LinkedIn Targeting Playbook
Contents
1. What are the basics of targeting on LinkedIn?
2. How to run account-based marketing campaigns with Account Targeting
3. What are member personas and how can I use them?
4. What are the LinkedIn Targeting best practices?
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Be the most effective platform for marketers to engage
with professionals
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions’ mission
Be the most effective platform for marketers to engage
with professionals
Influenced by their professional networksOpinions from their professional peers impact personal buying decision
A professional audience Brand-loyal professionals with more purchasing power than other social platforms
In an aspirational mindsetOpportunity for marketers to align their brands with member’s professional success
Mindset + Context
Reach the right professional audiences Market to who matters
Rich demographic dataJob Function, Seniority,
Company Name, Geo, Industry
Interest-based targetingGroup Membership, Skills, Fields of Study
Persona targetingJob Searchers, Opinion Leaders, Mass Affluent, Business Travelers
Your own audience dataTarget Account Lists
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Targeting on LinkedIn 101
Danie
Seattle, Washington USA
Boston UniversityCommunicationBachelor of Science2011, 25-34
Simply Measured51-200 employeesInternet
Senior Marketing ManagerMarketing, Senior IC
CMA, LEWIS, Social Tools
SEO, Social Media, Digital Marketing, Blogging
Build a relevant target audience on LinkedIn
LinkedIn Targeting Capabilities
Use LinkedIn’s 15 targeting dimensions to define your ideal customer:
• User-provided targeting facets are based on information members enter when building their profile
• Derived facets are based on user-provided standardized data
USER-PROVIDED
GeographyTitle
CompanyCompany Following Group Membership
SchoolGraduation Year Field of Study
DERIVED
Geography (IP)Function Seniority
Years of ExperienceCompany Size
Company IndustryGender
Age
User-provided targeting fields
Title
Company
Member-specified location
Group Membership
Company Following
SchoolField of Study
Graduation Year
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Targeting by Function Inferred from user-entered title
User-entered Title
↓
Standardized Title
↓ ↓
Seniority Function
Levels of Seniority:
Unpaid / Training / Entry IC* / Senior IC* / Manager / Director / VP / CXO / Partner / Owner*Individual contributor (IC) includes highly skilled professionals e.g. engineer, teacher, doctor, lawyer, etc
IP or member-entered
• Sponsored Content will be delivered to members who fit the geo-targeting criteria by either IP or member entered geography
• Like Sponsored Content, Text ads do not have a priority of delivery for IP or member-entered location
Member-entered geo
• LinkedIn Dynamic Ads use member-entered locations only
• Sponsored InMail uses member-entered locations when available (If the member in your target audience doesn’t have a location specified in their profile, Sponsored InMail uses IP).
IP only
• Traditional display ads are the only ad type on LinkedIn using IP only targeting.
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Geo-targeting by Product
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Targeting by Company Size and Company Industry Member industry is directly inferred from their current experience
Company Entered Name
Company Entered IndustryCompany Entered # of employees
Sample Targeting Facets:Company Name → LinkedIn
Company Industry → InternetCompany Size → 5,000-10,000
Large companies may span several industries but can only choose one. Spot-check company pages to ensure you are targeting the correct industry.
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Targeting by Seniority
Focus on hands-on influencers• Target senior individual contributors
(ICs) as part of your audience• Senior ICs test products and
influence the purchase• Senior ICs represent a much bigger
audience than the person that will ultimately sign the contract
PRO TIPCraft different messages for ICs versus Owners/Partners/CXOs.
Manager
Senior
Entry
Director
VP
OwnerCXO
PartnerTraining
Unpaid
Targeting by Years of Experience (YoE)Years of experience is calculated based on all the positions listed in a member’s
profile using the month and year from start and end dates.
Count begins with first listed positionGaps in experience are not countedOverlapping positions are not counted
Creative Years of Experience Targeting Combinations
Entry / Senior IC + YOE = experienced decision-makers & influencersSkills + YOE = skilled experts
Degrees + YOE = educated professionals
Functions + YOE = seasoned functional leaders
YOE = great alternative to “Run of Site”
Targeting by Professional SkillsReach experts in their fields who have:
• Explicitly added their skills into the skills section
• Have skills mentioned on their profile text, but not within the explicit skills section
• Have inferred skills based on explicit skills and key values they entered
LinkedIn Member Personas
INTERNAL USE ONLY
What are Member Personas?
Unique aggregations of targeting facets, which are built based on member entered data and user behavior
• Action or trigger-based (e.g. Job Searchers)• Intent-based (e.g. Opinion Leaders)• Data model-based (e.g. SMB Inferred)
* Member Personas are only available for Sponsored InMail and managed service Sponsored Content campaigns
LinkedIn Member Personas
FINSERVFinance & Banking Followers, Mass Affluent, Active Traders, Credit Card, Finance Followers, Financial Advisor Network, Fortune 1Ks, Finance Opinion Leaders
RegionalOutside of Home Country Connections, Canada Dual
Language, Ex-Pat Segment, Newcomers to Canada
TECHIT Committee, Technology Followers, CI/TO Network
General UseRetail Followers, Entrepreneurship & Small Business Followers, SMB Inferred, Young & Upwardly Mobile, Opinion Leaders, Business Travelers, Small Business Growth, Energy Followers, CEO Network, Mobile/Device, Automotive Followers, Freelancers,
EDUEducation Followers, Students,
Higher Ed Followers, Career Starters, Job Searchers, Unemployed
Professionals, Career Changers, Bachelors but no Masters, 2-7 Years
of experience, 13+ Years of Experience, Undergrad Senior, Veterans, Company Changers
Power of Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
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The Buying Committee
OperationsFinanceSalesMarketing C-Suite HR
Now all possess budget, purchase authority, and influence in buying decisions
Align sales and marketing by seamlessly engaging influencers and decision-makers across your key accounts with Account
Targeting on LinkedIn
Source: LinkedIn data;
Senior Level Decision Influencers
60M+Decision Makers
40M+C-level execs
6.8M+Opinion Leaders
10.7M+
Match your target account list to over 8MM+ Company Pages on LinkedIn
Extend Account-based marketing seamlessly across devices with Sponsored Content and Sponsored InMail
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Align program dollars and resources against priority accounts that are determined
in partnership with your sales team Use Case Why How
Audience and reachAccurately target influencers across prospect organization
RelevancyTailor Sponsored Content and Sponsored InMail campaigns to accounts that matter most
Business impactDeliver relevant content that translates into meaningful results
Your target audienceDefine your account list and streamline your focus using LinkedIn profile-based targeting like seniority and job function
Your contentCreate relevant and valuable content to drive impactful engagement among your key accounts
Your resultsMeasure the effectiveness of your campaigns and optimize your content
Re-engagementRe-establish a connection with your lost opportunities through valuable and relevant content
Thought leadershipDeepen relationships with your current customers and find a voice amongst your target accounts
Business results Deliver marketing-influenced leads to your sales team
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Targeting Best Practices
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Guiding Targeting PrinciplesInfluence the Influencer Not All Products are Equal A/B Test and Test Again
Need brand exposure?Consider broader targeting with products that are designed for branding and advocacy
Need leads?Drive net new traffic to your site while staying focused on a more specific targeting audience
Want to be granular?Consider products designed for a highly personalized outreach
Test targeting facetsA/B test to see which audience engage• Titles vs. Function + Seniority • Group members + Seniority • Skills & Seniority
Test creativeUse one audiences with multiple creative assets to see what content works best
Measure consistentlyYour measurement should align with your campaign goals
Define your audienceThink members first. Who would find the content relevant?
Establish your goalsWhat does success mean for this campaign?
Resist temptation to hypertargetHypertargeting significantly reduces your scale and ability to optimize
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Best Practices
Keep your targeting broad. Targeting by Industry, Function, and/or Seniority provides more scale.
A/B test your creative and optimize towards best performing option.
Build relationships and grow your company’s LinkedIn follower count using unique Display Ad formats and “Follow” CTAs.
LinkedIn Dynamic Ads
• Plan out the timeline of your campaign if you are going after a niche audience
• Consider refreshing your content if you are targeting the same audience after 60 days
• Tailor your content to your target audience by crafting genuine and interesting content
• Consider influencing the influencer and include Senior IC
Sponsored InMailSponsored InMail
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• Tailor content to your target audience
• Keep targeting broad at first to understand who your audience is
• Avoid hyper targeted campaigns since they tend to have lower performance and much lower scale
• Set up multiple campaigns using the same creative but diversify your targeting: ex. Skills + Seniority, Groups + Function, Titles + Company Size etc.
Sponsored Content
Focus your campaign on both decision makers and influencers
A/B Test Your Audiences & Diversify Your Reach
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