Learning from the Pros

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. 

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I’ll be sharing all my insights below 👇

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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. 

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

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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. 

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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. 

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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.

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Hope you found this article helpful!

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

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

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

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

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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

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

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All of your messaging should come back to this problem. 

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

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

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

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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

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

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

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

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

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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. 

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

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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

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

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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. 

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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.

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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

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A picture is worth a thousand words.

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

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

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You can see how we did this for Scytale below. 

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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

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

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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. 

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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? 

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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? 

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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

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

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

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

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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

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

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

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

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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. 

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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

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

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Be human – friendly, silly, colloquial, personable.

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

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

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

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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

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

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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. 

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

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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.

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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?

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

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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. 

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Hope you found this article helpful!

Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn with any questions. 

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

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Content marketers and performance marketers rarely communicate. 

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

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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. 

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

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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”

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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. 

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

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

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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

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

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Revisit this content. 

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

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

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

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

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Otherwise, you may end up confusing your audience. 

Tip #3: Use paid media to guarantee distribution

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

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

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

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

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Is there an opportunity to put money behind this content? 

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

Tip #4: Have a clear POV

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

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

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

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

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

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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

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

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

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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. 

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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

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

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There’s so much noise these days. 

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If you’re running ads, everybody else is. 

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If you’re creating content, everybody else is. 

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

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

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

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

Tip #7: Leverage user-generated content

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

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

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This is great for both organic content and ads. 

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

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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

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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. 

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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. 

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

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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. 

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

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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

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

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

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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. 

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What interactions have the people in your retargeting audience taken? 

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

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

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

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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

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

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

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

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Are there certain messages that are resonating more? 

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Are there certain formats that are performing better? 

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

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

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

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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

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

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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. 

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

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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. 

‍

Resources for mastering B2B advertising

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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

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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)

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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. 

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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.)

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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.

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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. 

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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: 

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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. 

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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. 

‍

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

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All of these details will affect whether the audience feels they can trust you with their click. 

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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.

‍

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 levelling up your advertising skill set.

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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. 

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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! ♥️

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Connect with me on LinkedIn, and let’s keep the conversation going. 

You can also visit my website here for more valuable content.

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