LinkedIn Ads Targeting

1. Define Ideal Customer Profile (ICP):
   - Job titles / functions (e.g., "VP of Marketing", "Marketing Director")
   - Seniority levels (Director, VP, C-Suite)
   - Company size (51-200, 201-500, 501-1000, 1001-5000, 5001-10000, 10000+)
   - Industries (Computer Software, Information Technology, Financial Services)
   - Geography (country, state/region, metro area)

2. Layer targeting (AND logic between categories, OR within):
   - Job Function: Marketing OR Sales
   AND
   - Seniority: Director OR VP OR CXO
   AND
   - Company Size: 201-5000 employees
   AND
   - Industry: Computer Software OR SaaS
   AND
   - Geography: United States

3. Check audience size:
   - Minimum for delivery: 50,000 members
   - Ideal for optimization: 100,000-500,000 members
   - If too small: broaden seniority or add related job functions
   - If too large: narrow by skills, groups, or company list

4. Save audience for reuse across campaigns

1. Prepare company list (CSV):
   - Columns: Company Name, Company Domain, Company LinkedIn URL (optional)
   - Minimum 300 companies for matching
   - Recommended: 1,000-5,000 companies for scale

2. Upload to LinkedIn:
   - Campaign Manager → Plan → Audiences → Create Audience → Company List
   - Upload CSV
   - Wait for matching (usually 24-48 hours)
   - Expected match rate: 60-80% (LinkedIn matches by domain and name)

3. Layer with job-level targeting:
   - Company list: Your target accounts
   AND
   - Job Function: Decision makers (IT, Engineering, C-Suite)
   AND
   - Seniority: Director+ (avoid targeting individual contributors)

4. Create campaign tiers:
   Tier 1 (Top 50 accounts): Highest bids, personalized messaging
   Tier 2 (Next 200 accounts): Standard bids, industry-specific messaging
   Tier 3 (Remaining accounts): Lower bids, broader messaging

5. Measure ABM-specific metrics:
   - Account penetration: % of target accounts reached
   - Engagement rate by account tier
   - Pipeline influenced by ABM campaigns

1. Form field selection (fewer fields = higher CVR):
   Recommended fields:
   - First Name (pre-filled) ✅
   - Last Name (pre-filled) ✅
   - Email (pre-filled) ✅
   - Company Name (pre-filled) ✅
   - Job Title (pre-filled) ✅
   
   Optional (add 1-2 max):
   - Phone Number (reduces CVR by 20-30%)
   - Company Size (custom question)
   - "What's your biggest challenge?" (custom question)

2. Form design:
   - Headline: Clear value proposition (what they get)
   - Description: 1-2 sentences, specific benefit
   - CTA button: "Download Now", "Get the Report", "Request Demo"
   - Privacy policy link: Required
   - Thank you message: Include next steps and timeline

3. Lead quality improvement:
   - Use custom questions to qualify (budget, timeline, authority)
   - Require work email (reject @gmail.com via CRM filter)
   - Set minimum company size in targeting to filter SMBs
   - Use hidden fields to pass UTM params and campaign ID

4. Follow-up workflow:
   - Sync leads to CRM within 5 minutes (Zapier, native integration)
   - Send confirmation email within 1 hour
   - Sales follow-up within 24 hours (speed-to-lead matters)
   - Nurture non-ready leads via email sequence

5. Benchmark CVRs:
   - 3 fields: 12-15% form fill rate
   - 5 fields: 8-12% form fill rate
   - 7+ fields: 4-8% form fill rate

Objective → Format mapping:

Brand Awareness:
  → Sponsored Content (Single Image or Video)
  → Follower Ads
  → Audience: Broad (100k-500k)

Consideration / Engagement:
  → Sponsored Content (Carousel or Video)
  → Conversation Ads (multi-CTA InMail)
  → Audience: Mid-size (50k-200k)

Lead Generation:
  → Sponsored Content + Lead Gen Form
  → Message Ads (InMail) + Lead Gen Form
  → Audience: Targeted (50k-150k)

Website Traffic:
  → Sponsored Content (Single Image)
  → Text Ads (for sidebar placement, very cheap)
  → Audience: Broad (100k+)

Recruitment:
  → Sponsored Content (Job posts)
  → Message Ads
  → Audience: Job function + seniority specific

User: "We're launching a project management tool for mid-market companies. Help me target on LinkedIn."

Audience build:
  Layer 1 - Job Function: Project Management, Operations, IT
  Layer 2 - Seniority: Manager, Director, VP
  Layer 3 - Company Size: 201-500, 501-1000, 1001-5000
  Layer 4 - Industry: Computer Software, Information Technology, Professional Services
  Layer 5 - Geography: United States, Canada, United Kingdom

  Estimated audience: ~180,000 members ✅ (ideal range)

Campaign structure:
  Campaign 1: Awareness (Single Image + Video)
    Budget: $50/day | Bid: CPM $45 | Duration: 4 weeks
    Creative: Product hero image + 30s demo video
    
  Campaign 2: Consideration (Carousel)
    Budget: $75/day | Bid: CPC $8 | Duration: 4 weeks
    Creative: Feature highlights across 4 cards
    Retarget: Video viewers (50%+ completion)

  Campaign 3: Lead Gen (Lead Gen Form)
    Budget: $100/day | Bid: CPC $10 | Duration: ongoing
    Creative: Case study + "Get Free Trial" CTA
    Form: Name, Email, Company, Job Title, Company Size
    Target CPL: $80-120

User: "We have a list of 500 target accounts. Set up ABM on LinkedIn."

Setup:
  1. Upload company list CSV (500 accounts)
  2. Expected matches: ~375 companies (75% match rate)
  3. Layer targeting:
     - Company List: Uploaded accounts
     - Seniority: Director, VP, CXO
     - Job Function: IT, Engineering, Operations
     - Estimated audience: ~8,000 members (narrow but OK for ABM)

  Campaign tiers:
    Tier 1 (Top 50 accounts): InMail + Sponsored Content
      Budget: $150/day | Personalized messaging by account
      "Hi [Name], we help companies like [Company] reduce..."

    Tier 2 (Next 150 accounts): Sponsored Content only
      Budget: $100/day | Industry-specific messaging

    Tier 3 (Remaining 300 accounts): Sponsored Content
      Budget: $75/day | Generic value proposition

  Measurement:
    - Account penetration rate (target: reach 60% of accounts in 90 days)
    - Engagement rate by tier (target: 0.5%+ CTR)
    - Pipeline influenced: track via CRM UTM attribution

User: "Our LinkedIn lead gen forms have a 5% conversion rate. How do I improve?"

Diagnosis:
  Current form: 7 fields (Name, Email, Phone, Company, Title, Size, Budget)
  
Recommendations:
  Test A (Minimal): 3 fields
    - First Name (pre-filled)
    - Email (pre-filled)
    - Job Title (pre-filled)
    Expected CVR: 12-15%
    Trade-off: Higher volume, lower lead quality

  Test B (Balanced): 5 fields
    - First Name (pre-filled)
    - Email (pre-filled)
    - Company (pre-filled)
    - Job Title (pre-filled)
    - "What's your primary challenge?" (dropdown, 4 options)
    Expected CVR: 8-11%
    Trade-off: Good balance of volume and quality

  Additional optimizations:
    - Headline: Change from "Contact Us" to "Get Your Free ROI Report"
    - CTA button: Change from "Submit" to "Download Now"
    - Add urgency: "Limited spots available" or "2026 pricing ends March 31"
    - Thank you page: Include calendar booking link for instant scheduling