As LinkedIn grows, the platform continues to add innovative and helpful features. At least 1.6 billion people visit the platform monthly, and approximately 40% of visitors engage organically with other users weekly. There’s a lot of room for promotion on LinkedIn, from sponsored newsletters to thought leader ads. If you’re interested in promoting content from your profile, LinkedIn ads can be helpful to get the word out. However, it’s important to be mindful of your use of the ads. If you’d like to optimize the reach of your profile, consider the best practices we share here:
How LinkedIn Ads Can Work For You
In the not-so-distant past, LinkedIn only allowed company pages to run ads. Now that profiles can also access this feature, opportunities abound for small businesses, coaches, and consultants to tap into the value of advertising on LinkedIn. With this type of ad, you can boost content from your personal profile. This drastically improves the chances of users seeing and engaging with your posts, which is excellent news! Even if you have a significant following, only a small percentage of users will see your content organically. When you boost a post from your profile, you can handpick your audience. With this targeted approach, you’ll improve the odds that the individuals you want to connect with will encounter your posts. Moreover, personal profile ads are often more affordable than traditional advertising on the platform.
Types of Ads to Consider
If you’re considering advertising on LinkedIn via your profile, there are two main types of ads to consider. Thought leader ads can be an excellent fit for individuals who want to promote single-image posts, videos, text-only posts, or link posts. As of this writing, document posts such as PDF carousels or event posts aren’t eligible for thought leader ads. Essentially, this ad format allows you to boost your posts right from your newsfeed. These posts look very similar to organic content, and the only difference you’ll notice is a small label that states “Promoted by [Company Name]” where the follower count would typically be.
Another ad format to consider is LinkedIn’s sponsored messaging ads. These have been available for a while, but individual profiles do not commonly use them. This is a great way to build an effective influencer funnel and can even be used with thought leader ads. You’ll need to designate a sender for sponsored messaging ads, so for consistency’s sake, be sure to use the same profile you’re using for thought leader ads. These messages appear in a user’s inbox like a regular message but are prefaced with a “Sponsored” label. You can also include a clickable CTA button, which isn’t possible in standard LinkedIn messages. Please note that users can’t respond to sponsored messaging ads and can only fill out forms or click on the links included in the message.
LinkedIn’s advertising features are multiplying, and the ability to advertise via a personal profile is an exciting new update. Thought leader ads and sponsored messaging ads can be powerful ways to establish credibility and expand your audience. The platform offers advanced targeting, running the gamut from industry to company size and seniority level. If you’re interested in running ads from your profile, we’d love to help you navigate this new strategy. Our team is here whether you want to focus exclusively on LinkedIn marketing or explore other ways to grow your brand. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for a consultation.