LinkedIn Conversation Ads Best Practices Guide
- 1. Best Practices Guide Conversation Ads Tips & Tricks to Help You Get the Most Out of Your Conversation Ads
- 2. Table of contents Assets you need to get started Best practices for ad creation Best practices for reporting & optimization
- 3. Preparing for launch: Assets you need to get started
- 4. Assets you need to create a Conversation Ad • Website visits: Must have at least two CTA buttons leading to a webpage • Lead generation: Must have at least two CTA buttons with a Lead Gen Form Available under two objectives in Campaign Manager When setting up your campaign, you must request sender approval from a first-degree connection. Upon approval, they will appear as a sender option in Campaign Manager. Sender options CTA buttons Message text Max CTA buttons per message 25 characters 500 characters 5 buttons banner image (300x250px, jpg or png) Asset Total characters Banner Image (Desktop Only Delivery)
- 5. Best practices for ad creation
- 6. First, hone in on your target audience Ad creation You can use any targeting facets that you currently use with your other LinkedIn ads. Start by setting up your targeting as you would for Sponsored Content. Use one of the audience templates available in Campaign Manager. Pro tip Targeting • Use top performing targets from your other LinkedIn campaigns, but exclude previous converters • Retarget website visitors — they already know who you are from being on your website Some ideas
- 7. Next, consider your budget & bid Daily budget Total budget • You have a large audience (100k+ members) • Your campaigns are always on, and there is no specific end date for your offer • You have a smaller, niche audience (<100k members) • You have a set end date (i.e., event date is xx and members need to sign up at least 24 hours in advance) Use this when: Use this when: VS. Ad creation
- 8. If you are using a Daily Budget, set your bid somewhere within the bid range. Monitor spend over a few days. If hitting daily budget cap, consider lowering your bid. If you are not hitting daily budget cap, increase your bid, as this means your competition may be winning out. If you are using a Total Budget, set your bid at the top of the bid range. This will help ensure: • You deliver your budget in full ASAP • Remain competitive against other bidders in the auction Bidding If you’re not hitting your daily budget and your bid is at the top of the range, remember that the Sponsored Messaging frequency cap is once every 45 days. So if your audience is niche, you may be unable to serve them with an ad due to the frequency cap. Note Consider your budget & bid Ad creation
- 9. Choose your sender carefully Ad creation • Make sure that this person has a high quality LinkedIn profile photo that’s visible to the public — and a smile never hurts! • Send variations of your ad from different senders to test for effectiveness by the sender's title (prestige), picture (welcoming), or name (recognition). Pro tips The sender plays an important role in representing your brand and influencing your audience’s experience. So before setting up your sender, ask yourself who would your audience recognize or connect with. • To drive product demos, consider having your Conversation Ad come from a Director of Product • To drive MBA applications, consider having the Conversation Ad come from the Head of Admissions • To drive event registrations, consider having the Conversation Ad come from the CEO Some ideas At this time, company senders are only available through your LinkedIn rep. Company senders will be widely available in late 2020. Note
- 10. VS. Member sender outperforms company sender Increase in open rate16% Ad creation increase in CTR10% increase in conversion rate10% From company sender From a member sender In one Sponsored Messaging campaign: In most cases, ads that are sent from a member sender have shown stronger results than messages sent from a company. In one case of a Sponsored Messaging campaign testing a member sender, we saw: • 16% increase in open rate • 10% increase in CTR • 10% increase in conversion rate
- 11. When creating content, start with your goal, then strategize your content With so much flexibility and conversation paths to choose from, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Ad creation Always start with your main goal and/or objective: What is the ideal action you want the member to take when they receive your Conversation Ad? • To drive brand consideration: Link to your blog posts, pre-recorded webinars, or industry trends and analysis • To drive leads and turn prospects into customers: Share product demos or tutorials, customer success stories, or invite prospects to attend an event Some ideas
- 12. Start with your opening message Ad creation There’s no subject line for Conversation Ads. Like any other LinkedIn message, the first sentence will appear as the subject. Because your audience will see this in their LinkedIn Messaging, make your first sentence count. Pro tip When using an individual as a sender, use the opening message to introduce yourself and let members know why you’re reaching out. Consider including your name, title, and the company you represent. Introduce yourself
- 13. Decide what your call-to- action buttons will do Ad creation You can select up to 5 CTA buttons per message Link to your landing page Open a LinkedIn Lead Gen Form Drive engagement with more information in the next message
- 14. Remember, your conversation should have 2 to 5 layers. Each layer will consist of message text and at least 2 CTA buttons with responses to the question in your message. For instance, if your goal is to drive content downloads, share two pieces of content that your audience can choose from. Use multiple messages & buttons Avoid including this in the first layer of your conversation. Prospects who aren’t interested will just close the ad. Instead, focus on using CTAs they can learn from. Don’t include “Not Interested” or “No Thanks” CTAs Check in with your email marketing team to understand what works best for them. Use their top performing email copy as inspiration for your Conversation Ad. Ask your email marketing team for ideas With all of the flexibility in the product, Conversation Ads can be used in a variety of ways. Don’t be afraid to experiment! Get creative Create an engaging experience Ad creation
- 15. Tips for crafting your messages Ad creation Conversation Ads are meant to feel more like a live conversation. Keep your messages short and friendly, and don’t forget about the character limits. Consider using language that is more casual, the way you would over the phone. Keep your copy short and sweet While you may be engaging a B2B audience, remember that it’s people who make the decisions to buy your product or service, and they want to know that your brand is human and authentic. Stick to a conversational tone Pro tips • Speak simply, avoid big words and concepts • Ask questions to keep the two-way dialogue going • Eliminate formalities, but don’t be too informal (don’t use slang.) Write as if you’re talking to a friend.
- 16. Personalize your content seamlessly Ad creation One of the key benefits of Conversation Ads is that you can personalize this — it’s a 1:1 interaction with a prospect! Our macros allow you to pull a member’s LinkedIn profile data into your ad for instant personalization. We offer these the following macros: Personalize by using Macros • First name • Last name • Job title • Company name • Industry One case study showed that using a company name in a Sponsored Message campaign boosted CTR by 21%, while another case study showed using the Job Title macro boosted open rates by 48%. increase in open rate with “job title” macro +48% increase in CTR with "company name" macro +21%
- 17. Remember to add a banner image Ad creation The banner image is only visible to members when using LinkedIn on desktop, but this space is prime real estate. It’s an easy way to ensure your brand is top-of-mind. If you don’t upload a banner image, another brand’s image can show up in this placement.
- 18. Best practices for reporting & optimization
- 19. Reporting & Optimization With Conversation Ads, you get additional reporting detailed reporting. Using the “Conversation ads CTA performance” reporting, you can gain deeper insights about your target audience like how many people click on each offer and how engaged they are in the conversation. Better understand your audience’s intentions To access this report, click on “export,” then select the “Conversation ads CTA performance” option. Review what buttons have the highest CTRs, most efficient CPLs, or strong conversion rates. How can I interpret this report? Once you export this report, you can pivot the data by CTA Button copy. You’ll be able to see volume of clicks by CTA Button to help tell the story of what is engaging vs. what’s not. Is demographic reporting available? Yes! You can still view demographic reporting in Campaign Manager as you can with other campaigns. Use this to understand who’s opening your messages, and who’s clicking and optimize your targeting from there.
- 20. Easy ways to optimize your Conversation Ad Reporting & Optimization If you are seeing low open rates, double check your sender Make sure the sender’s profile image is a high-quality, professional image of their face (no group shots!). Of course, a friendly smile goes a long way. Ask sender to make sure that their profile photo is visible to LinkedIn members (set to “All LinkedIn Members” or “Public” so all recipients can see it). Review your initial message to make sure the ask is clear Seeing drop-off after the first message? Revisit the copy, and make sure the ask is clear. Try asking a question or teasing the conversational format of the message. Use rich media Seeing lower engagement? Considering adding in rich media (like photos). Note: Video support will roll out later this year, but you can add a link to a video.
- 21. Checklist for success Things to consider before setting up your Conversation Ad campaign Who are you trying to reach? Establish your target audience Find someone in your organization to be the face of your message. You’ll need to request their permission to be the sender! Pick your sender What will compel your target audience to open your message? Write a compelling intro message Use macros to really personalize your message. You can use Name, Job Title, Company, and Industry. Personalize What are you trying to say to your target audience? Make sure that all key information is included, and use a very clear CTA. Craft your messages Use CTA buttons to get your prospect to visit a landing page, fill out a Lead Gen Form, or request more info via an automated text response. Create an engaging experience Send yourself a test message to make sure everything looks good. Make sure to check how it looks on mobile too! QA & launch Review campaign performance, demographic reporting, optimize your target and creative. Always be iterating! Measure & optimize
- 22. Thank you Visit the Conversation Ads website for case studies, how-to videos, and best practices.