A brand lift test on LinkedIn is a way to measure the effectiveness of LinkedIn advertising campaigns on brand awareness and perception. Brand lift tests are surveys that measure brand metrics before and after showing test groups LinkedIn ads. The difference in metrics between the groups represents the “lift” provided by the ads.
Why Run Brand Lift Tests on LinkedIn?
There are several reasons brands may want to run brand lift tests on LinkedIn:
- Measure brand awareness lift – Understand how well LinkedIn ads increase awareness of your brand, products, or services.
- Measure brand favorability lift – Gauge how LinkedIn ads improve perceptions, consideration, and preference for your brand.
- Inform creative strategy – Identify high performing ads and creatives that effectively lift brand metrics.
- Benchmark for optimization – Set a baseline for brand lift to optimize campaigns to continuously improve lift over time.
- Accountability for budget – Quantify brand impact to justify LinkedIn ad spend and investments.
In short, LinkedIn brand lift studies help quantify the brand impact of LinkedIn ads and prove the ROI of LinkedIn advertising campaigns beyond direct response metrics.
How Do Brand Lift Tests Work on LinkedIn?
Here is an overview of how brand lift studies work on the LinkedIn platform:
- Determine target audience and brands/products to feature in the ads.
- Develop branded LinkedIn ad creatives to test.
- Define relevant brand lift metrics and benchmark with a pre-test survey.
- Run A/B test LinkedIn campaigns with test and control groups.
- Retarget site visitors with branded LinkedIn ads.
- Survey both test and control groups again on brand metrics.
- Analyze lift in brand metrics between test and control groups.
The core components of a LinkedIn brand lift study include:
- Pre and post-test surveys – Asking target audiences brand questions before and after seeing ads.
- Test and control groups – The test group sees LinkedIn ads, while the control does not.
- Brand lift analysis – Comparing metrics between groups to quantify impact of the ads.
Best Practices for Brand Lift Tests
Here are some top tips to maximize the learnings and accuracy of LinkedIn brand lift studies:
- Survey at least 500 people per test group for statistical significance.
- Ask about branded ad recall to prove viewability.
- Measure awareness and favorability metrics relevant to campaign goals.
- Use A/B test ads to identify best performing creative.
- Retarget website visitors to increase exposure.
- Optimize targeting based on survey responses.
- Test new campaigns against previous brand lift baselines.
Key Brand Metrics to Test on LinkedIn
Here are some of the most important brand health metrics to include in LinkedIn brand lift tests:
- Brand awareness – % who are familiar with your brand or recall seeing ads.
- Brand favorability – % who have a positive perception and attitude towards your brand.
- Brand consideration – % who would consider purchasing from or engaging with your brand.
- Brand preference – % who prefer your brand over competitors.
- Brand relevance – % who feel your brand is relevant to them.
- Ad recall – % who remember your specific LinkedIn ads.
You may also test message association, purchase intent, brand attributes like modernity or trustworthiness, and more.
How to Analyze Brand Lift Test Results
Once the brand lift study is complete, analyze the results by:
- Comparing metric scores pre and post-test for both groups.
- Calculating % lift between test and control for each brand KPI.
- Identifying statistically significant metrics with 95%+ confidence.
- Reviewing lifts across awareness, favorability, and consideration.
- Pulling out insights by demographic segments.
- Creating graphs and charts to visualize brand lift.
Statistically significant lifts indicate your LinkedIn ads positively impacted brand perception. Insignificant lifts may mean more optimization is needed.
Real World Examples of LinkedIn Brand Lift Studies
Here are some real world examples of how leading brands have used LinkedIn brand lift tests:
Microsoft
- Goal: Increase preference for Microsoft Surface over iPad.
- Method: Surveyed 800 test and control group LinkedIn visitors.
- Results: 75% lift in Surface favorability and 38% lift in preference vs iPad.
Salesforce
- Goal: Boost brand awareness for Dreamforce conference.
- Method: Surveyed 700 test and control group targeted professionals.
- Results: 68% ad recall and 45% lift in Dreamforce awareness.
Oracle
- Goal: Increase association between Oracle and “innovative”.
- Method: Polled 800 visitors in test and holdout groups.
- Results: 29% lift in perceiving Oracle as innovative.
These examples demonstrate how LinkedIn brand lift tests can prove the tangible impact of LinkedIn ads on moving brand perception metrics.
Pros and Cons of LinkedIn Brand Lift Tests
Here are some key advantages and limitations of running brand lift studies on LinkedIn:
Pros
- Quantify “softer” brand benefits beyond conversions.
- Optimize messaging, positioning, and creative.
- Uncover insights about brand perception gaps.
- Identify best audiences and targeting.
- Justify LinkedIn ad investments.
Cons
- More complex setup compared to A/B testing.
- Requires large sample sizes for statistical validity.
- Indirect measure of sales impact.
- Harder to action specific creative optimizations.
- Survey fatigue can affect results.
Overall, LinkedIn brand lift studies provide unique benefits, but also require more planning and larger budgets vs. direct response tests.
Conclusion
In summary, brand lift studies help assess the brand awareness, favorability, consideration, and preference impact of LinkedIn advertising campaigns. Pre and post-test surveys of target audiences in test and control groups reveal how much the ads “lift” brand metrics. LinkedIn brand lift tests require large sample sizes and survey best practices to yield statistically valid insights. When designed well, LinkedIn brand lift tests can optimize branding campaigns and prove the wider value of investing in LinkedIn ads beyond direct response.