The new sponsored updates offer businesses the opportunity to share updates prominently in the timelines of targeted decision-makers. Sponsored updates is currently in limited release, but will be available to all beginning the week of July 29. In ordered to run sponsored updates, you need to have a LinkedIn company page and a LinkedIn advertising account.
One of the most effective features of LinkedIn sponsored updates is the ability to target your campaign to your ideal customer profiles. You can target sponsored updates as follows.
Don't target your campaign too narrowly, you may miss out on lead generation opportunities.
Sponsored updates let you choose between a cost-per-click or a cost-per impression charging basis. I recommend the cost-per-click basis for most small to mid-sized businesses. You're only charged when someone clicks on your sponsored update. This basis is best for performance based campaigns where your objective is lead generation. Under the cost-per-impression basis, your charged every time someone sees your ad. This is generally better for larger companies whose objective is to increase brand awareness.
You can also choose a daily or campaign budget amount and choose whether to run your campaign indefinitely or until a specified date. I recommend running a few limited budget campaigns to see which posts and which target audiences produce the best business results. Once you know what works, you can invest in campaigns that will produce.
Your sponsored updates should be similar to your other social media updates. Your objective is to be helpful, not salesy. Remember, your sponsored update will be the first impression most of your target audience has with your company. Make sure it's a good one!
Here are some best practices for your sponsored updates.
SMB internet marketing software provider HubSpot ran pilot campaignsusing sponsored updates to reach their target of marketing professionals at small to mid-sized businesses. They ran campaigns offering eBooks, webinars and how-to-guides with the objective of driving traffic to their website and generating qualified sales leads. HubSpot found that sponsored updates generated 400% more leads within their target audience than lead generation efforts on other platforms
HubSpot's CMO Mike Volpe describes sponsored updates, "We have seen very high quality leads coming in from our Sponsored Updates on LinkedIn. Not only can we target the audience we want to, we can promote our best performing content, getting even more out of this marketing solution."
LinkedIn sponsored updates offer businesses an excellent new way to generate qualified leads effectively and affordably. We will definitely take advantage of this new advertising opportunity and will share our experiences with you on this blog. What do you think of LinkedIn sponsored updates?