What is LinkedIn Retargeting?
LinkedIn Retargeting is a powerful online marketing strategy that enables businesses to re-engage with individuals who have previously interacted with their LinkedIn ads or have visited their website. It harnesses LinkedIn's rich dataset of audience behavior to drive more relevant ads and content to these individuals, increasing the likelihood of converting them into customers.
Retargeting is not an unfamiliar term for most marketers; it has been extensively used on platforms like Facebook, Google, and Instagram. However, LinkedIn's retargeting arises from its professional user base, which makes it a goldmine for B2B marketers looking to engage with a high-quality, industry-specific audience. This is especially valuable when trying to move your leads down the sales funnel in an efficient and targeted manner.
How Does LinkedIn Retargeting Work?
LinkedIn retargeting is facilitated through LinkedIn's Campaign Manager in conjunction with the Insight Tag. An Insight Tag is a small piece of JavaScript code that you embed into your website, allowing LinkedIn to track visitors who come from any LinkedIn-owned platforms. By doing so, LinkedIn can collect data on which pages your visitors interacted with and store them for future retargeting campaigns.
LinkedIn offers several forms of retargeting based on user behavior, as discussed below:
- **Website Retargeting**: Showing ads to users who have visited pages on your website.
- **Video Retargeting**: Targeting individuals who have watched a certain percentage of your LinkedIn video ads.
- **Lead Gen Form Retargeting**: Engaging users who have opened or interacted with your Lead Gen Forms but haven’t completed them.
- **Account-Based Retargeting**: Retargeting employees of specific companies based on account lists that businesses upload to LinkedIn.
- **Event Retargeting** *New in 2023*: You can retarget individuals who have engaged with any LinkedIn events run by your business.
The Key Benefits of LinkedIn Retargeting
Retargeting on LinkedIn offers numerous advantages that can significantly enhance your B2B marketing outcomes. Below are some of the key reasons you might incorporate LinkedIn retargeting into your digital marketing strategy.
1. Sharper Audience Focus
LinkedIn users are professionals, which means you can approach retargeting with laser-focused accuracy. You can fine-tune campaigns to reach decision-makers, C-suite executives, and specific companies, ensuring that your ads only appear before the people who matter most to your business.
2. Personalized Engagement
One of the main reasons retargeting is so effective is because it addresses an audience that’s already acquainted with your brand. LinkedIn takes this further by allowing marketers to retarget their audience with dynamic creative and more personalized messages based on their previous interactions. This allows for better engagement and, ultimately, conversion.
3. Higher Conversion Rates
When users encounter a brand for the first time, their intent to buy or sign up is often low. Retargeting allows you to nudge visitors at different touchpoints, increasing the chances of converting leads into customers. According to a LinkedIn [study](https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/reporting/insights/retargeting-how-you-achieve-more), retargeting can significantly lower your cost per acquisition by narrowing down the audience pool to those already familiar with your brand.
4. Optimized Ad Spend
Rather than casting a wide net into cold traffic, LinkedIn retargeting narrows down your audience to people who have demonstrated interest in your business. This precision helps optimize your advertising budget. By spending your advertising dollars on retargeting, you reduce waste and focus promotional efforts on individuals more likely to take action.
Types of LinkedIn Retargeting
LinkedIn offers a few different types of retargeting methods, and understanding these will allow you to maximize their effectiveness. Each method can help you build effective ad campaigns based on the viewer's past interaction.
| Retargeting Type | Description | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Website Retargeting | Targets people who have visited your website, based on specific pages they have interacted with. | Re-engage audiences familiar with your services/products. |
| Lead Gen Form Retargeting | Targets users who opened but did not submit lead generation forms. | Retarget already interested prospects, encouraging completion. |
| Video Retargeting | Based on users who engaged with your video ad content. | Reinforce brand messaging to engaged audiences via video. |
| Account Retargeting | Targets users from specific companies using predefined account lists. | Perfect for B2B marketing; you can retarget specific businesses. |
These varied options give marketers a flexible range of tools to optimize their campaign strategies, regardless of content type or audience journey stage.
Best Practices for Running LinkedIn Retargeting Campaigns
While LinkedIn retargeting can be highly effective, the way it's implemented can make or break your results. Below are best practices to give your campaigns the best shot at success.
1. Segment Your Audience
Don’t treat your entire retargeting audience as a single entity. Utilize LinkedIn’s segmentation features to create different target groups based on their intent or interest. For example, visitors who bounced immediately after landing on your homepage might require a different retargeting message compared to someone who visited your pricing page. Segmenting your retargeting lists can help ensure your messaging is relevant to each potential customer group.
2. Utilize Dynamic Ads
The more personalized an ad is, the greater the chance it will resonate with your audience. LinkedIn offers dynamic ads, which automatically customize advertising content based on each viewer's LinkedIn profile information. This emphasis on personalization often proves effective in grabbing the attention of prospects and driving higher conversion rates.
3. Frequency Capping
It’s essential to avoid bombarding your audience with too many retargeting advertisements. Convertkit, for example, allows advertisers to cap the frequency of retargeting ads for each user, which is a recommended practice. Too many ads can frustrate users, while too few might not have the intended impact. Finding the right balance often involves testing the ideal number of ad impressions.
4. Keep Testing and Optimizing
As with any advertising campaign, testing different types of LinkedIn retargeting strategies is crucial to understanding what works best for your brand. Continuously A/B test different creative formats, messaging, and calls-to-action to optimize campaigns for maximum ROI. Regularly review your Campaign Manager dashboard to assess performance and adjust your targeting parameters or budget accordingly.
Case Studies: Success Stories with LinkedIn Retargeting
Many brands have effectively employed LinkedIn retargeting, and their results demonstrate the concept’s success potential. Below are two brief case studies that highlight the efficacy of incorporating retargeting in LinkedIn ad campaigns.
Case Study 1: Adobe
Adobe, a global leader in software solutions, used LinkedIn website retargeting to re-engage visitors from specific industry verticals who had interacted with their educational content. By delivering personalized white papers and case studies to this audience, Adobe was able to drive a 10% increase in lead generation at a significantly lower cost-per-lead.
Case Study 2: Hootsuite
Hootsuite, a social media management company, used LinkedIn video retargeting to engage prospects who had viewed a portion of their LinkedIn tutorial videos. They then created tailored messaging that nudged these prospects to sign up for a free trial. Their retargeting campaign resulted in a 20% increase in trial signups compared to their non-retargeted acquisition tactics.
Conclusion: Why LinkedIn Retargeting is Critical for B2B Marketers
LinkedIn retargeting is a game-changer, especially for B2B marketers looking to re-engage a professional audience. The deep analytics, professional segmentation, and personalization features that LinkedIn offers through its platform make it a formidable tool in any marketer’s arsenal. By investing in retargeting, you can significantly reduce wasted ad spend, deliver personalized content at optimal times, and improve conversion rates across the board.
For more detailed information on how to get started with LinkedIn Retargeting, you can visit LinkedIn’s official [Marketing Solutions page](https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions).
