Well known as a networking site for professionals, LinkedIn is also striving to make a name for itself as a viable advertising platform in 2019. For social media marketers and agencies exploring SMM options beyond Facebook, there are both positive and negative aspects to consider when it comes to advertising on LinkedIn.
How Many People Are Active On LinkedIn?
A major factor for advertisers to consider is the increase in user engagement LinkedIn has experienced over the past several years.
An ebook released by LinkedIn in early 2019 includes many statistics showcasing this increase in user engagement. Highlights include:
- 40% of users visit LinkedIn every day
- Comments, likes and shares are up more than 60% year-over-year
- Members engaging with the feed is growing more than 50% year-over-year
- 61 million LinkedIn users are senior-level influencers
- About 45% of LinkedIn article readers are in upper-level positions in their companies
Considering LinkedIn has more than 610 million members, these numbers are pretty impactful.
How Can I Use LinkedIn to Advertise?
LinkedIn is especially suited to B2B advertising. Since the platform is based around professional networking, it’s easy to target users who work in certain industries or hold certain job titles.
Advertising for available job openings is also popular on LinkedIn. Whether you are looking for a vice president for your company or a recent college graduate, LinkedIn is ideal for finding qualified professional candidates for your business.
For those who decide to advertise on LinkedIn, the site offers 3 types of ad formats:
- Sponsored content, including native video ads
- Text ads
- Sponsored InMail, which delivers personalized ad messaging to users’ inboxes
How Much Does LinkedIn Advertising Cost?
As with any advertising platform, ad costs vary depending on industry and other factors, but LinkedIn tends to be more expensive than other social media sites. For example, the median CPC on Facebook is $0.51, compared to $5.61 for LinkedIn.
Does this mean LinkedIn Ads are overpriced? Not necessarily. Depending on the value a qualified lead could bring to your business, the investment may be worth it.
On LinkedIn, you can choose a CPC (cost-per-click) or CPM (cost-per-thousand-impressions) cost model. If using Sponsored InMail, you only pay when someone reads your message. This is known as CPS, or cost-per-send.
Advertisers can control their budget by setting one of three options:
- Total budget
- Daily budget
- Maximum bid amounts
Key Summary Points
- LinkedIn user engagement continues to grow
- The platform is ideal for B2B advertisers
- The cost tends to be higher than other social media sites, but in some cases so is the ROI
To learn more about advertising on LinkedIn or other digital platforms, contact Creative Website Marketing today!
Creative Website Marketing is a digital marketing agency in Nashville, TN, helping businesses throughout the country execute strategic brand awareness + lead generation efforts.
