LinkedIn’s popularity is on the rise. And with over one billion users worldwide, it’s no surprise that more and more businesses are flocking to the platform to grow their customer base.
But in a rush to jump on the B2B bandwagon, many brands miss the mark because they haven’t taken the time to really understand what works in LinkedIn advertising.
You, on the other hand, have come here to find out what it takes to make the best LinkedIn ad campaign. So, well played!
Here’s a roundup of the top seven LinkedIn ads to get inspired by:
- Monday.com
- Slack
- HubSpot
- OTB Group
- Gymshark
Before we take a closer look at each of these impactful LinkedIn ads, let’s first define what LinkedIn advertising is and how it can help you reach new customers.
What is LinkedIn advertising?
A LinkedIn ad is primarily used to target specific audiences with B2B marketing campaigns.
Whether your goal is to increase brand awareness, find new leads, or promote a new product or service, LinkedIn ads are your gateway to a professional and highly-engaged consumer base.
The platform offers various ad formats, including:
- Sponsored content – Increase brand visibility and reach your audience directly through their LinkedIn news feeds with native image, video, carousel, and document ads.
- Sponsored messaging – Boost interaction by starting conversations with professionals in your market using targeted conversation and messaging ads.
- Dynamic ads – Deliver highly personalized and automatically generated ads based on the user’s profile data, such as their job title, company, or skills to create a deeper connection with your brand.
- Text ads – Create pay-per-click ads that reach the right audiences and direct them to your website or any other kind of landing page.
This is a brief overview of all the different ways you can advertise your brand on LinkedIn. But hopefully it gives you an idea of how to build an effective LinkedIn strategy based on your specific business goals.
Now that we’ve got a taste for the possibilities that come with creating a LinkedIn ad, let’s see how brands are making the most of the platform.
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1. LinkedIn
What better way to kick things off than with an ad from LinkedIn itself? It also happens to be a great campaign that can teach us a lot!
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably at least a little familiar with how to create and use your own personal LinkedIn account. But for a lot of folk, the professional nature of this social media platform can be pretty daunting. This often creates a barrier for an audience that’s thinking about setting up a LinkedIn account for the first time.
So, to invite more people to join the platform, LinkedIn launched its In It Together B2B advertising campaign. The campaign used storytelling to showcase what success looks like for a range of people across different industries.
While the integrated marketing campaign first launched with the TV commercial above, it really came to life on LinkedIn by asking its members what they’re in it for – as in their work. People around the world shared their stories on the social media platform and tagged those who inspired them using the hashtag #InItTogether.
Overall, LinkedIn’s 2018 campaign boosted brand awareness and increased customer loyalty with new and existing users. Job well done!
Key lesson from this LinkedIn ad example
There’s a lot of good stuff in this campaign, but I think the biggest lesson lies in the way LinkedIn used the platform to tell stories and start meaningful conversations.
LinkedIn is a social network, after all. So, think about how you can use your LinkedIn ads to open up the lines of communication and engage with your target audience.
2. monday.com
We all have that friend who always has a gazillion tabs open giving off a feeling of pure chaos (it’s me, I’m that friend). Well, monday.com took this recognizable, relatable situation and used it to communicate the platform’s key benefit in a matter of seconds.
Using clear and brightly colored visuals with a twist on the well known “work smarter, not harder” phrase, this ad is able to make time-tight professionals aware of their problem and solve it just as fast. More detail in the supporting copy drives the ad messaging home by summing up the key pain point and how monday.com can help.
Beyond the sole benefit of clearing the browser tabs, this LinkedIn ad communicates the idea that the workflow management tool takes the messiness out of day-to-day task management.
Key lesson from this LinkedIn ad example
Stay simple and solution-focused. In the world of B2B advertising, the solution is everything. Combine that with the rate we scroll through our social media feeds, and you have a clear formula for LinkedIn success – especially when it comes to sponsored content.
This ad from monday.com shows the problem and the solution side-by-side for lightning-fast communication. The brand took careful consideration of its audience, their experiences, and the way they interact with the LinkedIn platform.
3. Slack
Most LinkedIn ads (or any ads, for that matter) often target their messaging at potential customers. But this ad from Slack does something different.
Instead of simply talking about how great the product is, the brand created a LinkedIn ad campaign aimed at new customers. More importantly, the carousel ad provides real value to the audience. It doesn’t even look like an ad at first glance!
By giving customers bite-sized guidance on how to use the product’s different features, Slack used its Linkedin ad space to build customer loyalty, trust and a deeper relationship with its existing audience.
Key tip from this LinkedIn ad example
While reaching new audiences is important, looking after the people who already use your product is a must for long term business success.
Providing snackable tips and hacks is often seen as an organic social media strategy, but it can be a great way to build customer loyalty and encourage upgrades when used in a paid business LinkedIn ad.
Even if your business doesn’t offer tiered products or upgrades, helping your customers out with useful information will make sure you’re top of mind the next time they need to purchase something new or make recommendations to a friend.
4. HubSpot
This document ad from HubSpot is on the list of the best LinkedIn ad examples for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, the ad uses LinkedIn as a platform to position the brand as an expert in its field by sharing thought leadership content with its audience. This speaks to the idea that people use LinkedIn to stay up-to-date with what’s going on in their professional world. So, this kind of LinkedIn advertising can perform well.
Secondly, you might notice that this ad is more copy-heavy than the other examples in this article. But by no mistake of the brand. You see, HubSpot knows that it takes A LOT to get its LinkedIn audience to click through on an advert and leave the platform. Which is why the ad gives away its juicy wisdom upfront. People can even download the full report right there on the ad.
By staying in-tune to the way its audience thinks, HubSpot positions itself as an intuitive brand that knows how to maximize user experience.
Key tip from this LinkedIn ad example
Put yourself in the shoes of your audience to give them a seamless user journey.
This example from HubSpot goes above and beyond by giving consumers what they need without ever having to leave their LinkedIn feed. But you can take a different approach depending on your audience’s preferences and the ultimate goal of your campaign.
Whether you want folk to download a resource, sign up for a webinar, or request a demo, creating an intuitive user experience will make your LinkedIn ads more effective and improve overall campaign performance.
5. OTB Group
Luxury fashion corporation, OTB, used this LinkedIn video advert to showcase its financial results and shine a light on the brand’s hard work and highlights from the year gone by.
Striking footage, empowering music, and simple on-screen statistics come together to showcase OTBs values and dedication as a business. But most of all, it gives people a real glimpse into the inner workings of a huge company, giving it a more human feel.
Key tip from this LinkedIn ad example
The biggest lesson here? Use LinkedIn’s social platform to give people an insight into your business every now and then.
By sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses and highlighting your team’s hard work, you can build trust, credibility, and meaningful connections with your audience.
Creating an engaging piece of content and sharing a sneak peek into your brand will also help you cut through the sea of sales pitches.
6. GymShark
LinkedIn is a professional social network platform. So, it’s safe to say that for the most part, the content we come across tends to be more serious and straight to the point. Which is exactly what makes this ad stand out.
The video ad uses simple animation and a playful script to give Gymshark’s brand identity more personality both as a brand and a place to work. The use of humor to bust common misconceptions, like the idea that you need to be a fitness nut to work for Gymshark, also makes the Gymshark more approachable and appealing for potential job candidates.
Key tip from this LinkedIn ad example
Don’t be afraid to have fun and show some personality.
Now, I’m not saying outright humor is always the way to go when making ads for LinkedIn. But if it’s appropriate for your brand and campaign message, taking a more playful approach could be the thing that helps you cut through the stuffiness and leave a positive impression on your audience.
7. Google
With LinkedIn, you can take targeted ads to a whole new level which can be great for ads that need to resonate with a specific audience.
These single image ads from Google use LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager to reach LinkedIn users in the US state of Illinois. Impressive stuff, eh?
The ad works so well because it not only speaks directly to its audience on a granular level, it also showcases the impact that a large company like Google is having on local areas and communities.
Likewise, by highlighting how your products or services contribute to local growth and well-being, your brand will be able to create a stronger connection with your audience.
Key tip from this LinkedIn ad example
The key tip that you can take from this LinkedIn ad is the power of targeted advertising and tailoring your message to specific audience segments.
You can also use dynamic LinkedIn ads that are automatically personalized to each member of your audience. These little touches go a long way when it comes to building lasting connections with new and existing customers.
Review your LinkedIn ads with Filestage
Creating the best LinkedIn ads for your business calls for a lot of fast, effective collaboration. From initial the strategy through to final execution, your team needs to be able to produce high-quality work at even higher speeds. So, there’s definitely no time for lengthy email chains!
This is where Filestage comes to the rescue by giving you a single, user-friendly space to share files, give feedback, and approve all your LinkedIn ads.
What’s more, this cutting-edge review and approval software lets you upload all the most popular file formats to the platform. You can then invite as many reviewers as your project needs by sending an automated email invitation or simply sharing the link.
Here’s how it works in five steps:
- Sign up to Filestage for free
- Create a project and invite reviewers
- Collect feedback from reviewers in the comments
- Upload a new version of the file
- Repeat until you reach final approval
Final thoughts
Creating a great LinkedIn ad isn’t easy. But with some careful consideration and a little insight into what works best on the platform, you’re setting yourself up for success before you even get started.
I hope you’ve enjoyed looking through the best LinkedIn ad examples. And if you’d like to see how Filestage can help you stay ahead of the game with all your marketing content, start your free trial today.
