Advertising is not the same for all social media networks.

While Facebook is still the best place to meet online, it’s not ideal for all businesses. Particularly, B2Bs struggle to get their message across amid the buzzfeed posts and birthday messages. According to a recent study by Facebook, it ranked third among B2B social networks.

LinkedIn continues to be the leader of the list.

This may not surprise anyone who is on LinkedIn. The professional networking site has 265 million users eager to connect.

It is, however, very similar to Facebook’s advertising platform. You can use the image- or video-based ads from your company to appear in different areas on the page. And, just like Facebook’s older social network, you can also make sponsored posts that will appear directly in people’s newsfeeds.

LinkedIn ads can be a great way to boost your brand’s visibility and increase sales. Here are some tips to get you started. 

Clear copy

Once you have chosen the name of your ad and decided if it will feature video or just text, it is time to start writing the copy. If you are having trouble deciding where to point people when they click on your advertisement, don’t worry. What are you offering, in other words? The landing page should include a subscription form for the newsletter.

Your headline (25 characters) & body text (75 characters) must be compelling people to click. A good way to grab people’s attention is to include a question in your headline that is relevant to your industry or demographic.

HubSpot recommends that you create a new ad for each buyer persona. Consider addressing internet marketers in your headline if you have a business that caters to them. 

Select a compelling image (and one that is small).

LinkedIn ads have one drawback: image size. LinkedIn’s sponsored posts and display ads on Google+ allow brands to use large, attention-grabbing images. However, LinkedIn restricts your ad size to 50×50 pixels. This does in a way level the playing field for small businesses that don’t have designers or access to photo stock.

No matter how big your company is, you need to be more careful when choosing your photo. Keep it simple and bold, just like the copy. You might even consider using your logo if it lends itself well. 

Include a CTA

For any internet advertisement with minimal copy, it is important to have a clear call-to-action (CTA). Without a clear call to action (CTA), even persuasive copy will not earn clicks. Not sure which CTA you prefer? Advertising on LinkedIn has the advantage of allowing you to create up to 15 different versions of the same ad campaign. The copy can be modified to appeal to different audiences and to test the effectiveness of different CTAs. 

Target your audience

Although advertising blindly may be a good way to increase brand awareness (emphasis added on “might”) most companies agree that it’s risky and costly. LinkedIn allows you to target your ad. You can customize your ad by choosing from the company location or job title. 

You can target professionals working for a particular business or go broader to reach people from a particular industry.

You can also take advantage of the social network’s lead collection feature. You can include a checkbox in your ad that allows people to indicate their interest in hearing more about your offer. Then, you can follow up via LinkedIn.

Choose the type of campaign that you are running

Cost-per-click (CPC), or cost-per-1,000 impressions (CPM) are the most common payment structures for internet advertising. LinkedIn is not an exception. CPC is exactly what it sounds like. Every time someone clicks on your advertisement, you’ll be charged. Based on a bidding process, you decide how much to pay. LinkedIn recommends a minimum bid that is based on your industry and the competition in your ad.

The final bid is the maximum you will be charged. However, the rate that you pay may change and you could end up paying less. CPC is the best way to get clicks to landing pages or websites.

CPM campaigns are charged per 1,000 impressions of your ad. This strategy is great if your goal is to increase brand awareness within your industry.

Campaigns require a minimum budget of $10 per day. CPC bids are limited to $2/click.

Track it

LinkedIn ads have a high success rate of.03%. This may impact your decision on whether to target impressions or clicks. You can check your campaigns’ performance using their basic analytics and any Google tracking. You can either edit poor performers to improve their copy or CTAs or you can pause them completely to redirect your funds to promote superstars.

Do some math if success rates are not immediately apparent. Calculate the average daily spend for the past week. Compare that figure to your daily budget. You might increase your daily budget if the numbers are similar. This will improve the performance of the ads.