Paid Media
Build a LinkedIn Ads program for under $5K
“You just need signal that your message is resonating and that you're reaching the people you set out to reach.”
Building a LinkedIn Ads account up from scratch doesn't have to be complicated. Here's the framework I use to get off the ground:
- Pick one format. My recommendation is to start with carousels/document ads. As of right now, they're still one of the top performing formats.
- Identify two groups of people to target. Base it on what you know of your ICP. Could be two sets of titles, two different industries, two different company sizes. Whatever makes sense for your product/service/company.
- Think about two topics that would be interesting to these audiences. They should pertain to your product or service. Write a blog on each or just talk into your AI notetaker of choice. Plug it into Claude Design and get it to generate a branded carousel for each.
- Try two variants of post copy per carousel. Short vs long, or leading with a question vs a statement. Or both!
- Once you see what responds best, iterate on the cover design. Try dark vs light (dark usually wins but worth testing). Or a different brighter accent color. Or an illustration or cover image. Whatever fits your brand identity.
For carousels, the metric I look at is engagement rate, since this is almost like message testing and LinkedIn works best as a top-of-funnel or influence channel rather than a demand capture one. And with just these simple A/B tests, I've gotten 10 to 15% engagement rates among really hard to reach audiences, which is huge. Typical "good" rates are anything above 1%.
Clickthrough is fantastic if you can get it, but when you're just starting out, you just need signal that your message is resonating with your target audience and that you're reaching the people you set out to reach. You'll likely see an increase in direct and organic traffic to your site as your LinkedIn spend increases. It's rarely directly attributable, but having run controlled experiments, it's something I've seen consistently.
Another tip: make sure each variant spends a couple of hundred dollars so you can get enough data to spin down losing variants and double down on winning formats, content, copy, and targeting.
“By systematically working through it one variable at a time, you have roughly sixteen variants and can learn a lot having spent less than $5K.”
With some basic iterations that you can do yourself with the help of your trusty AI tool of choice, you now have a good amount of information and can continue tweaking various variables, including bidding strategy.
What I would recommend to do next would be to take what you learned about targeting and content and try out some thought leader ads. Get an SME or exec to post about your solution area, product, or an industry trend, and promote that as a boosted post.
Voila! You have the foundation of a functional LinkedIn Ads program. Happy building!