Exclusive Interview with Will Hambly from LinkedIn

Since its inception back in July of 2008, LinkedIn Ads has caught the eye of many B2B advertisers who are looking for another vehicle to reach a very specific audience. In recent news, Linkedin has reached over 200 million users and continues to to be a force to be reckoned with. So with no further ado, Acquisio is proud to present an Exclusive Online Interview with Will Hambly, Online Marketing Manager with LinkedIn.

Question #1: Now that LinkedIn has over 200 Million Users worldwide, are there any plans to expand or enhance the LinkedIn Ads platform? Answer: As we grow there are tremendous network effects that benefit our members as well as all three business lines. Looking at our self-serve LinkedIn Ads business, the main difference that advertisers are already seeing is incremental reach. In addition to that, we’ve made a number of enhancements to our self-serve advertising platform over the last year, including launching 18 additional languages, new targeting facets, enhanced audience intelligence features, multi currency rollout, and most recently, our first self-serve video format. Question #2: LinkedIn Ads has a vast array of targeting abilities for advertisers. Can you tell which ones are used most often? Which ones have the biggest benefit? Answer: One of the main reasons advertisers come to LinkedIn is to take advantage of the rich targeting options we provide. Some of the most commonly used targeting facets are Job Function, Job Title, and Industry because they allow marketers to reach specific influencers and decision makers within their target market. Question #3: In PPC Marketing, Google and Bing Ads are the traditional platforms most advertisers are familiar with. What can you tell us about the LinkedIn Ads that may persuade them to give it a try? Answer: LinkedIn offers distinct value in its targeting capabilities, audience, and context. Professional identity is top of mind for LinkedIn members, so if you’re marketing a B2B product or service, there’s no similar place to reach people in that mindset on the web. Question #4: As with Facebook Ads, advertisers can choose from a wide variety of audience types (Demographics, Interests, etc…) From your perspective, where is LinkedIn unique benefits for advertisers LinkedIn Ads? Answer:  LinkedIn is the best place for brands to accelerate their marketing efforts. We have a more influential, affluent, and educated member base than any other social network in the world. Our professional context attracts members who are in a purposeful mindset, which is a desirable environment for marketers who want to target highly engaged and receptive audiences. Question #5: If there is one (1) thing that LinkedIn Ads could do better or different, what would that be? Answer:  One area is making our self-serve advertising platform easier to use as we’ve grown the number of features and targeting options. Advertisers have a strong sense of who their trying to reach, because they understand their business the best, but translating that into professional targeting facets is not necessarily as straightforward. Question #6: Which Industries and/or Audiences would be a good fit for LinkedIn Ads? Are there ones that are not? Answer: B2B is definitely our strength and we’re particularly strong in technology, financial services, and education. You don’t have to be in one of those categories to be successful, so I’d encourage any advertiser that is looking to reach professional audiences to start by creating a Company Page and then amplify that presence with LinkedIn Ads. In Conclusion: The benefit of using LinkedIn Ads is not based on a standard PPC Strategy, but rather more of “outside the box” audience-based testing. Depending on the industry, just as with using Facebook Ads, it’s the idea of indirectly targeting specific demographics that are not available with standard PPC Marketing. Furthermore, for this strategy to be successful, it requires a deep understanding into the behavior and mindset of the customers.