Insights from 8 years and tens of millions in ad spend.
A common question we receive at Remotion is, "Are LinkedIn Ads worth it?" To provide a meaningful answer, we rephrase it to, "Are LinkedIn Ads worth it for me?"
We've been managing LinkedIn Ads since 2016 and spend tens of millions of dollars in advertising spend across multiple B2B industries.
The answer varies, so we’ve broken it down into five key considerations:
1. Are LinkedIn Ads Expensive?
LinkedIn Ads can indeed be expensive, particularly in terms of CPMs (Cost Per Thousand Impressions), CPCs (Cost Per Click), and CPLs (Cost Per Lead). For competitive audiences such as marketing, HR, IT, and cybersecurity, especially in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia, CPCs typically range between $10 and $20. However, costs may be lower in less competitive industries and regions.
Compared to Google Ads, which might offer CPCs as low as $2-$5 for similarly competitive keywords with higher intent, LinkedIn Ads allow precise targeting based on industry, company size, role, and seniority. This precision often results in higher costs but a much more relevant audience. On Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram), clicks can be cheaper, but without third-party data tools like Metadata or 6sense, the audience relevance can be lower. Thus, while LinkedIn Ads are pricier, they can offer significantly higher relevance, potentially up to 20 times more.
2. Are LinkedIn Ads Right for You?
LinkedIn Ads aren't right for everyone. Before diving in, consider these questions:
Can you target your audience just as effectively on other platforms? If so, those might be more cost-effective options.
Is your target audience hard to reach? For niche audiences, like cybersecurity engineers at large financial service companies, LinkedIn Ads can be invaluable.
Does your product's price justify the high ad costs? Products with a lower Lifetime Value (LTV) might find LinkedIn Ads too costly. A safe LTV threshold is around $20K per year.
Are your goals aligned with LinkedIn Ads capabilities? LinkedIn Ads are more effective for demand creation rather than capturing existing demand.
Additionally, consider your target audience and whether LinkedIn is the best platform to reach them.
3. Do You Have Everything You Need to Succeed?
Success with LinkedIn Ads requires more than just a budget. Ensure you have:
- A compelling offer
- Quality content and the means to produce it consistently
- Effective creative assets and the ability to iterate
- Product/market fit
- Clear messaging
- Marketing leadership to spearhead the initiative
- CRM/Marketing Automation tools, ideally HubSpot
- SDRs/BDRs to follow up on leads
- Buy-in to run campaigns for several months
- A sufficient budget, at least $45-50K per quarter to start
- If you can't answer "yes" to these, it might be worth reconsidering your readiness for LinkedIn Ads.
4. How Will You Measure Effectiveness?
Measuring the effectiveness of LinkedIn Ads can be challenging. Attribution tools often fall short due to privacy compliance, ad blockers, cookieless browsers, and multiple devices. While Google Ads typically attribute conversions within the same session, LinkedIn Ads may see conversions days, weeks, or even months later.
HubSpot can track conversions and down-funnel activity but shares the same limitations as other attribution tools. It's essential to discuss these limitations with your leadership. Besides attribution, consider asking "How did you hear about us?" in your forms to gauge channel performance, even if the lead never clicked on your ad.
5. Do You Know What to Do?
Despite its apparent simplicity, LinkedIn Ads can be complex. Even experienced PPC managers can make costly mistakes. It's crucial to have someone accountable for running your campaigns, whether in-house, freelance, or through an agency. Training and experience are key to mastering LinkedIn Ads. Understanding what good and bad performance looks like is essential to avoid common pitfalls.
Conclusion
So, are LinkedIn Ads worth it? At Remotion, we believe that LinkedIn Ads can be highly effective for many businesses, particularly in the B2B sector.
Carefully assess whether LinkedIn Ads are right for you and if now is the right time to invest. If you’re unsure, feel free to reach out to us at Remotion. We’re here to provide you with honest, straightforward advice.
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