This deck presents an easy step by step guide for getting started with sponsored updates advertising on LinkedIn.

1. 1
Vanessa Vallejo
Senior Account Manager
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
Serena Polverino
Content Campaign Strategist
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
Getting Started with Sponsored Updates
Masterclass
London | March 14th 2016

2. Today’s Agenda
Overview of Sponsored Updates1
Targeting best practice2
Sponsoring organic updates and direct sponsored content3
Build 2 campaigns and practice writing headlines4
5 Mastering campaign management

3. Overview of
Sponsored Updates

4. LinkedIn Sponsored Updates
Targeted ad placements that deliver content in the feed across all the devices.

5. Where do Sponsored Updates appear on LinkedIn?
• 15 content slots on the desktop
home page
• SU’s appear in the LinkedIn
newsfeed
• Frequency cap of 2 SU’s per day
for each member*
* Please note that frequency caps are subject to change

6. ©2012 LinkedIn Corporation. All Rights
Reserved.
6
a
The Anatomy of a Sponsored Update
Intro Text
90 characters
Description Text
(not visible on
mobile)
Max 230 characters
Headline (bolded)
Max 70 characters
Customisable Image
1200x627 px best
Company Logo
Company Name
* Remember to use the ad preview tool to ensure you
are happy with your updates before going live.

7. 2 Ways to Publish: sponsor existing updates, or post
directly to the personalised feed of your target audience
Personalise
Customise your message for each target
audience
Test
A/B test variations of your content to
optimise performance
Control
What gets published on your Company
Page locally or globally
2. Direct Sponsored Content
(newsfeed only)
1. Sponsor Organic Company Updates
(company page)
Validate
Post organically to gain insight into
performance of update before putting
budget behind it
Increase reach
Reach your organic follower base in
addition to your target audience

8. Targeting best
practice

9. Connections
500+
Company
Name
Sainsbury’s
Industry
Retail
Company Size
5,000+
Gender
MaleEducation
King’s College
London
Geo
London, Uk
Groups
The Finance Executive
Finance today
Job Title
Finance Director
Seniority
Director
Function
Finance
9
Powerful Targeting Based on 1st Party Data
Skills
* Target 4 facets max: Function (Finance), Seniority
(Director+), Company size (5,000+) and Geo (UK)

10. Targeting Best Practice
Audience Size minimum = 100,000
Engagement increases with broader audiences
More clicks leads to increased virality and visibility of your campaign
The buyer’s journey is too complex to target niche audiences
E.g. 45% of IT Decision Makers are not in the IT Function
Use your click data to inform campaign optimisations

11. Consider Jeff Senior Manager in an
IT Function within
Enterprise Businesses
…
in the UK
Targeting
Seniority
Function
Company Size
Geography
Audience Size
Niche
Manager+
IT
1000+
UK
101,000
Broad
Senior IC+
IT, Eng, Ops, Cons
1000+
UK
895,000

12. Sponsoring Organic Company
Page Updates

13. Meet the Campaign Manager Tool

14. 1. Log into LinkedIn and select ‘Advertise’

15. Or visit LinkedIn Ads

16. 2. Getting Started with Standard Updates
Use a naming convention
that clearly states your
target audience, geo, and
bid strategy
Select the language of the
content to be sponsored*
Name your campaign
Ex : HR_Managers+_France_CPC
*The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany and France are
exceptions where you can post both in English and in local language

17. 3. Choose the update you’d like to sponsor, or
create a brand new update

18. 4. Select geo and targeting
Select the Geo
Target by job
function, company
size, industry, and
seniority
Target at least 100,000
members to allow
sufficient reach
Target a maximum of 4
facets: seniority,
function, company
size, and geo
‘IT Manager+ 500+ UK’

19. 5. Set the Bid
For each bid type (CPM or
CPC) the system will
suggest a range.
Start by bidding high or
above the suggested range,
then decrease bid based on
performance

20. .
Pricing model options:
CPM Brand Awareness
CPC Lead generation
$
Choose a bid strategy

21. ©2012 LinkedIn Corporation. All Rights
Reserved.
21
A Strong Relevancy Score Can Help Win the Auction
Relevancy score based on several factors including click through rate and engagement rate

22. 6. Set the daily budget
Set up your daily budget
(leave a 10% buffer)
Please note campaigns
can spend up to 20%
more than the daily
budget, but never more
than the total budget
allocated to the campaign

23. 7. Set the end date
Avoid using an end
date or total budget
if you think you
might extend the
campaign

24. Your campaign is now created
You can create other
campaigns if you want to
target new or different
audiences.

25. 3 Factors for sponsored updates success
Content
Target
Size
Bids /
Budget

26. Sponsoring Direct Sponsored
Content

27. Benefits of Direct Sponsored Content
Reach your target
audience directly in the
feed without publishing
on your company page
Great for localised
language targeting
A/B Testing
Headlines, Images
or CTAs
Must have DSC
admin access

28. Test and learn with direct sponsored content
Relevance = Strong CTRs
A/B Test your headline and description text
A/B Test images
38%
CTR*
lift

29. 1. First, go to company page, then ‘Edit page’

30. 2. Check for administrative rights to sponsor
You must appear under
‘Direct sponsored content
posters’ to create direct
sponsored content
Please note that any
changes will need to be
saved by clicking on
‘Publish’

31. 3. Start creating Direct Sponsored Content
Go to the Ad tab
Click on the campaign
Select ‘Create new
sponsored content’

32. 4. Name your content and write your update
Create your direct
sponsored content
the same way you
would create a
standard update
Name your direct
sponsored content
Hit ‘save’

33. 6. Select your content and sponsor
Click on ‘sponsor
selected’
Select your direct
sponsored content which
now appears as an item to
sponsor
Once sponsored, the
direct sponsored
content will display
directly in the
newsfeed of the
members you target

34. L
5. Thumbnail image vs large image
Large images work best for:
• Brand campaigns
• Graphs
• Images with an emotional
impact
• Infographics
*don’t forget to state CTA in
the image
Thumbnail images allow
advertisers more space to
explain content you are
promoting and state CTA.
In both cases,
always include a link
to landing page in
the intro text

35. 7. Where to find direct sponsored content

36. Bid high at campaign launch to be more competitive
Targeting: If your audience is niche, test broad as well
CPM vs CPC? Choose bid strategy based on campaign goal
Key Takeaways
Split test, learn, repeat
1
2
3
4

37. Mastering Campaign
Management

38. Why A/B Test?
Optimise to the best performing updates
Improve campaign ROI
Learn more about your target audience

39. Lesson #1: Be Concise
156%
CTR*
lift

40. Lesson #2: Invest In Strong Images
 Processed 60,000x faster than words
 Pair links / photos
 Use infographics / big + small
 Leverage videos and Slideshare

41. Lesson #3: Optimise for Mobile
 Ensure intro copy is fewer than 90 characters or
eliminate it all together
Get to the point / don’t bury the hook
 Have a clear CTA
 Consider mobile landing page and UX

42. Lesson #4: Tailor messages to audience
targeted

43. Best practice campaign management
• Run 2-4 unique updates per target audience. Frequency cap: members see
up to 2 unique pieces of content per advertiser every day.
• Rotate in 1-2 new updates weekly. Prevents content from becoming stale
and allows for updating content strategy based on what works.
• Different content has different shelf lives. Topical posts peak in
performance 1-4 weeks, evergreen content can be sponsored indefinitely so
long as you maintain performance.
• Better content is superior to more content. Keep best performing on hand
to re-sponsor when need be.
• Use Direct Sponsored Content. Test copy variations and images.

44. Conversion Tracking coming soon

45. Thank You
Marketing Solutions Blog
http://marketing.linkedin.com/blog/
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http://adspecs.liasset.com
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