10 Ways to Drive Killer ROI with your LinkedIn Sponsored Updates

WEBINAR

Selin Tyler (@selingt)Senior Product Marketing Manager, LinkedIn

Jaime Pham (@jaimelynn09) Content Marketing Evangelist, LinkedIn

Questions? Send them via Webex Q&A Feature

Recorded? Of course!

Before we get started…

Shout outs? Tweet them via #LinkedInContent

Feedback? Survey will be available at the end of the Webinar

Today’s Agenda

ONE TWO THREEContent Management Best Practices

Campaign Set up Tips & Tricks

Top Sponsored Updates of 2015 (so far)

Content Through the Buyer’s Journey

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B2B Buyers are consuming anaverage of 10.4 pieces of content

on their way to a purchase decision.

Source: Zero Moment of Truth Study, Google

Where are they finding it?

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Nearly half of B2B buyers start their solution research with a web search, and 72% of buyers will use Google at some point in the research stage

Source: 2014 B2B Buyer Landscape, Demand Gen, Pardot

That same percentage of buyers using search will also use social media

Asked for suggestions/

recommendations from users

Connected directly with potential

vendors

Connected with individual thought

leaders for opinions

Did not use social Browsed existing discussions

“How do you take your Sponsored Updates from Great to Outstanding?”

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ONEContent Management Best Practices

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Source: LinkedIn Internal Study May 2015

Followers and target audiences want different things:Here’s what followers want to hear, tailor your content accordingly

Provide a steady stream of content for your followers: Best inclass marketers post one to three updates per day on their

Company or Showcase Pages.

• Sponsor two to four updates at any time to maximize your reach to your target audience. • Proactively optimize or cycle out the updates that aren’t achieving your key performance indicators (KPIs).

1 Followers and target audiences want different things:Here are topics some of the popular target segments consume on LinkedIn

2 Pick content for the full marketing funnel:Build trust first, then ask for contact information

Infographics, blog posts, industry trends, influencercontent, “behind the scenes” and exclusive content

Best practice guides, case studies, product reviews,analyst reports, webinars, blog posts

White papers, research briefs, product demos, trials,product reviews and comparisons, analyst reports

Newsletters, recommendations, case studies, productnews, tutorials

You have 10+ opportunitiesto publish Sponsored Updatesthat effectively introduce your

brand, build trust, provide helpfulinformation, and ultimately inform

a purchase decision. Deliverrelevant content at every step

of the buyer’s journey.

2 Pro Tip:Clear calls to action will maximize your clicks and conversions to gated content

This CTA from Hortonworks for a whitepaper download couldn’t be more direct:

3 Boost your content ROI through repurposing

Make the most of your gated content by repurposing it in a varietyof full funnel pieces such as blogs, infographics, webinars

and SlideShare presentations.

4 Leverage your employee network to scale up your reach

Employees are a valuable secretweapon in scaling your SponsoredUpdates campaign.

In a recent Sponsored Updates case study, Dutch Bank ABN AMRO revealed that their “secret weapon” for scaling always-on content is their people.

The Bank’s social media team distributes a content calendar to all employees every week, explaining what they’ll be posting to their Company Page and when.

Now they have 600 people who can share ABN AMRO’s content with their connections. Results: Engagement rates as high as 3.25% on their content.

Over 28,000 visits to ABN Amro Insights site in one month.

The Helpful Advisor The Conversationalist The Cliffhanger

Start by explaining howyour piece of content willhelp your target achieve

professional success.

Make a bold statement or aska question to spark a conversation

and get your audience to react.

Tell your audience just enoughto pique their interest but not somuch that they aren’t compelled

to learn more.

5 Create content that is helpful, informative and/or entertaining

Try writing from these perspectives:

6 Optimize your content for mobile

For best mobile performance make sure:

Your intro copy is fewer than 150 character or eliminate it all together

Your CTA is clear

Your landing page is optimized for the small screen

7 Use images to drive engagementLet your images stand out in the feed

• Adhere to published specifications to ensure your image is the proper resolution.

• Use the image to expand on the contentor emphasize the CTA.

• Make sure you choose an image that accuratelyreflects your content. Consistency between imageand story conveys the topic before the membereven reads a word.

http://adspecs.liasset.com/category.php?category=Sponsored+Updates

8 Test and improve performance with Direct Sponsored Content

At any time, test 2 to 3versions of your contentto continuously improveperformance.

Think Simple:Consider testing personalizationor variations of your CTA.

9 Adopt an always on mindset……as professionals catch up on content at home

9 Pro Tip: For content, think always on content strategyDon’t miss out on the opportunity to impact your prospects’ buying decision

Make sure your solutions are always in the consideration set of yourtarget audience by adopting an always-on Sponsored Updates strategy.

*The 2014 B2B Buyer Behavior Study, Demand Gen, January 29, 2014

10 Expand your reach to similar audiencesUse Audience Expansion to discover audiences similar to your target

Make your content last longer:

Before you retire a campaign that’s showing fatigue,consider enabling the Audience Expansion function.It’s a great way to reach new audiences similar to your target audience, and expose them to your brandmessage.

Remember, these audiences haven’t seen your content, so it’s new to them.

Best Practices Cheat SheetOptimizing content

• Always ask, “why would my audience read this?”

• Use concise and compelling intros and headlines

• Ask compelling questions to involve the target audience

• Include a clear call to action, regardless of the objective

• Make sure your landing pages are optimized for mobile traffic

Managing updates

• Plan your editorial calendar, but also react to timely events

• Respond to comments regularly

• Consider keeping updates running through the weekend

• Test to see what works with your audience and then refine

Optimizing visuals• Always include an image, presentation, or video• Ensure your image is relevant to your content

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3

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TWOCampaign Set up Tips & Tricks

You have 4 levers to optimize your campaigns

CONTENT

AUDIENCE BUDGET

BID

TARGETING

RELEVANCE MATTERSTest your content to boost your CTR and lower your CPC

CONTENT

BID ONLY AS MUCH AS YOUR WILLINGNESS TO PAYBID

Pricing model options:CPM (cost per thousand impressions)

CPC (cost per click)

In both cases, you only pay enough to beat the next highest bidder in the 2nd price auction

$

.

Shift your budget based on performanceAUDIENCE

START BROAD, CHISEL DOWNTARGETING

Chisel, don’t piece-togetherRun-of-professionals (ROP) doesn’t mean “no targeting” it means “all targeting”Pay for your target audience at ROP rate!

Let the robots work their magicWhile marketers are great at understanding “who”

their audience is, optimization algorithms “know” who clicks and optimize accordingly

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THREETop Sponsored Updates of Q2 2015

Top Updates- Q2 2015

• Stands out from the rest of the news feed by using a casual tone and incorporating a meme

• Uses a short-form article format for easy engagement

• Uses the intro copy to deliver an upbeat message as a hook

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• Provides a lot of upfront value with the use of statistics in the intro copy and an infographic for visual engagement

• These tactics are effective ways to tease out longer content like survey results or a research report

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• The post optimizes mobile engagement by eliminating the intro copy

• Taps into a very broad desire to be more successful: the main reason professionals use LinkedIn. The message is appropriate to the platform

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• Niche content finds a place on LinkedIn with the use of an effective targeting strategy

• The image adds context to the post

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• What makes it engaging?

• It keeps content social by using human stories and peer learning

• The intro copy is concise and clear and adds to the image and title

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marketing.linkedin.com

©2014 LinkedIn Corporation. All Rights Reserved. 37

Questions?

Selin Tyler (@selingt)Senior Product Marketing Manager, LinkedIn

Jaime Pham (@jaimelynn09) Content Marketing Evangelist, LinkedIn