Znbound recently did a B2B Lead Generation LinkedIn Sponsored Update campaign for a client.
In this post, I present the results of this campaign. You could use these to make decisions on LinkedIn Marketing budgets for your business or your clients.
The client is the first product in your tech stack that’s designed for you to engage and collaborate with your buyers
Within this large Saas sector, our client services a niche in the Sales and Channel function. Thus, the market served is limited with a defined set of players. Nevertheless, the problem being addressed is a large-scale one.
B2B Campaigns Done
The client generates B2B Leads from the following channels.
- Organic Search
- Google Adwords
- LinkedIn Ads
Adwords has fared the worst. Organic search drives predictable traffic and qualified leads, but inbound marketing is a long game. B2B Lead Generation LinkedIn sponsored update Ads have worked the best. Lets see the details.
Campaign Analysis
Firstly, this is how a LinkedIn Sponsored Update advertisement looks.
The prominent image definitely drives up CTR (Click through Ratio), which actually is a double-edged issue. (More on that in a later post)
Campaign Targeting Criteria
- Location : United States
- Industry :Computer & Network Security, Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Computer Networking, Internet, Information Technology & Services.
- Job Titles (Current)- Head Of Sales Operations, Director Sales Marketing Operations, Senior Director Sales Operations, Director Sales Operations, Senior Vice President Sales Operations, General Manager Sales Operations, Director Global Sales Operations, Vice President Sales Operations, Sales Enablement Specialist
- Company Size- 201-500 employees, 501-1000 employees, 1001-5000 employees
The above targeting put the potential LinkedIn audience at 1800+. Though a small number, it fits well with the client's buyer persona. Indicative. Leads and CTR proposed by LinkedIn are highlighted for your benefit.
A/B Testing -
What is A/B testing?
A/B testing is a systematic way of understanding variants of a campaign. Also known as split testing, the process involves showing your audiences two slightly different types of email marketing campaigns, messages, or web pages to see which one gets the best results.
Modern marketers know that A/B testing is one of the best ways to optimize results because it helps to craft a message that your audience engages with. Research shows multivariate testing can actually help you increase ROI by at least 30%.
We decided to do A/B testing with two different creatives but to the same target audience to see what works and what not. The two creatives used in the campaign are shown below.
Creative 1:
Creative 2:
Campaign Settings - Bid, Budget and Duration
Lead Generation was the singular objective of this Linkedin sponsored update campaign. To improve the chances of successfully attaining this objective, it was imperative to reach the target audience quickly. Therefore, these campaign settings.
- Campaign schedule: 30 Days
- Total Budget : $600
- Bid Method : Leads(Automated Bidding)
Campaign Performance
The campaign ran for 30 days for both the creatives and then stopped. Here is a quick snapshot.
Creative 1:
Creative 2:
The following graphs show how the campaign performed on a daily basis for clicks, impressions and CTR.
CLICKS
Creative 1:
Creative 2:
IMPRESSIONS
Creative 1:
Creative 2:
CTR
Creative 1:
Creative 2:
Key Takeaways
Are you wondering how many clicks are converted into leads? Just jump to the last line. By the way, there have been some interesting takeaways from the campaign.
- Most of the clicks were consistent for Creative 1 but unpredictable in terms of Creative 2
- Creative 1 got us more leads as it resonates more with the audience. Despite the messaging being the same. Creative 1 had a better CTR.
- In United States, automated bidding works better
- Not all clicks translate into visits.
If you have been undertaking B2B Lead Generation LinkedIn initiatives, we would like to hear from you. And don't shy away from criticising any of the steps we have taken above.
Oh yes, the campaign generated 18 marketing qualified leads from both the campaigns
#1 Creative- 12 Leads
#2 Creative- 6 Leads
Bonus Tip
If this has got you excited, here is a BONUS tip on how you can get started for small.
You have a limited marketing budget. And there is pressure to crack open lead generation for B2B Sales. Sounds familiar, right. You would have surely thought, "Let me give LinkedIn a shot. After all where can I have enough of B2B."
As an inbound marketer, LinkedIn offers two broad options.
- The limited self serve option, where you can quickly get started with Text Ads, Video Ads and now, LinkedIn Sponsored Updates.
- The expensive LinkedIn Marketing Solutions that entail high fixed costs, thereby queering the pitch for marketing ROI.
Thankfully, and in this case LinkedIn, helps out with dollar coupons to undertake limited experiments to figure out if "things will indeed work". One such coupon is the $ 50 coupon from LinkedIn to run LinkedIn Sponsored Updates. All you have to do is write to LinkedIn Customer Service and ask them shamelessly for a $ 50 coupon. The only catch is that you have to spend $ 5 from your own pocket to activate the coupon. Well, there is one more catch. You also need to be managing the LinkedIn Company Page for the brand in question. This is essential to run the LinkedIn Sponsored Updates.
Good Luck with the ride!
