In this webinar, you will learn: - How LinkedIn targeting works: What options are available - Persona targeting: How to find the right audience on LinkedIn - Moment of truth: Reasons your targeting is failing - Turning point: Expert targeting optimization tips - Beyond the basics: Targeting features to consider

1. LinkedIn Sponsored Content
The Insider’s Guide to Targeting:
How to Find Your Audience on LinkedIn
Katerina Ram
Team Lead, Online Sales
LinkedIn Sponsored Content
Pavels Kilivniks
Content Strategist
LinkedIn

2. 2
Agenda
• How LinkedIn targeting works: What options are available
• Persona targeting: How to find the right audience on LinkedIn
• Moment of truth: Reasons your targeting is failing
• Turning point: Expert targeting optimization tips
• Beyond the basics: Targeting features to consider

3. “Everyone is not your customer.”
Seth Godin

4. 4
40%
of online ads reach the wrong audience*

5. 5
60-70%
of content goes unread*

6. • Brand awareness (or)
• Lead generationGoal
• Relevant to Buyer Persona
• Aligned to goalTargeting
• Relevant to audience and goal
• Adheres to best practicesContent (Creative)
• Deliver on the promise in the creative
• Simple, effectiveLanding
Pages
Framework for successful content marketing

7. How LinkedIn targeting works
What options are available

8. LinkedIn targeting big picture
1 1. LinkedIn targeting is the most accurate way to reach business
professionals on the Internet.
1. LinkedIn members keep their profiles up to date which is valuable for
our clients.
1. LinkedIn is a premium product due to our targeting capabilities,
accuracy, and user mindset.

9. Deciphering profile-based targeting
Title
Company
Geography
Member
entered or IP
Group
Membership
Company
Following
School
Field of Study
Graduation
Year

10. Danie
Seattle, WA USA
Boston University
COMPANY INDUSTRYSIZE
SCHOOL
LOCATION
JOB
TITLE
SENIORITY
FUNCTION
FIELD OF STUDY
DEGREE
GRADUATION AGE
SKILLS
GROUPS
IP
Communication
Bachelor of Science
2011, 25-34
Simply Measured, 51-200,
Internet
Senior Marketing Manager,
Marketing, Senior IC
CMA, LEWIS, Social Tools
SEO, Social Media, Digital
Marketing, Blogging

11. 11
Targeting by function
Inferred from user-entered title
User-entered title (possibly many)
↓
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.)

12. 12
Company size and company industry
Member industry is directly inferred from their current experience
Company Entered Name
↓
Company Entered Industry
↓
Company Entered # of employees
Sample Targeting Facets:
Company Name → LinkedIn
Company Industry → Internet
Company 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.

13. Targeting by skills and groups
Reach experts in their field
When targeting by skills you are reaching
members who:
• Explicitly added their skills into the skills
section of their profile
• Have skills mentioned in their profile
text, but not within the skills section
• Have inferred skills based on explicit
skills and key values they entered
When targeting by groups you are reaching
members who:
• Joined an interest group and have it
listed in the groups section

14. Persona targeting
How to find the right audience on LinkedIn

15. 15
Buyer personas
Representations of
your ideal customer
• Do they have specific
job functions?
• Do they have certain
skills?
• Where are they located?
• Do they work in a certain
industry?
• Do they belong to
certain LinkedIn groups?

16. The tech-savvy sales professional
Have you met Marie?
Things she cares about Where she might spend today
Professional background Personal background and interests
• Generating awareness early
• Driving
leads/opportunities/revenue
• Using innovative tools
• Sales manager
• Graduate degree
• Heavy Salesforce user
• Social seller
• Head of sales for SMB
• Reading Pulse articles
• Connecting with clients on LinkedIn
• Participating in group discussions
• Late 20s
• Female
• Volunteers at the Humane Society
• Runs 5 and 10Ks

17. The tech-savvy sales
professional
Using the correct targeting and content mix Marie
Campaign 1
• Job Function – Sales
• Seniority – Manager +
Campaign 2
• Groups – Sales, emphasis on
SMB and tech
Campaign 3
• Skills - Social Selling
• Skills - LI Sales Navigator
Campaign 4
• Groups - Salesforce

18. The seasoned sales leader
Have you met Thomas?
Things he cares about Where he might spend today
Professional background Personal background and interests
• Efficient sales teams
• Low cost per acquisition
• Software that enables his
teams, and is reliable and
customizable
• Sales director
• Bachelor’s degree
• Prefers personal selling
• Team uses Salesforce
• Mid-size company
• Connecting on LinkedIn
• Reading through the feed on the
train
• Participating in leadership and
management training
• 42 years old
• Male
• Compassionate leader

19. The seasoned sales leader
Using the correct targeting and context mix Thomas
Campaign 1
• Job Function – Sales
• Seniority – Director +
Campaign 2
• Groups - Leadership
• Job Function - Sales
Campaign 3
• Skills – Leadership
• Skills – Management
• Job Function - Sales
Campaign 4
• Groups - Salesforce

20. Moment of truth
Reasons your targeting is failing

21. Three reasons your targeting is failing
Combining all your
demographics into
one
Spreading yourself
too thin
Hyper-targeting
your campaigns

22. #1: Combining all demographics into one
❏ Break out demographics
❏ Group industries
❏ Personalize content

23. #2: Spreading yourself too thin
Having too many campaigns:
❏ Spread your budget too thin
❏ Slow impressions needed to make
optimizations
❏ Fluctuate pacing

24. #3: Hyper-targeting campaigns
❏ Campaigns have little scale
❏ Use audience expansion feature

25. Turning point
Expert targeting optimization tips

26. Five expert targeting optimization tips
A/B test your
campaigns
Start broad
Analyze your
audience
Target individual
contributors (ICs)
Tailor your
content to your
target audience

27. TIP #1: A/B test your campaigns
A/B test the same persona
with multiple targeted
campaigns to:
• Allow for scale
• Facilitate future optimizations
• Showcase demographics

28. TIP #2: Start broad
Use 2–3 targeting criteria.
Aim for 300k+, a good base
number.

29. TIP #3: Analyze your audience
Real-time click-demographics
can tell you exactly who
engages with your brand.
After analyzing who engages
most with your content, target
a more specific demographic.

30. TIP #4: Target individual
contributors
Don’t underestimate the
influencing power of the IC.
ICs include software
engineers, lawyers, doctors,
consultants, etc.

31. TIP #5: Tailor your content
to your target audience
Great performance can’t
happen without a mix of great
content and great targeting.
Great
Content
Great
Targeting

32. Beyond the basics
Targeting features to consider

33. 33
Audience expansion
▪ Scale campaigns to audiences that are similar to the your
target audience.
▪ Discover new audiences by leveraging facets such as
groups, skills, and job titles.

34. 34
Field of study, degree
Reach professionals that have a
Bachelor’s degree or target people
who have advanced degrees.
Reach professionals with different
fields of study.
Home in on the exact educational
qualifications you are looking for in a
candidate.

35. 35
Align sales and marketing by seamlessly engaging
influencers and decision-makers across your key accounts
on LinkedIn
The power of account-based targeting

36. Recap: What you learned today
LinkedIn targeting is the most accurate way to reach business professionals who
maintain up-to-date profiles.
Combining all demographics into one, spreading yourself too thin, and hyper-
targeting campaigns are prerequisites for failure.
A/B testing your campaigns, starting broad, analyzing your audience, targeting
individual contributors, and tailoring your content to your audience are all key to
success.
Go beyond the basics and experiment with the audience expansion feature,
targeting by field of study, and account-based targeting.

37. Q&A