How to Advertise On LinkedIn

8 Dec

Key Takeaways

Precision Over Volume: LinkedIn is not a volume game; it is a value game. Success lies in targeting "buying groups" rather than just individual job titles, utilising the platform's unique data to reach decision-makers with high intent.
Creative Must Be Human-to-Human (H2H): The "boring B2B" aesthetic is dead. To stand out in a feed full of corporate announcements, your creative must be visually arresting and emotionally resonant, treating the professional as a person first.
The Integrated Agency Advantage: Media buying on LinkedIn is expensive, so efficiency is paramount. An integrated agency like One Day Agency ensures your creative assets are designed specifically for the media placement chosen, while our planning teams actively manage bids and audiences to ensure high ROAS, regardless of whether you are a startup or a global enterprise.

LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network, but for many advertisers, it remains an expensive mystery. With costs per click often dwarfing other platforms, the margin for error is slim. However, for B2B brands and high-value B2C offerings, the quality of the audience is unmatched. This guide breaks down the fundamentals of advertising on LinkedIn, moving beyond the "boost post" mentality to a strategic, full-funnel approach that turns professional connections into revenue.

The art of high-value targeting

If you treat LinkedIn like Facebook with a tie on, you will lose money.

This is the first lesson in advertising on the platform. While the interface might look similar to other social networks, the mindset of the user is fundamentally different. People are here to learn, to advance their careers, and to do business. This creates a unique environment where the intent is high, but the tolerance for irrelevant or low-quality advertising is incredibly low.

For business owners and marketers, LinkedIn represents the gold standard of B2B advertising. However, it also carries a reputation for high Cost Per Milled (CPM) and Cost Per Click (CPC). At One Day Agency, we work with businesses of all sizes, from agile startups to multinational corporations, and we have found that the high cost is only a barrier if your strategy is flawed.

Here is how to approach the platform using marketing fundamentals that drive real returns.

The Targeting Engine: Precision Is Profit

The primary reason to pay the premium for LinkedIn inventory is the data. No other platform knows exactly who a user works for, what their job function is, and how senior they are.

However, a common mistake is getting too granular too quickly. Marketers often target "CEOs" in "Tech" and wonder why their audience size is tiny and their costs are astronomical.

Target the Buying Committee B2B decisions are rarely made by one person. They are made by a group. You need to reach the influencer, the researcher, and the signer. Instead of just targeting "Job Titles," look at Job Functions and Skills.

Job Function: This captures people who do the work, even if their title is creative or non-standard (e.g., "Chief Happiness Officer" might actually be an HR Director).
Skills: This targets what people know. If you are selling marketing software, targeting people with "SEO" or "Programmatic Advertising" as a skill is often more effective than targeting "Marketing Managers."

The Creative: Death to the Stock Photo

There is a misconception that because LinkedIn is "professional," ads must be stiff, blue-hued, and full of stock photos of people shaking hands.

This is fundamentally wrong.

You are still marketing to humans. The principles of Human-to-Human (H2H) marketing apply here more than anywhere else because the feed is so often dry. To win attention, you must disrupt the pattern.

Video: Video content on LinkedIn generates high engagement. Short, punchy videos that add value (tutorials, insights, hot takes) work better than polished corporate showreels.
Carousels: These are perfect for storytelling or educational content. They keep the user on your ad for longer, signaling to the algorithm that your content is valuable.
The Hook: Your first sentence (or the first 3 seconds of video) must address a specific pain point. Don't start with "We are excited to announce..." Start with the problem your audience is facing right now.

The Ad Formats: Reducing Friction

When advertising an app or a service, your goal is usually to get a lead. On mobile, asking a user to click through to a slow-loading website to fill out a form is a conversion killer.

Enter LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms. This is a native tool where the form pops up inside LinkedIn, pre-filled with the user's profile data (Name, Email, Job Title, Company). The user hits "Submit" without ever typing a word. We consistently see these forms lower the Cost Per Lead (CPL) by significantly reducing friction.

Tool Tip: If you use a CRM like HubSpot or Salesforce, integrate it directly with LinkedIn Campaign Manager. This ensures that leads generated via Lead Gen Forms are instantly routed to your sales team, allowing for immediate follow-up.

Budgeting: The Integrated Approach

This is where the difference between a siloed approach and an integrated agency becomes clear.

LinkedIn is expensive. If you have a limited budget, you cannot afford to "spray and pray."

For Startups/Small Budgets: Focus on a "sniper" approach. Use highly specific targeting (e.g., Uploading a list of target companies via Matched Audiences) and bid manually to control costs. Focus on bottom-of-funnel objectives like Lead Generation.
For Enterprise/Large Budgets: You can afford to build a brand. Run video ads for awareness (top of funnel) to a broad audience, and then retarget those who watched 50% of the video with a Lead Gen Form (bottom of funnel).

How We Plan and Buy

At One Day Agency, we don't just "run ads." We build ecosystems. Because we are an integrated agency, our media planners sit next to our creative strategists.

The Planning Phase: We analyse your business to understand not just who you want to reach, but when they are receptive. We use tools like the LinkedIn Insight Tag to see who is already visiting your website, allowing us to build "Lookalike Audiences" based on your actual customers, not just your guesses.

The Buying Phase: We actively manage the auction. LinkedIn uses a second-price auction model. If you leave your bids on "Automated," you might pay more than necessary to win the impression. Our team manually adjusts bids based on performance, ensuring that every pound of your budget is working as hard as possible.

Furthermore, we understand that LinkedIn rarely works in isolation. We might use LinkedIn to identify and tag high-value decision-makers, and then retarget them on Meta or Google Display where the inventory is cheaper. This cross-channel fluidity is the hallmark of a truly integrated strategy.

Conclusion

Advertising on LinkedIn is a commitment to quality over quantity. It requires a respect for marketing fundamentals: know your audience, solve their problem, and remove friction. By moving away from generic corporate messaging and embracing a data-led, creative-first approach, you can unlock access to the most powerful professional audience on the planet. Whether you are a local consultancy or a global SaaS provider, the tools are there; it is simply a matter of using them with precision.

If you want to learn more about Online Advertising, check how to advertise on Facebook or Pinterest!

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