In the dynamic world of LinkedIn advertising, mastering the art of bidding can significantly enhance your campaign's ROI. Lowering bids on LinkedIn Ads doesn't just mean spending less; it's about spending smarter.
Here’s how:
- Ignore LinkedIn’s Suggested Bids: The LinkedIn Video Ads Playbook emphasizes that LinkedIn's suggested bids are not always in your best interest. Start by bidding low, gradually increasing until your ads run, to find the minimum bid that LinkedIn accepts. This cautious approach ensures you don't overspend from the outset.
- Optimize for Click-Through Rate (CTR): High CTRs are key to lowering your costs on LinkedIn. Ads with higher engagement rates are rewarded by LinkedIn's auction system, allowing for lower bids while maintaining ad visibility. Focus on creating compelling, engaging content that resonates with your target audience.
- Leverage High-Performance Creatives: Utilize a variety of creatives and rotate them regularly to prevent ad fatigue. The documents suggest using two creatives per campaign for optimal performance. This not only helps in better spending your daily budget but also in maintaining a high relevancy score, which can lead to lower costs per click.
- Manual Bidding and Monitoring: Manual bidding gives you control over your ad spend. It's crucial to monitor your campaigns closely, adjusting bids based on performance. If you're not meeting your daily budget, consider increasing your bids slightly, especially if your CTR is above the 1-1.5% benchmark for video ads and 3% for thought leader ads.
- Strategic Audience Targeting: Keep your audience size within the 20k-80k range for optimal performance. Broad or poorly targeted audiences can lead to wasted ad spend. Utilize LinkedIn's audience insights or Sales Navigator to ensure your ads are reaching your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
- Evaluate and Adapt: Constantly review your ad performance. If certain creatives are underperforming, replace them with ones that might engage your audience better. The first few seconds of your video ads are crucial for capturing attention, so make them count.
By implementing these strategies, businesses can optimize their LinkedIn Ads bidding strategy, leading to lower costs and higher ROI. The key is to balance your bids with ad performance, continually adapt based on data, and focus on creating content that engages and converts your target audience.