priorities and challenges. 

For example, C-suite executives might focus on strategic growth and scalability, directors on operational efficiency, and managers on tactical execution.

‍

Tailoring your messaging to address these specific concerns can dramatically increase the relevance and impact of your communications.

Beyond role-based customization, consider the particular needs and pain points of the industry or vertical your target accounts might operate within. 

‍

Strategies for Effective A/B Testing

Implement continuous A/B testing across your campaigns to determine which messages resonate best with each persona. 

Segment your target audience by role and seniority, and tailor your messages accordingly. 

‍

For example, test different value propositions with managers versus C-suite executives to determine which messages drive more engagement or conversions from each group.

Understand that the preferences and behaviors of your audience can evolve, and your ABM strategy should be agile enough to adapt to these changes.

Tip #7 - A/B Testing Value Propositions

By testing two to three variations of each message, you can discover appeals and incentives that resonate with distinct groups within the same role and seniority level.

‍

In cases where the target company might not be large enough to segment by job titles or seniority due to LinkedIn’s filtering limitations, marketers need to think creatively about how to approach personalization and segmentation.

‍

Alternative Segmentation Strategies:
‍

• Use Broad Segments:
  Instead of job titles, consider using job function and seniority or even adding member skills into the mix.
  ‍

• Focus on Common Pain Points: 
  Leverage the common challenges or objectives identified in smaller organizations. 
  
  For example, if most employees are likely involved in decision-making due to the company's size, tailor messages that address broad business benefits that resonate across multiple roles.

As discussed earlier, knowing the top objections by vertical can guide the creation of content and ads that preemptively address concerns. 

This is particularly useful when precise job title segmentation is not feasible.

Tip #8 - Set Aside Time to Ideate

In the fast-paced environment of account-based marketing, it's imperative to carve out dedicated time for creative thinking and experimentation. 

By blocking out time on your calendar, preferably during quieter hours like Friday afternoons, you ensure that you have the space to think deeply and creatively about your ABM strategies.

Regular ideation sessions allow you to review current insights and performance data, enabling you to develop new approaches and refine existing ones.

‍

Pro tip:
Leverage Experimentation and Documentation:
Incorporate a structured approach to experimentation. 

Try out new ideas on a small scale to assess their effectiveness before rolling them out broadly. 

Keep detailed records of your experiments, including:
- Hypotheses
- Execution details
- Outcomes. 

This documentation enables you to capitalize on effective strategies and avoid past mistakes.

Tip #9 - Streamlining the Process with Templates

Keeping detailed and organized documentation of ABM activities, such as experiments, outcomes, and insights will save you lots of time & effort in the long run. 

It can be as simple as using Google Docs with structured headings and a table of contents.

Consistent documentation helps in creating a reliable record that can be referenced in reports and strategy meetings. 
‍

Leveraging Design Templates

Design templates allow marketers to quickly generate new versions of ads or content without starting from scratch each time. 

By standardizing the design elements, teams can focus on tweaking the messaging and content to better align with the target audience’s evolving preferences.

Using templates also ensures that all materials produced are aligned with the brand’s visual identity and messaging guidelines.

Effective Use of Templates and Documentation

Develop a range of design templates for different types of content and ads. 

This library should include templates for social media posts, email campaigns, and other marketing materials that are frequently used in ABM campaigns.

Regularly update the documents with the latest results from A/B tests, data analysis insights, and feedback from sales and marketing teams to maintain accuracy and relevance.

Confirm that all team members are trained on how to use the chosen documentation and templates effectively. 

With the design templates in place, focus on iterating on the creatives frequently.

Especially in smaller audience segments where ad fatigue can set in quickly.

Tip #10 - Don’t Skip Google

While (ABM) often focuses on direct and personalized communication channels like LinkedIn, incorporating Google Ads into your Demand Gen strategy can heavily reduce the overall cost per acquisition (CPA).

The Strategic Use of Google Ads

Google Ads allows you to address specific queries and pain points that your prospects are actively searching for. 

By focusing on these queries, you can position your company as a solution provider right at the moment of need, effectively answering potential customers’ questions through targeted ads.

‍

Often, niche or less competitive keywords related to specific industry questions or problems can be much cheaper than more general, high-intent keywords. 

‍

For example, targeting a specific industry debate or a lesser-known feature comparison can capture relevant traffic at a significantly lower cost.

‍

This, not only increases brand awareness but also positions your company as an authoritative and helpful resource.

Creating content that addresses these queries and promoting it through Google Ads can drive highly targeted traffic to your website, increasing the chances of conversion.

Practical Tips for Implementing Google Ads 

‍

1. Work with your sales and customer service teams to pinpoint the questions and topics that commonly arise during the sales process.
    
2. Use these insights to guide your keyword and content strategy for Google Ads.
   Develop content that answers these questions comprehensively. 
   This could be in the form of blog posts, FAQs, or educational articles. 
   ‍
3. Use the identified keywords to set up Google Ads campaigns. 
   Start with a lower budget to test the effectiveness of your keywords and ads. 
   Monitor the performance and adjust your strategy based on the results.

Conclusion:

In this article, we discussed the significance of Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategies through 10 practical tips and tactics to get the most out of your marketing efforts.

‍

We explored the value of a long-term engagement strategy, emphasizing the need to build relationships through educational content and gradual interactions, rather than taking a direct approach.

‍

Effective ABM involves understanding target accounts' specific needs and behaviors, employing analytics for better targeting, and continuously iterating on creative content to maintain relevance and combat ad fatigue. 

‍

Bookmark this blog as your comprehensive guide for your next ABM efforts to make sure your strategies align with the overall company goal.

‍

If you’d like to reach out or get more weekly tips, please connect with Brandon via Linkedin.

Resources for mastering B2B advertising

If you’re serious about mastering B2B advertising then you definitely need to join 1,000+ B2B marketers leveling up their paid advertising skill sets in AdConversion. 

‍

Here’s 4 reasons why you should consider joining. Every one of our on-demand courses are:

✅  100% free access.

✅  Taught by vetted industry experts.

✅  Have workbooks, resources, and templates.

✅  Less than 10 minutes per lesson.

‍

We believe every marketer should know how to scale paid ads so they can:

•  Scale their ideas
• Level up their careers
• Make a positive impact

‍

Click Here to Join 1,000+ B2B Marketers Today and start leveling up your advertising skill set.

‍

Takes < 90 seconds to sign up (seriously we timed it 😂)

‍

People Also Ask

‍

How can I effectively measure the success of my ABM campaigns?

Utilize key performance indicators (KPIs) such as engagement levels with target accounts, conversion rates, deal velocity, and revenue growth from those accounts. Implementing a robust analytics framework will help in tracking these metrics accurately.

‍

What are the common challenges in aligning sales and marketing teams for ABM, and how can they be overcome?

Challenges include differing objectives, communication barriers, and data silos. Overcome these by establishing shared goals, fostering regular interdepartmental meetings, and utilizing integrated CRM systems to ensure both teams have access to the same account information.

‍

How can I personalize content effectively for different stakeholders within a target account?

Develop detailed personas for each stakeholder role, understanding their specific pain points and objectives. Tailor your messaging to address these unique concerns, ensuring relevance and resonance with each individual.

‍

What role does technology play in scaling ABM efforts, and which tools are essential?

Technology facilitates the automation and scaling of ABM strategies. Essential tools include CRM systems for managing account information, marketing automation platforms for campaign execution, and analytics tools for measuring performance.

‍

How can I ensure data quality and accuracy in my ABM initiatives?

Regularly update and cleanse your data to maintain its accuracy. Implement data governance policies and utilize data enrichment services to fill in any gaps, ensuring your ABM efforts are based on reliable information.

‍

Looking to increase your return on ad spend (ROAS) on LinkedIn?

‍

Your bidding strategy and campaign objective play a critical role.

‍

Here’s my 10 tips from over $10 million investment in LinkedIn paid ads.

(In no particular order, they all matter) 

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Tip #1: The Power Behind Manual Bidding
• Tip #2: Fine-Tuning Your Bids
• Tip #3: Aligning Ad Type & Offer with Objectives
• Tip #4: The Optimal Objective for Thought Leader Ads
• Tip #5: When to Leverage Video Views Objective
• Tip #6: Match Your Content to the Most Suitable Objective
• Tip #7: Take Advantage of Document Ads
• Tip #8: Scale Conversions with Conversation Ads
• Tip #9: Top 3 Objectives for Single Image Ads
• Tip #10: When to Avoid Reach Objective (Brand Awareness)
• Conclusion:
• Resources for Mastering B2B Advertising

Tip #1: The Power Behind Manual Bidding

‍

Unlike automated bidding, which leaves bid amounts at LinkedIn's discretion, manual bidding allows advertisers to set clear cost boundaries. 

‍

This ensures that your campaign expenses align with your budgetary constraints and campaign goals, offering a level of precision that automated bidding simply can't match.

‍

By specifying the maximum amount you're willing to pay for clicks, the manual bidding places you in the driver's seat.

‍

The LinkedIn algorithm, while powerful, may not always allocate your budget most economically when given full control.

‍

Start collecting data quickly for your new campaign by bidding above the minimum threshold recommended by LinkedIn.

When to Consider Automated Bidding:

‍

Automated bidding can be the best choice for specific situations, such as focused Account-Based Marketing (ABM) or retargeting campaigns with small audiences. 

‍

Once the campaign starts spending and there’s a benchmark, you can switch to manual bidding to regain full control. 

Tip #2: Fine-Tuning Your Bids

‍

A successful manual bidding requires daily checks on your spending against your budget to avoid overbidding or underbidding.

‍

This is a straightforward yet insightful process, comparing the previous day's spend against the current daily budget to adjust your bids for optimal performance.

‍

The Process of Bid Adjustment:

‍

By subtracting your daily budget from the previous day's total spending, you gain clear insights into your bidding strategy's effectiveness. 

‍

A negative result suggests underbidding, where you're not fully utilizing your daily budget

‍

While a positive result indicates overbidding, where you're potentially overspending.

‍

Previous day spent - allocated budget = + number indicated bid is too high

‍

The previous day spent - allocated budget = - number indicated bid is too low”

‍

One challenge of manual bidding is finding the sweet spot where your bid is high enough to consume your daily budget fully but not so high that it leads to inefficient spending. 

Side note:
If your audience size is too small, even a high bid will not cover the campaign’s full budget. 

Tip #3: Aligning Ad Type & Offer with Objectives

‍

LinkedIn ad campaigns' success deeply depends on the alignment between the chosen ad type and the content you're promoting.

‍

Understanding the nuances of each ad + offer and matching it to the applicable objective is key to maximizing engagement and conversion rate. 

‍

Selecting the Right Ad Type for Your Objective:

‍

Video Ads: 

‍

When promoting video ads, gravitate towards the Video View or Engagement objectives. 

‍

These objectives are designed to maximize viewership and interaction with your video content, making them ideal for capturing and retaining audience attention.

‍

Example of a video ad:

Document Ads:

‍

The Engagement objective tends to yield the most success for document ads, which include PDFs, presentations, and other downloadable content. 

‍

Keeping document ads ungated and focusing on engagement allows your content to reach a broader audience, enhancing brand visibility and thought leadership.

‍

Example of a document ad:

‍

‍Single Image Ads:

‍

Engagement and Website Traffic objectives can be effective when using single-image ads.

‍

Your choice depends on whether your primary goal is to foster interaction with the ad or drive traffic to your website or landing page

‍

Example of a single image ad:

Tip #4: The Optimal Objective for Thought Leader Ads

‍

If you're looking to boost your presence and authority on LinkedIn, thought leader ads present an attractive option.

‍

These ads turn organic content from individual profiles into sponsored messages, maintaining the authentic voice and personal touch that resonates with audiences. 

‍

These campaigns can achieve lower costs per engagement by leveraging the engagement objective, enhancing their effectiveness and reach.

‍

Understanding Thought Leader Ads:

‍

Personal Touch: 

Unlike standard ads that originate from company pages, thought leader ads come from personal profiles, offering a humanized approach to advertising. 

‍

This method harnesses the inherent trust and relatability of individual thought leaders, amplifying their messages across targeted audiences on LinkedIn.

‍

As of March 2024, businesses can promote content from any connected user on LinkedIn with Thought Leader posts, as opposed to just verified employees.

‍

Seamless Integration: 

‍

To the audience, thought leader ads appear as regular posts but with the added benefit of targeted reach and visibility. 

‍

This seamless integration into the newsfeed portrays a natural engagement experience, hence fostering higher engagement rates compared to traditional ad formats.

‍

Implementation and Best Practices

‍

The success of thought leader ads hinges on selecting organic content that has already demonstrated shares and engagement. 

‍

By sponsoring high-performing posts, you capitalize on proven interest and ensure your ad budget is allocated to content with the highest potential return.

‍

Pro tip:
When creating a new single-image campaign, you can click “browse existing content” to find the post by searching for the LinkedIn member and sending a request for approval. 

‍

Since these ads will not be sent to a landing page, it’s best to place the intended page link in the first comment and pin the comment.

Tip #5: When to Leverage Video Views Objective

‍

When promoting video ads, selecting the Video View objective will increase the likelihood of getting the highest percentage of videos watched at the lowest cost. 

‍

This objective is designed to maximize the number of views your video receives, optimizing for visibility and engagement among your target audience.

‍

Creative Specifications: 

‍

For video creatives, the recommendation is to use a square format (1080x1080 pixels) and include captions. 

‍

This format is not only visually appealing but also takes up the most space in the feed property.

‍

Cost Efficiency and Performance:

‍

The cost for video views on LinkedIn typically ranges from 10 to 15 cents per view. 

‍

While this might be higher compared to other platforms like YouTube, which has been gaining traction in B2B sectors for its cost-effectiveness, LinkedIn's targeted audience can justify the investment.

‍

Best Practices for Video Campaigns on LinkedIn:

‍

Starting with the lowest feasible cost per view (CPV) in your bidding strategy can help manage costs while assessing the content's performance. 

‍

Adjustments can be made based on initial results to find the optimal balance between reach and budget efficiency.

Tip #6: Match Your Content to the Most Suitable Objective

‍

Understanding the type of content you're promoting determines the most effective objective and ad type for your campaign. 

‍

For event promotions, for example, certain ad formats have proven to yield higher results and drive registrations at a lower cost. 

‍

Let’s break down what type of assets yield the highest results for this example:

‍

Lead Generation Forms (LGF): 

‍

The premier choice for driving event registrations. 

‍

Lead-gen forms provide a seamless and streamlined user experience, with pre-populated forms making the conversion process as frictionless as possible. 

‍

The convenience of instantly filling out forms within the LinkedIn platform significantly increases conversion rates for registrations.

Pro tip:
To improve the performance of LGF, it's best to keep the number of custom fields below three. 
While leveraging pre-populated fields can maintain high conversion rates, adding more than two custom questions or actions can deter completions. 

‍

Event Ad Format: 

‍

This is one of the most effective ad types for event registries, but it is important to note that it cannot be combined with any of the conversion objectives. 

‍

Unique to this type of ad is the inclusion of social proof directly within the ad, such as the number of people who have shown interest or are planning to attend the event. 

‍

While its conversion rate may not match that of Lead Generation Forms, the added visibility and credibility from social proof make Event Ads a valuable tactic.

‍

To learn more about promoting events, dive into these articles below:

• 4 Unique LinkedIn Ad Strategies to Drive More Webinar Registrants
• 10 Insider Tips on Event Promotion From $1M+ In Ad Spend

‍

Website Conversion: 

‍

Directing users to a landing page for event registration is generally less preferred due to higher costs and lower conversion rates compared to previous tactics. 

‍

Exceptions exist, such as directing traffic to a calendar link or for specific targeting scenarios, but overall, this method is seen as less efficient for event promotion.

‍

Design and Copy Considerations:

‍

For campaigns opting to use landing pages, prioritizing copy over design is key. 

‍

The hero section, or above-the-fold content, is critical in capturing user interest. 

‍

Ensuring message consistency between your ads and landing page, alongside efficient conversion tracking, will set you up for success.

‍

To learn more about landing page best practices, dive into the article below by Pedro Cortés:

10 Proven Landing Page Tips To Boost Your Conversion Rates

‍

Pro-tip:
Streamlining Campaign Tracking with Dynamic URL Parameters:
‍LinkedIn's introduction of dynamic URL parameters at the campaign level presents a major leap forward in simplifying and enhancing tracking capabilities. 

‍

This feature allows marketers to set up the tracking once for the entire campaign, eliminating the tedious process of manually tagging each ad with unique UTM parameters. 

Tip #7: Take Advantage of Document Ads

‍

Document ads have proven highly effective for marketers looking to deepen engagement and build a robust retargeting pool. 

‍

They typically have impressive click-through rates, often reaching 6-7% or higher. 

‍

The best results from document ads are seen when paired with the engagement objective. 

Users who interact with this ad type demonstrate a clear interest in your content, making them ideal candidates for subsequent, more targeted marketing efforts.

‍

For more information on setting up your first document ads, check out this guide provided by LinkedIn

Tip #8: Scale Conversions with Conversation Ads

Conversation ads offer a unique, direct method of engaging with your target audience by delivering messages right into their LinkedIn inboxes. 

‍

These ads are billed on a cost-per-send basis, making it crucial to manage bids effectively to maximize both reach and budget efficiency. 

‍

Start your bid as low as possible and make adjustments depending on how well it’s pacing.
A good starting point is a $1 bid. 

‍

Due to LinkedIn’s second-price auction model for convo ads, they typically keep the actual cost close to the average historical cost per send. 

This model charges you just enough to outbid the next highest bidder, not the maximum amount you're willing to pay.

‍

Adaptation to Platform Changes: 

‍

Despite recent updates like the focus inbox change on LinkedIn, conversational ads have continued to perform well. 

‍

The direct nature of these ads keeps them effective, maintaining their status as a top-performing ad type.

‍

Best Practices for Conversational Ads:

‍

Because convo ads are more intrusive than other ad types, it’s important to ensure your targeting is precise. This precision prevents user annoyance and increases the likelihood of engagement.

‍

The content of your conversation ads should be compelling and offer clear value to a specific job function.

‍

Pro-tip:
The sender should resonate with the target audience for the highest credibility. 
Choosing someone with a similar job function or an industry expert/influencer can immediately boost credibility.

‍

For additional tips on convo ad’s best practices, check out this post by AdConversion

Tip #9: Top 3 Objectives for Single Image Ads

‍

Single-image ads are versatile and can be tailored to meet various objectives, but understanding which objective to prioritize can have a noticeable impact on the effectiveness of your campaigns.

‍

Lead Generation: 

The primary objective for many single-image ad campaigns is lead generation.

LinkedIn’s Lead-gen focuses on gathering user information through forms that are pre-populated with LinkedIn profile data, making it easier for users to submit their information without leaving the platform. 

‍

Engagement: 

‍

The second most common objective for single-image ads is engagement. 

‍

This objective aims to maximize interactions such as likes, comments, and shares. 

‍

It's particularly useful for increasing brand visibility and engagement within your target audience. 

‍

Fostering interactions also enhances the organic reach of your ads through the network effects of user engagement.

‍

The visual appeal and message of your single-image ad should resonate with your audience and encourage interaction. 

‍

Regular testing and adaptation of your ad creatives can help maintain high engagement levels.

‍

Website Visits:

‍

The third objective focuses on driving traffic to your website or specific landing pages to achieve conversions. 

‍

Whether your goal is to increase sign-ups, sales, or another conversion action, directing users to your website allows for more detailed tracking and nurturing of potential leads in your sales funnel.

Tip #10: When to Avoid Reach Objective (Brand Awareness)

‍

Brand awareness, which prioritizes impressions and broad visibility, often comes under scrutiny due to its cost implications and lower engagement metrics compared to other objectives.

‍

The reach objective operates on a cost-per-impression (CPM) model, where you are charged each time your ad is displayed, regardless of user interaction. 

‍

This can lead to higher expenditure without the guarantee of equivalent engagement or conversions. 

‍

The inherent nature of paying for mere visibility rather than actionable engagement makes this objective less appealing for many advertisers seeking tangible returns on their investment.

‍

This objective is also inefficient for retargeting. 

‍

Building retargeting audiences requires not just impressions but meaningful interactions that signal interest or intent. 

‍

The reach objective's focus on maximizing views rather than fostering engagement makes it less effective for gathering a meaningful contribution toward the retargeting pool.

Conclusion:

‍

In this article, we covered 10 actionable tips for matching the most suitable objectives and bidding strategies to your LinkedIn campaigns.

‍

Whether it’s choosing manual bidding to control costs, aligning ad types with your marketing objectives, or understanding when to leverage specific ad formats, each tip offers a pathway to better performance.

‍

By implementing these top 10 tips, you can navigate through the complexities of LinkedIn paid ads with greater precision and efficiency.

‍

I hope you found this article insightful and that it leads to successful outcomes for your future campaigns.

‍

If you’d like to reach out or get more tips, please connect with me via LinkedIn.

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People Also Ask

How can I determine the optimal bid amount for my LinkedIn ad campaigns?

Begin by setting bids slightly above LinkedIn’s recommended minimum to gather initial data. Monitor daily performance, adjusting bids to ensure your budget is fully utilized without overspending. Regular analysis helps in finding the balance between cost-efficiency and achieving desired reach.

‍

What are the best practices for aligning ad creatives with specific campaign objectives?

Ensure that your ad format and content match your campaign goals. For instance, use Video Ads with the Video View objective to maximize engagement, or Document Ads with the Engagement objective to share downloadable content effectively. Aligning creatives with objectives enhances campaign performance.

‍

How do I choose between manual and automated bidding strategies?

Manual bidding offers control over costs, allowing precise budget management, while automated bidding leverages LinkedIn’s algorithm for potentially broader reach. For Account-Based Marketing (ABM) or retargeting campaigns with small audiences, automated bidding can be effective. However, starting with manual bidding can provide valuable insights and control.

‍

What factors should I consider when selecting the appropriate campaign objective?

Identify your primary marketing goal—brand awareness, lead generation, website traffic, etc. Choose objectives that align with these goals and consider the ad formats that best support them. For example, use the Engagement objective for Thought Leader Ads to boost authority and reach.

‍

How can I effectively measure the success of my LinkedIn ad campaigns?

Track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, cost per click (CPC), and return on ad spend (ROAS). Regularly analyze these metrics to assess performance and make data-driven adjustments to your strategies.

‍

Increase your SaaS landing page conversions with strategies you can apply today.

‍

I’ve had the pleasure of crafting more than 100+ landing pages for top SaaS brands.

‍

Here are my top 10 tips and landing page best practices for increasing conversion rates. 

(In no particular order, they all matter) 

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Tip #1 - Showing the “Aha Moments” in the Hero Section
• Tip #2 - Switching from “Call to Action” to “Call to Value”
• Tip #3 - The Art of Showcasing True Value
• Tip #4 - Contrast: The Psychology Behind Decision-Making in SaaS
• Tip #5 - The Art of Show vs Tell
• Tip #6 -  Increase Conversion by Selling Indirectly
• Tip #7 - Showcasing the Crucial 20% That Truly Resonates
• Tip #8 - Minimizing Risk to Maximize Conversion
• Tip #9 - How to Find Those “Aha Moments”
• Tip #10 - The Three Pillars for an Effective Landing Page
• Bonus Tip: Enhance Your Mental Reference
• Conclusion
• Resources for Mastering B2B Advertising

Tip #1 - Showing the “Aha Moments” in the Hero Section

‍

Unlike traditional approaches that cram the hero section with exhaustive product details, the most effective strategy is to spark curiosity.

‍

The hero's purpose transcends mere product selling; it's about unveiling those 'aha' moments that resonate deeply with the audience, compelling them to explore further.

‍

'Aha' moments are those instances of sudden insight or discovery that leave a lasting impression on the audience.

‍

In the hero section, showcasing these moments effectively can be the difference between a visitor bouncing off the page and one who stays to learn more.

‍

For example, rather than just stating that a product simplifies a complex process, demonstrating this transformation through a brief, engaging visual or interactive element can be far more compelling.

The Case for Clarity and Creativity:

‍

Consider a tool that converts audio instructions into a polished presentation.

‍

A straightforward statement like "You talk, we'll write" paired with a generic AI-themed image does little to convey the true potential of the product. 

‍

A more effective strategy would involve a dynamic display of an audio clip evolving into a complete slide deck right within the hero section. 

‍

This visual demonstration not only clarifies the product's purpose but also instantly showcases its efficiency and innovative approach, making the value proposition clear and compelling from the outset.

Tip #2 - Switching from “Call to Action” to “Call to Value”

‍

A compelling call to action (CTA) is effective not just because it tells users what to do, but because it clearly shows the value they'll get from taking action.

‍

This principle is particularly relevant when discussing how to entice potential users to engage with a SaaS product, whether through booking a demo, signing up for a trial, or merely exploring the features of a tool.

‍

The Strategy of Value-Driven CTAs:

‍

A common misstep in crafting CTAs is the assumption that a straightforward directive—such as "Sign up for free" or "Book a demo"— suffices to motivate action.

‍

However, this overlooks the critical need to communicate the unique benefits that await the user.

We need to shift from a generic call to action to one that vividly presents a 'value proposition'.

‍

For instance, rather than merely inviting potential customers to "book a demo," a more effective approach would illustrate what they can expect to gain from that demo, such as “Book a 30-Minute Demo & Walk Away With 5 Tailored Tips”

‍

Tailoring Experiences to Overcome Skepticism:

‍

Marketers need to ensure that CTAs are not just gateways to product features but also to experiences that address the visitors' needs and concerns. 

‍

Particularly in industries where customers are overwhelmed with choices, standing out requires demonstrating immediate and tangible value.

‍

Practical Example:
A service offering insights into optimizing YouTube ad placements might offer a "Free consultation to uncover 10 high-impact ad placements you're missing." 

This approach directly speaks to the user's desire to gain an advantage and assures them of receiving valuable insights regardless of their decision to commit to the service.

‍

Leveraging Trust Through Transparency and Results:

‍

Trust plays a major role in converting users from interested observers to active participants. This trust can be significantly bolstered by transparency and evidence of potential results.

‍

A case in point involves a service that automates customer feedback collection, where the CTA emphasizes the realistic outcomes users can expect, such as "Join our trial and see how businesses gain 10+ new reviews in just a week." 

‍

Such a statement not only sets clear expectations but also addresses common concerns around efficacy and value for time spent.

Tip #3 - The Art of Showcasing True Value

‍

The debate between emphasizing features versus benefits has long been a topic of discussion. 

‍

However, a more profound approach focuses on selling outcomes—a strategy that transcends the traditional split by aligning a product's capabilities directly with the customer's success.

‍

This method does not just highlight what the product can do or the advantages it offers but rather, it shows the tangible impact it will have on a user's objectives, such as enhancing profitability, efficiency, or operational insights.

‍

For example, instead of stating that an analytics tool provides comprehensive data analysis (a feature) or delivers actionable insights (a benefit), outcome-based selling would focus on how it enables businesses to identify and rectify inefficiencies in their ad spend, ultimately increasing ROI.

‍

Crafting an Indirect Promise:

‍

One of the critical nuances of this approach is the subtlety of the promise being made.

‍

Directly stating that a product will lead to more revenue or savings might trigger skepticism. Thus, the art lies in painting a scenario that leads the customer to reach these outcomes naturally. 

‍

By detailing the insights or efficiencies a tool provides, customers begin to see the path to increased profits or reduced costs themselves, making the conclusion feel like their discovery rather than a bold claim from the company.

‍

Practical Example:
‍Consider a service that offers AI-driven call answering for small businesses. Rather than simply stating it answers calls, the marketing message could focus on the outcome:
‍
"Never miss a sale again with our AI receptionist, ensuring you capture every opportunity, 24/7." 
‍
Such framing not only addresses the immediate feature but also connects it to a desirable business outcome—increasing sales by capturing every call.

Tip #4 - Contrast: The Psychology Behind Decision-Making in SaaS

‍

Mastering the subtle technique of drawing contrasts does more than just emphasize a product's strengths;

‍

It vividly contrasts the potential customers' current challenges with the brighter prospects that the right solution can offer. 

‍

Fundamentally, selling through contrast means outlining the challenges or limitations customers currently face and comparing these with the transformative benefits the product can provide.

‍

The effectiveness of this strategy lies in its ability to magnify the perceived value of a solution, making the switch or become not just logical but, essentially, inevitable.

‍

Crafting Compelling Contrasts:

Creating compelling contrasts requires a deep understanding of the customer's current struggles and how they align with the unique capabilities of the SaaS solution. 

‍

This involves asking probing questions that uncover pain points and limitations of current tools or processes and demonstrating how the product not only addresses these issues but also offers additional, unforeseen benefits

Tip #5 - The Art of Show vs Tell

‍

Transcend beyond the superficial allure of adjectives like "fast," "easy," or "better," which, while enticing, often fall short of conveying the true essence and capability of a product.

‍

Demonstrating Value Through Evidence:

‍

The key lies in demonstrating value through clear, undeniable evidence. 

‍

For instance, showcasing a time-lapse video of creating a 25-email sequence in 15 minutes delivers a powerful, visual affirmation of the tool's efficiency.

‍

This method not only captures attention but also dispels doubts by providing a visual benchmark for the tool's capability.

‍

The Synergy with Earlier Strategies:

‍

"Show, don't tell" beautifully complements earlier discussed strategies like focusing on outcomes and creating contrast. 

‍

It provides the tangible proof that underpins these approaches, ensuring that the marketing message is not just heard but felt and understood.

‍

The landing page below has a short video demonstrating the value to prospects.

Tip #6 -  Increase Conversion by Selling Indirectly

‍

The ability to sell outcomes indirectly is not just a tactic; it's an art form. 

‍

The essence of this approach lies in the subtle but powerful shift from telling prospects about the benefits of a product to showing them the tangible impact it can have on their operations, revenue, or efficiency. 

‍

Direct claims often invite skepticism, whereas indirect suggestions inspire imagination and belief.

‍

The Power of Indirect Selling:

‍

Direct selling, especially when it involves bold claims like being the "number one CRM for a niche," tends to be met with skepticism.

‍

Prospects are bombarded with similar claims daily, making them numb to such assertions. 

‍

The challenge, therefore, is to engage their imagination and lead them to the conclusion that your product is the superior choice without explicitly stating it.

‍

This involves painting a picture of the outcomes in a way that the prospect can see themselves achieving these results with your product.

‍

Practical Example:
Consider the scenario of a dental practice missing calls—and thereby potential business—outside of office hours.‍ 

Instead of merely stating that an AI receptionist tool can save them money and time, the narrative is constructed around the loss incurred when calls go unanswered.

By quantifying the potential loss (e.g., "every missed call could cost you a thousand dollars"), the message effectively highlights the cost of inaction. 

‍‍This approach leverages the fear of loss, a potent motivator, making the solution offered by the product not just desirable but necessary.

‍Another innovative approach is using analytics and user feedback mechanisms within the product itself to remind users of the value they're missing by not upgrading.

‍

Tip #7 - Showcasing the Crucial 20% That Truly Resonates

‍

The effectiveness of a landing page can significantly influence a company's conversion rates. 

‍

Simplicity is one of the most important components of a successful landing page, yet it is often overlooked.

‍

Rather than bombarding potential customers with every detail and feature of the product, present just enough information to pique interest and guide visitors to the next step.

‍

The primary goal of a landing page is not to sell the product in its entirety but to entice visitors with a compelling overview that encourages them to explore further.

‍

Say more with less:

• Show, Don't Overwhelm: overloading a page with information can deter potential leads.
  ‍
• Simplify the Decision-Making Process: by offering a snapshot rather than a deep dive, companies can make it easier for prospects to decide and engage further with the product. 
  ‍
• Address Key Objections Proactively: incorporating elements that address key objections can transform a passive viewer into an active lead.

‍

Every potential customer comes with a set of preconceived notions and concerns that could hinder their willingness to engage with a product. 

‍

Successful landing pages anticipate these objections and address them upfront.

‍

 This proactive strategy serves two purposes: 

• Reassures visitors that their concerns are recognized 
• Positions the company as attentive and customer-centric.

‍

For instance, if a common objection is the perceived complexity of integrating a new software tool into existing workflows, a landing page might feature testimonials from users who found the process straightforward and supported. 

‍

This kind of social proof can alleviate concerns and motivate visitors to take the next step.

‍

Practical Example:
‍Consider a SaaS product designed to enhance project management. 

Instead of listing every feature and tool available, focus on showcasing how it simplifies project tracking, enhances team collaboration, and leads to better project outcomes.

Use visuals and brief case studies to demonstrate the benefits. 

This method not only captures interest but also sets the stage for visitors to discover more by trying the product themselves.

‍

The Role of the Landing Page in the Sales Process:

‍

The landing page itself is not the end goal but a means to an end. 

‍

The ultimate objective is to guide visitors toward making a decision. 

‍

So, the landing page should be designed with this goal in mind, ensuring that the call-to-action (CTA) is clear, compelling, and aligned with what visitors are seeking.

‍

This concept extends to product-led growth companies, where even free products require a degree of selling. 

‍

In this context, the landing page must convincingly communicate the value of trying the product, addressing any barriers to action, such as time investment or skepticism based on past experiences with similar tools.

Tip #8 - Minimizing Risk to Maximize Conversion

‍

Removing perceived risk is often more straightforward and impactful than detailing the outcome. 

‍

This approach centers on simplifying the decision-making process for potential users by alleviating their concerns and highlighting ease of use.

‍

The Challenge of Clarifying Outcomes:

Clarifying the outcome a product or service offers can be a complex task, requiring precise language and a deep understanding of the audience's needs and expectations.

‍

It involves not just stating what the product does, but also communicating its value in a way that resonates with potential users. 

‍

This can be particularly challenging when dealing with innovative or complex solutions where the benefits are not immediately apparent.

‍

Easing the Path to Conversion:

‍

Contrary to the complex process of defining outcomes, mitigating risk for the user often follows a more straightforward path.

‍

It involves clear, actionable steps that directly address common concerns and barriers to entry. 

‍

Possible actions include:

• Enhancing Call to Actions
• Addressing Objections Proactively
• Showcasing Practical Examples

‍

Removing risk transforms the decision-making process from a calculation into an opportunity.

‍

When potential users feel that they have nothing to lose and everything to gain, the barrier to taking the next step lowers significantly. 

Tip #9 - How to Find Those “Aha Moments”

‍

Identifying “ Aha Moments” requires a deep understanding of the user experience, often achieved through collaboration with teams directly interacting with customers, such as sales and support.

‍

Once identified, these moments should be prominently featured on the landing page.

‍

This could involve detailed case studies, interactive demos, or succinct bullet points that directly address common questions or concerns.

‍

For instance, if a product offers unprecedented ease of use, showing a quick video of someone setting up a complex task in minutes can be incredibly persuasive.

‍‍

Practical Example:
Illustrating how a product can solve a problem in a way that no other can, such as automating a task that typically takes hours into just a few clicks, can instantly communicate its value.

Practical examples not only aid in understanding but also help potential users envision themselves benefiting from the product.

‍

Tip #10 - The Three Pillars for an Effective Landing Page

‍

Creating an effective landing page is like constructing a building.

‍

It requires a solid foundation and supportive pillars to ensure stability and function. 

‍

There are three critical pillars that, when thoroughly crafted and harmonized, can significantly enhance the page's effectiveness and conversion rates. 

‍

These pillars are: 

• Results: the promise of value
• Perceived Superiority: standing out from the competition
• Risk Mitigation: lowering the barriers to adoption

‍

This approach ensures that every element of the landing page works in harmony to support the ultimate goal:

‍

Driving conversions and achieving business objectives.

Bonus Tip: Enhance Your Mental Reference 

‍

Just as artists draw from a vast mental library of images and concepts to create something novel and breathtaking, landing page designers and copywriters must build their own collection of inspirational references. 

‍

This mental database enables them to recognize and apply successful elements from various sources, combining them in innovative ways that resonate with their specific audience.

‍

How to build your mental reference: 
‍

• Curate Examples: actively seek out and save examples of landing pages, ads, copy, and designs that catch your attention. some text
  • Tools like Pinterest or dedicated design inspiration websites can be invaluable.
    ‍
• Analyze What Works: don't just collect examples; study them.some text
  •  What makes a particular landing page effective?
  •  How does it engage its audience?
  •  How are the visuals and copy aligned to convey a compelling message?
    ‍
• Learn from Various Industries: broaden your horizons by exploring successful landing pages across different sectors.
  ‍
• Stay Updated: the digital landscape is ever-evolving, and so are the trends in landing page design and copywriting. Keeping up-to-date with the latest trends ensures your mental reference is not only vast but also relevant.

Conclusion:

In crafting effective landing pages, the key lies in simplicity, clarity, and focusing on the product's true value.

‍

By enticing users with outcomes rather than overwhelming them with features, addressing their concerns upfront, and demonstrating the tangible benefits they stand to gain, companies can significantly boost conversions.

‍

This holistic approach, from spotlighting product essence to leveraging contrast and indirect selling, transforms landing pages from mere entry points into powerful catalysts for customer engagement and success.

Resources for Mastering B2B Advertising

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People Also Ask

How can I effectively measure the success of my landing page optimizations?

Utilize analytics tools to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) like conversion rates, bounce rates, and average session duration. A/B testing different elements can also provide insights into what changes resonate with your audience.

‍

What are common pitfalls to avoid during landing page optimization?

Avoid cluttered designs, slow load times, and unclear calls-to-action. Ensuring mobile responsiveness and aligning content with user intent are also crucial to prevent high bounce rates.

‍

How often should I update or test my landing pages?

Regularly review performance metrics and conduct A/B tests, especially when introducing new products or campaigns. Continuous optimization helps maintain relevance and effectiveness.

‍

What role does SEO play in landing page optimization?

Incorporating relevant keywords, optimizing meta tags, and ensuring fast load times can improve search engine rankings, driving more organic traffic to your landing page.

‍

How can I personalize landing pages for different audience segments?

Use dynamic content to tailor messages based on user demographics, behavior, or referral sources, creating a more personalized and engaging experience.

‍

‍

Looking to boost registrations for your next event?

I’ve been a part of a team that has driven 10,000+ registrations for events like Ascend, and Innovation Day. 

‍

Here are my top 10 event promotion best practices for increasing registrations through paid ads.

(In no particular order, they all matter) 

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Tip #1: The Four-Stage Framework for Event Marketing
• Tip #2: Utilizing Partnerships & Internal Networks
• Tip #3: Mastering Segmentation & Efficiency 
• Tip #4: Remarketing Mastery: Capitalizing on Targeted Engagement
• Tip #5: Cross-Channel Integration
• Tip #6: Geo-Targeted Ads: Precision Marketing for Event Success
• Tip #7: Gamification: Turning Engagement into a Competitive Advantage
• Tip #8: Display Advertising & Maximizing Visibility
• Tip #9: Remarketing Campaigns: Sharpening the Focus for Better ROI
• Tip #10: Mastering ROI: The North Star of Marketing Success
• Conclusion
• Resources for Mastering B2B Advertising

‍

Tip #1: The Four-Stage Framework for Event Marketing

‍

Maximizing ROI on event marketing demands more than just throwing money at promotions.

‍

It requires a carefully structured budget across four critical stages: 

1. Pre-Event
2. Event-Day
3. Post-Event
4. Repurpose-Phase

‍

‍

Let’s break down each stage.

‍

1/ Pre-Event: The Hype Machine:

‍

The goal here is to generate buzz and build anticipation. It's about investing wisely in creating brand awareness with assets like videos, static images, that get people excited and start conversations.

‍

The aim? To discover what truly resonates with your audience.

‍

‍

2/ During the Event Day: Capturing Attention:

‍

As the event unfolds, there's a golden opportunity to keep marketing with timely emails and live updates. 

‍

It's not just about informing; it's about keeping the engagement needle moving by reminding attendees of the value they're getting, right as it happens.

‍

‍

3/ Post-Event: Leveraging Assets:

‍

Post-event, the focus shifts to capitalizing on the event's content. 

‍

Recorded sessions and dedicated landing pages become key tools in extending the event's lifecycle. 

‍

How? By marketing these assets to both attendees for reinforcement and to those who missed out, providing them a chance to engage.

‍

‍

4/ After The Event - The Repurpose Phase:

‍

Finally, we enter the "Repurpose-Phase," where content from the event transcends its original context. 

‍

This is where smart marketers reuse and recycle event content in ads or promotions for future events, turning one-time efforts into long-term assets.

‍

‍

Budget distribution:

‍

Whatever your budget may be, the principle remains the same—allocate strategically. 

‍

Invest heavily in the “Pre-Event Phase” to find your audience's pulse and save a portion for the "Repurpose Phase" to fuel future events.

‍

This staggered approach not only maximizes exposure at each stage but also ensures that registrations and engagement peak when it matters most.
‍

Practical Budgeting Example

With a $1,000 budget, consider allocating $600 towards the Pre-event phase to test and refine your marketing approach. 

‍

Reserve $200 for live engagement during the event, and use the remaining $200 to promote your post-event content and seed future events, ensuring your marketing efforts continue to bear fruit long after the event has concluded.

Tip #2: Utilizing Partnerships & Internal Networks

‍

When your marketing budget seems like a drop in the ocean, it's time to get creative with what you have. 

‍

Even with $5,000 in hand, there's a wealth of untapped potential lying within your LinkedIn connections and internal team networks.

‍

Strategic Content Sharing: 

‍

Kickstart your campaign by encouraging your team to engage with your event posts on LinkedIn. 

‍

This simple action can significantly boost your visibility, pushing the algorithm into recognizing your content's importance.

‍

Influencer Collaboration: 

‍

Whether it's through LinkedIn, Instagram, or niche forums like Reddit, reaching out to influencers with a teaser of your event will extend your reach beyond your immediate circle.

‍

Pro-tip:

Offer influencers engaging assets like short videos to make sharing easier and more appealing. The goal is to make your event resonate within their networks, amplifying your message through trusted voices in the community.

‍

How to Craft Influencer Outreach:

‍

Semrush: When faced with promoting an event with limited resources, leveraging Semrush to identify key content creators in your domain can be a game-changer. 

‍

Once you find out which websites are most suitable, cold emails to these targeted individuals proposing collaboration opportunities can open doors to new audiences.

‍

‍

LinkedIn Strategies: Joining  LinkedIn groups and engaging with active members can also unearth opportunities for partnership. 

‍

It's about finding mutual benefits, even if it comes with a price tag. 

‍

Influencers typically have set rates, so budget accordingly. However, when reaching out directly to content creators or platforms, there's more room for negotiation. 

‍

‍

Boosting Organic Posts: Another proven method is enhancing your LinkedIn posts organically through employee engagement before opting for paid promotions.

‍

Remember, it's not just about spending money but making every dollar work smarter.

‍

Example of Boosting an organic post for LinkedIn

‍

For additional tips on promoting events, check out this LinkedIn post by AdConversion.

Tip #3: Mastering Segmentation & Efficiency 

‍

Let’s start with critical pitfalls to steer clear of.

‍

Broad targeting equals wasted effort.

‍

Dial into the specifics of your audience to ensure your content reaches the right eyes and ears.

• ‍Segmentation is Non-negotiable: Specificity in targeting not only enhances engagement but also optimizes your budget by focusing on the most promising prospects.
• ‍Creativity within Constraints: Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. "Good Enough" can often be your best starting point. Launch with what you have, then adapt and improve.
• ‍ROI vs. ROE: While ROI (Return on Investment) reigns supreme, don't overlook the ROE (Return on Effort). 

‍

Evaluate the potential returns against the effort required. Sometimes, the simplest strategies yield the best results without exhaustive planning and resource allocation.

‍

Pro-tip:

• Launching event promotion comes with its share of delays and edits. Start early and simplify. 
• Overcomplicating creative requests can bottleneck the process, jeopardizing your timeline.Embrace minimalism in your initial creative assets. 
• Focus on refining the message rather than getting lost in the design details. There will be room to iterate and enhance based on real-world feedback.

Tip #4: Remarketing Mastery: Capitalizing on Targeted Engagement

‍

After laying the groundwork with audience segmentation, remarketing emerges as the strategic follow-through that ensures your message continually reaches those most likely to act.

‍

It’s about reconnecting with website visitors, video-view watchers, image interactors, etc. 

‍

Reaching to those who demonstrated interest but haven't yet taken the desired action.

‍

By targeting these engaged users with specific, relevant ads, the probability of conversion (registration) significantly increases.

‍

If you want a crash course on remarketing check out this 35-page blueprint on How to Build a Multichannel B2B Remarketing Strategy by Silvio Perez. 

‍

‍

Tip #5: Cross-Channel Integration

‍

Using just one platform for event promotion is like whispering in the midst of a loud crowd.

‍

The essence of cross-channel integration lies in presenting a unified brand narrative across various platforms. 

‍

From LinkedIn's precise targeting capabilities to the broad reach of YouTube and the personal touch of Meta's networks, each channel plays a critical role in amplifying your event's visibility.

‍

Pro tip: Check this article to learn how to get LinkedIn-like targeting on YouTube ads for B2B.

‍

Platform-Specific Strategies: A Closer Look:

‍

YouTube: Leveraging YouTube for its vast audience and cost-effective view rates turns your event promotion into an engaging visual narrative.

‍

Here, remarketing shines, allowing you to reconnect with interested viewers through compelling video content.

• ‍LinkedIn: With unmatched segmentation options, LinkedIn stands out for B2B event promotion. Tailoring your message to reach specific professional demographics ensures your event resonates with the right audience.
• ‍Meta: Often underestimated in B2B contexts, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) offer a unique space for testing and remarketing. Here, the personal intersects with the professional

‍

Navigating the Creative Challenge:

‍

A common hurdle in cross-channel marketing is content creation, especially video for platforms like YouTube. 

‍

The solution? Creativity and repurposing. Utilize existing assets, from high-engagement talks to website walkthroughs, and repurpose them into new video content with minimal effort.

‍

Think of content as modular components that can be assembled and reassembled to suit different platforms.

‍

A blog post can transform into an infographic, a webinar clip, or a social media snippet, maximizing your content's reach and lifespan.

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Tip #6: Geo-Targeted Ads: Precision Marketing for Event Success

‍

For events that offer both in-person and virtual attendance options, geo-targeted ads stand out as a proven tactic. 

‍

By targeting potential attendees within a specific radius of the event location, you ensure that your advertising dollars are spent on those most likely to attend in person.

‍

Example of Meta’s radius targeting:

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Measuring the Impact of Geo-Targeted Campaigns:

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Leveraging tools like Gradual allows for detailed tracking of event registrations, distinguishing between virtual and in-person sign-ups. 

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This segmentation is key in evaluating the effectiveness of geo-targeted campaigns, providing insights into lead quality and audience relevance.

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Creative and Tactical Considerations:

‍

While geo-targeting primarily focuses on the pre-event phase, its implications for brand visibility are vast. 

‍

Creative tactics, such as mobile digital billboards, can also play a role in maximizing local awareness, even in relation to competitors' events.

‍

Pro-tip

• For events with significant local interest, consider augmenting your digital geo-targeting with physical advertising moves. 
• This can create a buzz around your event and ensure your brand remains top-of-mind among your target audience.

Tip #7: Gamification: Turning Engagement into a Competitive Advantage

‍

Gamification: A strategy to break through the noise!

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By switching up event promotion into an interactive and competitive experience, you not only capture attention but also foster a sense of community and excitement around your event.

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Practical Example

• Offering a free drone to the attendees with the most referrals turns the event sign-ups into an engaging competition. 
• This not only increases exposure but also incentivizes participants to become advocates for the event, effectively turning them into an extension of the sales team.

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Operationalizing Gamified Content:

‍

Using tools like Gradual, attendees receive a virtual ticket upon registration, complete with a unique referral link for sharing on social platforms. 

‍

This system not only simplifies sharing but also tracks referrals back to the source, enabling a competitive leaderboard to emerge.

Tip #8: Display Advertising & Maximizing Visibility

‍

Stepping beyond traditional advertising channels can lead to remarkable visibility. 

‍

Display advertising, mainly used through Google Display Network or programmatic ads, holds untapped potential when approached through direct publisher partnerships.

‍

Direct Publisher Engagement: 

‍

The strategy here isn’t just to place ads but to place your event promotions on websites specifically relevant to your niche. 

‍

By using tools like SEMRush to identify these niche publishers and reaching out directly, you can secure ad placements that speak directly to an engaged audience.

‍

The Operational Dynamics:

‍

Differentiating from the wide net cast by typical display networks, focusing on publisher partnership involves negotiating directly with site owners. 

‍

This can range from pop-up ads to dedicated ad slots on their site, leveraging their audience for your event’s gain.

‍

Reducing Variables for Success: 

‍

The common pitfalls of display advertising come from an overwhelming array of variables. From ad dimensions and placements to the diversity of websites. 

‍

By choosing a direct partnership with publishers, you drastically reduce these variables, focusing on what matters most: context and audience relevance.

‍

Tip #9: Remarketing Campaigns: Sharpening the Focus for Better ROI

‍

We touched on the importance of remarketing in tip #4 but this is such an easy win for most brands that it deserves emphasizing. Since users have interacted with the brand before, remarketing can be ideal for high-intent offers such as "demos" or "free trial". The initial challenge often lies in cultivating a large enough audience size.

‍

Start by building broad prospecting campaigns to stir interest and engagement across your target demographics. This boosts awareness and seeds your remarketing pool with individuals who have shown an initial interest in your offerings.

‍

Remarketing should be viewed not just as a conversion approach but as a nurturing mechanism. With the ability to promote a mix of content—from event announcements to demos and trials—remarketing can support the entire customer journey, especially in B2B contexts where sales cycles are longer.

‍

If you want a crash course on remarketing check out this 35-page blueprint on How to Build a Multichannel B2B Remarketing Strategy by Silvio Perez.

Tip #10: Mastering ROI: The North Star of Marketing Success

‍

Knowing your numbers and directly tying marketing efforts to revenue generation and pipeline acceleration is fundamental. The ultimate measure of marketing’s effectiveness lies in its ability to influence revenue. 

‍

Every campaign, ad, and event should be scrutinized through the lens of its potential to contribute to the bottom line. This requires a deep understanding of your audience, the sales cycle, and the points at which marketing interventions can make a tangible difference.

‍

Operationalizing ROI-Focused Strategies:

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Quantitative Analysis: Adopt a data-driven approach to every marketing initiative. 

‍

This means setting clear, measurable objectives upfront, rigorously tracking performance, and continually refining tactics based on empirical evidence of what works.

• ‍Strategic Alignment: Ensure that marketing activities are fully aligned with broader business goals. Collaboration with sales, product development, and customer success teams can provide valuable insights that help tailor marketing efforts for maximum impact on revenue and pipeline progression.
• ‍Cultivating a Business Mindset: Transitioning from a pure marketing perspective to thinking like a CEO involves a broader appreciation for how marketing activities contribute to the overall health and growth of the business. 

‍

It’s about seeing beyond immediate metrics to understand the strategic importance of marketing as a driver of long-term success.

Conclusion

‍

In this article, we covered 10 actionable tips for promoting your next successful event through paid ads.

‍

Just to highlight a few key points, we talked about the 4 pillars of event promotion and how to distribute your budget in each phase, utilizing partnerships & internal networks, audience segmentation, and thinking like an investor to maximize your return on investment (ROI) and return on effort (ROE).

‍

Each of the 4 event planning stages plays an important role, from generating buzz and capturing live attention to extending the event's influence and repurposing its content for future efforts. The power of partnerships, strategic content sharing, and influencer collaborations cannot be overlooked. It’s an effective way of broadening reach without proportionally increasing spend. 

‍

Remarketing and audience segmentation are essential for converting initial interest into conversions (registrations), while cross-channel integration expands your digital footprint to reach your audience on all key platforms. 

‍

I hope you got a ton of insights from this article and wish you fruitful results for your next events. 

Resources for Mastering B2B Advertising

‍

If you’re serious about mastering B2B advertising then you definitely need to join 1,000+ B2B marketers leveling up their paid advertising skill sets in AdConversion. 

‍

‍Here’s 4 reasons why you should consider joining. Every one of our on-demand courses are:

✅  100% free access.

✅  Taught by vetted industry experts.

✅  Have workbooks, resources, and templates.

✅  Less than 10 minutes per lesson.

‍

We believe every marketer should know how to scale paid ads so they can:

•  Scale their ideas
• Level up their careers
• Make a positive impact

Click Here to Join 1,000+ B2B Marketers Today and start leveling up your advertising skill set.

Takes < 90 seconds to sign up (seriously we timed it 😂)

‍

People Also Ask

‍

How can I effectively measure the success of my event promotion campaigns?

Utilize key performance indicators (KPIs) like registration numbers, attendance rates, engagement levels during the event, and post-event feedback. Tools like Google Analytics and social media insights can help track these metrics.

‍

What are some common pitfalls to avoid in event promotion?

Avoid neglecting audience segmentation, underestimating the importance of follow-up communications, and failing to allocate sufficient budget across all promotional phases. Ensuring a balanced approach can prevent these issues.

‍

How can I leverage user-generated content to enhance event promotion?

Encourage attendees to share their experiences on social media using a dedicated event hashtag. Feature this content in your promotional materials to build credibility and engage potential attendees.

‍

What role does influencer marketing play in promoting events?

Collaborating with industry influencers can expand your event’s reach and add credibility. Influencers can share event details with their followers, potentially increasing registrations.

‍

How can I ensure a seamless transition from online promotion to on-site engagement?

Maintain consistent messaging across all platforms and provide clear information about the event schedule, location, and activities. Utilize event apps or social media groups to keep attendees informed and engaged before and during the event.

‍

‍

Are you looking to drive a greater return from your paid ads?  

The answer often lies outside of the ad platforms themselves. 

Here are 10 actionable tips to improve ad performance outside the ad managers. 

Let’s dive into it! 👇

‍

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Tip #1: Unleash the Power of GA4’s Page Path Report
• Tip #2: Leverage Multiple Data Sources to Measure Performance
• Tip #3: Work with the Product or Service Team to Design Lead Magnets
• Tip #4: Meet with Sales & Customer Success for Insights
• Tip #5: Get Hands-on with Your Product or Service
• Tip #6: Dive Into CRM Metrics for a Holistic View
• Tip #7: Get Regular Insights from the Sales team
• Tip #8: Link Marketing Efforts to Business Results
• Tip #9: Incorporate Leading Indicators into Your Success Metrics
• Tip #10: Practice Patience 
• Conclusion‍
• Resources for mastering B2B advertising

‍

Tip #1: Unleash the Power of GA4’s Page Path Report

‍

Have you ever wondered how visitors wander around your site before hitting that sweet 'convert' button? 

‍

In B2B, it's pretty rare for someone to convert after just one page visit. So, imagine discovering that a whopping 90% of your future clients check out your pricing page before deciding you're the one. 

‍

That's your cue! With this intel, you can strategically place pricing info where it matters most, like in your ads or on key landing pages. It's all about making that path to conversion as smooth as possible.

‍

GA4's Page Path report is like a treasure map showing you the most popular pit stops.

‍

You can access the page path report by signing into your GA4 account, on the left-hand side, click on “explore” and select the pre-made template called “path exploration”. 

In the example below, we can see out of 1,958 page views, we had 17 form submissions ↓ 

‍

Bonus tip from episode insights:
Tools like Hotjar can be like a pair of X-ray glasses for your website. They let you peek into how users navigate your pages, showing you exactly where they bounce off or get hooked. This information can help tweak your landing page by identifying unaddressed user concerns or areas for expansion.

‍

Tip #2: Leverage Multiple Data Sources to Measure Performance

‍

Effective marketing decisions require more than just ad platform insights. 

‍

The in-platform metrics are a great starting point,  but what you gain out of it is quite limited. 

‍

You can get the initial results for optimization such as CTR, CPC, frequency, open rate, or impression share depending on the channel,  but the true source of data would have to be combined with CRM data.

‍

By bringing together data from Google Analytics 4 and your CRM, you can create a multidimensional view of your campaigns' effectiveness.

‍

This is more important than ever before with the deprecation of third-party cookies. 

‍

Bonus tip from episode insights:
Ideally, you would have at least 3 supporting data points to back up recommendations. 
This is especially true for recommendations that will require a major lift. 

Tip #3: Work with the Product or Service Team to Design Lead Magnets

‍

A lead magnet involves providing valuable content in return for information such as a name, email address, job title, and company name.

‍

To stand out, we need to create offerings that genuinely attract and provide value to our audience, moving beyond ebooks and webinars to create lead magnets that are both informative and irresistible.

‍

Rather than offering an e-book that your prospect may or may not find valuable, try offering resources or workshops that speak to the prospect’s unique pain points.

‍

This shift not only aligns with consumer preferences but also sets the stage for more meaningful interactions.

‍

Now, the question still remains: "Do content lead magnets contribute to the pipeline?"

‍

For most B2B SaaS companies, less than 5% of content actually leads to pipeline conversions. 

‍

The most effective conversions come from meetings that address the prospect's real issues without any intention of selling them something (absolutely no hidden agendas!).

Tip #4: Meet with Sales & Customer Success for Insights

‍

Use the insights from the Sales and CS team to fine-tune your strategy, offers, audience, ad copy, or any key piece of information that might be misaligned with current campaigns.

‍

Understanding customer pain points, questions, and feedback directly can guide you in creating content that resonates deeply and addresses real needs.

‍

Sales and CS teams possess in-depth knowledge about the demographics, pain points, and motivations of existing customers.

‍

Marketers can leverage this information to refine buyer personas, ensuring that marketing messages and content resonate effectively with target audiences.

Tip #5: Get Hands-on with Your Product or Service

‍

There’s no substitute for experiencing what you’re marketing firsthand. 

‍

Dive into demos, use the product daily, or participate in the service being offered. 

‍

This deep dive helps you understand the nuances and unique selling points from a user's perspective.

‍

Understanding the core value of the product or services will help you communicate the value proposition when writing your ad copy.

‍

It also provides your clients with a fresh perspective to fill any potential gaps. 

‍

If you are not sold on the product/service, then how can you sell it to someone else?

Tip #6: Dive Into CRM Metrics for a Holistic View

‍

Regularly reviewing CRM data helps you see the real-world impact of your campaigns.

‍

This feedback loop is crucial for making data-driven decisions that can improve campaign performance and ROI over time. 

‍

3 key metrics you should always consider as a B2B Marketer:

1. Pipeline-to-spend ratio
2. Average time to close
3. Average deal size

‍

If you have not already, request CRM access from your clients so you have context around the key metrics and speak the same language as your clients. 

‍

As a marketer, you must connect all activities directly to revenue since that's ultimately what matters most to businesses.

‍

It will make clients see you as a strategic partner in their business.

Tip #7: Get Regular Insights from the Sales team

‍

Adding on to tip #4, the sales team’s daily interactions with prospects and customers are a treasure of insights that can refine your marketing approach.

‍

Often, marketing and sales operate in silos, even though they're both working towards the same goal. 

‍

Having a monthly or quarterly meeting with your main point of contact (POC) can help close the gap, but if that is not possible then download the CRM notes to make necessary adjustments to your campaigns. 
‍

Bonus tip from episode insights:
If you've got a substantial list of prospects who passed on your offering due to specific reasons (ex: product gaps), you can build an audience list of these closed lost customers and run ads against them when you roll out a new product feature that addresses those concerns.

Tip #8: Link Marketing Efforts to Business Results

‍

Awareness campaigns might not deliver immediate conversions, but their role in nurturing leads and supporting the customer journey is crucial. 

‍

Work with other Marketing team members to build case studies and analytics to illustrate how awareness campaigns contribute to overall business goals.

‍

A compelling way to validate the impact of awareness campaigns is to assess the performance disparity between remarketing campaigns and cold audience initiatives. 

‍

For example, showing a significantly lower cost per demo from prospects with prior brand exposure can justify the investment for awareness campaigns.

Tip #9: Incorporate Leading Indicators into Your Success Metrics

‍

By understanding what early success looks like, you can refine your strategies in real time, ensuring your marketing efforts are always moving in the right direction. 

‍

These leading indicators could be top-of-funnel metrics such as:

• Clickthrough rate (CTR)
• Cost per click (CPC)
• Engagement rate

‍

Leading indicators are vital for navigating the complex B2B landscape, offering the insights needed to steer your marketing efforts toward success, even when immediate sales results are not visible.

Tip #10: Practice Patience 

‍

B2B sales cycles are naturally longer than B2C, requiring a mindset that values persistence and long-term strategy over instant results.

‍

By analyzing attribution data and understanding the nuances of traffic sources, you can refine the strategies. 

‍

The key is to establish a robust measurement system and integrate leading indicators to track progress.

‍

Recognize and celebrate the small milestones along the way to keep morale high and maintain focus on the long-term goals.

Conclusion

‍

Yielding results for your B2B SaaS marketing is not about quick wins; it's a marathon, not a sprint. 

‍

Deeply understanding your product, closely aligning with sales and customer success teams, and strategically utilizing a variety of data sources lay the foundation for sustainable success.

‍

Real growth comes from consistently applying insights, adjusting based on performance indicators, and staying committed to your long-term vision. 

‍

Here's to marketing smarter, not harder, and seeing your efforts pay off!

Resources for mastering B2B advertising

If you’re serious about mastering B2B advertising then you definitely need to join 1,000+ B2B marketers leveling up their paid advertising skill sets in AdConversion. 

‍Here’s 4 reasons why you should consider joining. Every one of our on-demand courses are:

✅  100% free access.

✅  Taught by vetted industry experts.

✅  Have workbooks, resources, and templates.

✅  Less than 10 minutes per lesson.

We believe every marketer should know how to scale paid ads so they can:

•  Scale their ideas
• Level up their careers
• Make a positive impact

Click Here to Join 1,000+ B2B Marketers Today and start leveling up your advertising skill set.

Takes < 90 seconds to sign up (seriously we  timed it 😂)

‍

People Also Ask

How can I effectively measure the impact of these non-advertising strategies on my overall marketing performance?

Utilize analytics tools to track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as website traffic, lead generation, and conversion rates. Implement UTM parameters to monitor the effectiveness of specific campaigns and assess their contribution to your marketing goals.

‍

What are some common challenges when integrating these strategies, and how can I overcome them?

Challenges may include aligning cross-departmental goals, ensuring consistent messaging, and accurately attributing results. Overcome these by fostering collaboration between teams, maintaining clear communication channels, and employing comprehensive attribution models to understand the impact of each strategy.

‍

How can I ensure that the insights gathered from sales and customer success teams are effectively incorporated into my marketing campaigns?

Establish regular meetings with sales and customer success teams to share insights and feedback. Create a centralized repository for this information and integrate it into your marketing content and strategies to ensure alignment with customer needs and preferences.

‍

What are some best practices for designing lead magnets that resonate with my target audience?

Develop lead magnets that address specific pain points or challenges faced by your target audience. Ensure they provide actionable value, are easily accessible, and align with your brand’s expertise. Formats like e-books, whitepapers, and webinars can be particularly effective.

‍

How can I maintain patience while waiting for these strategies to yield results, especially under pressure to demonstrate immediate ROI?

Set realistic expectations by establishing short-term milestones that lead to long-term goals. Communicate the anticipated timeline and benefits to stakeholders, emphasizing the importance of sustainable growth over quick wins.

‍