This week, I have been experimenting more with LinkedIn Ads.  I have used sponsored updates to promote content to a targeted group of people.

Why did I do this?

A recent update on my company page (which I shared on my individual profile) got quite a bit of engagement so I thought I would use ads to get the update in front of a larger group of people.

What did I do?

I had already signed up for LinkedIn ads a few months ago when I linked my credit card and paid the $4 set up fee.  I just needed to view my company page and chose Sponsor Update below the update that I wanted to promote.

The next steps were to choose Sponsored Updates, name the campaign and choose which updates to sponsor.  I selected two updates so I could compare the results of each. Now I could choose a target audience.  In my case, I chose to target people in the United Kingdom with Social Media in their skill set, but you can choose by gender, title, group, company or age.

I ran the update with a budget of $15 / day and a total budget of $75.

What was the result?

The sponsored update has been running for 3 days, it has been seen by 3,055 people, had 16 clicks and 4 people have requested a follow up.  The clicks cost about  $3 / click with a click through rate of 0.52%.  I have obtained one new follower of my page.

Would I do it again?

I have been impressed with the results.  If 1 of the interested people eventually turns into a customer, it would have been well worth the money spent.  So yes, I will repeat the process but probably not for another few months.  It is important to think about what you are promoting – I was promoting my social media qualification, but you could also offer a free download of a white paper or help sheet.  You may want to offer this in return for an email address.

Over to you

Have you used LInkedIn ads?  We would love to hear your experiences – use the comment section below.  Of course, if you need any help, you know where I am 🙂