7 Mistakes to avoid in your LinkedIn advertising

1. Mistake: Choosing the wrong objective

Selecting the right objective is crucial for LinkedIn to optimize your campaigns effectively. Many make the mistake of choosing an objective that doesn’t align with their goals. For example, many choose “Traffic” or “Video Views” for campaigns where they actually want conversions, which can result in video views or clicks without generating real leads or sales.

If your goal is lead generation, select “Lead Generation” as your objective, as this setting optimizes for gathering information from users who show interest. If brand awareness is your priority, “Brand Awareness” or “Engagement” might be more suitable, as these focus on driving interaction with your content.

It’s also essential to understand the differences between objectives. For example, if you optimize for video views, you’ll get more views but fewer clicks to your website. Consider testing different campaign objectives to see which works best for your business.

2. Mistake: Targeting errors

Targeting is key to successful LinkedIn advertising, and several mistakes are common here. First, many companies target their audience too broadly, resulting in high costs and low relevance. LinkedIn can be an expensive platform, so it’s essential to reach the right people.

A good rule of thumb is that your audience size in Denmark should be between 10,000 and 80,000 people. If the audience is too broad, you risk spending money on irrelevant users. If it’s too narrow, you may end up with too few views and lower campaign effectiveness.

Another mistake is failing to combine audience parameters effectively. For example, if you target only by job function without combining it with industry, company size, or other parameters, you’ll get a large but unfocused audience. LinkedIn’s “AND/OR” functions come in handy here: using “AND” lets you combine criteria to reach only the most relevant users, while “OR” provides a broader but less targeted audience.

It’s also crucial to use exclusions in your audience setup. Many companies forget to exclude irrelevant segments like students, interns, or entry-level employees, resulting in inefficient campaigns. Regularly review your campaign data to see if you’re reaching the right people, and use LinkedIn Insights to adjust your targeting as needed.

Lastly, pay attention to language and location choices. In Denmark, we recommend selecting English as the profile language to reach both Danish and English-speaking users. Additionally, use “permanent” location to ensure you target people who actually reside in the desired area, rather than those who are only there temporarily.

3. Mistake: Not utilizing retargeting

Retargeting is one of the most effective ways to reach people who have already interacted with your business in some way. This could include people who have visited your website, watched a video, engaged with an ad, or visited your LinkedIn company page. However, many companies don’t fully leverage this opportunity, and it’s a costly mistake.

Retargeting helps increase engagement by targeting a warmer audience that has already shown interest. You can target website visitors, people who have watched your videos, or those who have engaged with your posts. Set up your retargeting lists in advance, so they’re ready when you need them.

Another effective retargeting tool is Account-Based Marketing (ABM), where you target specific companies or leads from your CRM. This allows you to focus on the most valuable customers and leads, moving them further down the sales funnel.

4. Mistake: Using LinkedIn Audience Network

The LinkedIn Audience Network is a feature that allows your ads to appear on third-party websites and apps outside LinkedIn. This setting is enabled by default, but it can be problematic, as your ads may appear on platforms that aren’t relevant to your target audience.

If you want to use the Audience Network, first download a list of third-party websites and apps where your ads might appear. Review this list and select only placements relevant to your audience. This helps maintain high ad quality.

5. Mistake: Using generic creatives

LinkedIn users scroll quickly through their feeds, so it’s important that your ads stand out. Unfortunately, many companies make the mistake of using dull, overly “corporate” creatives that are easily overlooked. LinkedIn’s own research shows that 48% of users find B2B ads too boring, and 82% want more creativity and personality.

To succeed with your ads, focus on creating more personal and authentic creatives. Use images of people related to your brand, rather than generic stock photos. Also, remember that format matters: instead of the classic 16:9 format, try using 1:1 or 4:5 formats, which take up more space in users’ feeds and capture attention better—especially on mobile devices, where the majority of LinkedIn traffic comes from.

6. Mistake: Incorrect Bidding

LinkedIn offers various bidding options, but many choose “Maximum Delivery,” where LinkedIn spends your budget as quickly as possible to get the most impressions. This often results in high click prices and lower ROI.

Manual CPC (Cost Per Click) bidding may be a better option, especially if you’re on a tight budget. By bidding manually, you have more control over how much you pay per click and can adjust your bids to optimize results.

It’s essential to monitor your bidding strategy and adjust as needed. If your budget runs out early in the day, it’s a sign you’re bidding too high, and you should consider lowering your bids.

7. Mistake: Insufficient tracking

Tracking is essential for measuring the success of your campaigns, and without proper tracking, you won’t know which ads are driving conversions. One of the most common mistakes is forgetting to install the LinkedIn Insight Tag on your website, which allows you to track actions from LinkedIn users.

LinkedIn now also offers a Conversion API that provides better tracking data by measuring conversions via server-side tracking. This is especially useful as cookies become more limited and it becomes harder to track user behavior online.

To optimize your tracking, consider using offline conversions as well, where you upload data from your CRM to see if people who interacted with your LinkedIn ads later became customers. This gives you a more nuanced view of your campaign’s impact.

By avoiding these seven mistakes and adjusting your approach, you can ensure that your LinkedIn ads don’t just get seen, but also drive results. LinkedIn advertising requires continuous optimization and testing, but when done correctly, it can be an invaluable channel for achieving your B2B goals.