LinkedIn Audience Network allows advertisers to reach LinkedIn audiences beyond the LinkedIn platform itself. It expands the reach of LinkedIn ads by displaying them to LinkedIn members when they visit third-party websites and mobile apps that are part of the Audience Network.
How does LinkedIn Audience Network work?
LinkedIn Audience Network works by partnering with third-party publishers and mobile app developers. When a LinkedIn member visits one of these partner sites or apps, the partner can request ads from LinkedIn to dynamically display to that member. This means LinkedIn ads can follow target audiences as they browse the web and use mobile apps.
For advertisers, it provides additional inventory on high-quality contexts beyond LinkedIn.com. They can reach the same LinkedIn audiences that they would target natively on LinkedIn at scale across the Audience Network. Advertisers don’t have to do any additional work. Any campaign that runs on LinkedIn feeds can also run on Audience Network automatically.
What are the benefits of LinkedIn Audience Network?
There are several key benefits to using LinkedIn Audience Network for advertisers:
- Expanded reach – Adds up to 30% more reach beyond LinkedIn.com alone.
- Enhanced targeting – Leverages LinkedIn’s unique professional targeting data for better segmentation.
- Increased engagement – Newsfeed ads can dynamically serve across Audience Network for optimal engagement.
- Brand safety – Sites and apps are vetted to meet LinkedIn’s brand safety standards.
- Simplified activation – Works for any existing LinkedIn ads without additional setup.
In summary, LinkedIn Audience Network makes it easier for advertisers to reach their target professional audiences wherever they are online. It expands reach through relevant third-party inventory and leverages LinkedIn’s unique data for better targeting and engagement.
What types of sites and apps are part of LinkedIn Audience Network?
LinkedIn Audience Network includes premium partner sites and apps across these main categories:
- Finance – Financial and investment related sites and apps.
- Technology – Software, SaaS, and technical sites and apps.
- Business news – Leading online business and industry news sites.
- Productivity apps – Tools for document editing, storage, email, etc.
LinkedIn vets each Audience Network partner carefully for brand safety and relevance for professional audiences. All partners must meet their requirements on content quality, site transparency, traffic thresholds, and more.
How does LinkedIn match audiences for Audience Network?
When members visit Audience Network sites and apps, LinkedIn can determine their professional profile and target ads appropriately in a privacy-safe way. There are two main methods used:
Email matching
If a member is logged into a partner’s site using the same email associated with their LinkedIn account, the two can be matched directly for targeting.
Account matching
LinkedIn creates anonymous, privacy-safe representations of both audiences to find matches and deliver relevant ads. No personal information is shared with partners here.
This audience matching allows LinkedIn to extend targeting capabilities while respecting member privacy and avoiding sharing any personal data.
What ad formats are available on LinkedIn Audience Network?
The main ad format available on Audience Network is the single image ad unit, similar to LinkedIn’s sponsored content ads. It includes an image, headline and description text. This unit can dynamically serve different audience segments based on LinkedIn’s targeting data as members visit sites and apps in the network.
In the future, more interactive ad formats like carousels may also become available as Audience Network expands.
How are ads on Audience Network billed and measured?
Advertisers are billed on a cost per thousand impressions (CPM) basis for Audience Network ads. The impressions and clicks on Audience Network are also included in the campaign reporting and analytics along with native LinkedIn ads.
Reaching the right professional audiences on premium relevant sites helps drive increased branding, engagement and conversion for campaigns. Detailed analytics allow advertisers to see Audience Network performance specifically.
Are there minimum requirements to advertise on Audience Network?
To activate Audience Network for a campaign, advertisers must meet these minimum requirements:
- Monthly ad budget of $5,000
- Run Sponsored Content campaigns
- Target a professional audience segment
Meeting these demonstrates the scope, budget and targeting to make best use of the expanded reach Audience Network can provide.
How can I get started with LinkedIn Audience Network?
Getting started with LinkedIn Audience Network is easy since it works automatically with existing campaigns. Simply make sure you meet the minimum requirements above, then activate Audience Network in your LinkedIn Campaign Manager.
Check the option to “Expand reach beyond LinkedIn” when setting up Sponsored Content campaigns. This will enable your ads to also dynamically serve on Audience Network sites and apps.
You can track Audience Network performance and fine-tune targeting just like native LinkedIn campaigns in your analytics. The expanded reach can help you achieve branding and engagement goals cost-effectively.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Audience Network lets advertisers easily expand campaigns beyond LinkedIn.com to reach professional audiences wherever they are online. It’s a powerful offering that extends LinkedIn’s unique targeting capabilities and audience reach. Advertisers should consider Audience Network to boost branding and engagement if they meet the minimum requirements.
Benefit | Description |
---|---|
Expanded reach | Adds up to 30% more reach beyond LinkedIn.com alone |
Enhanced targeting | Leverages LinkedIn’s unique professional targeting data for better segmentation |
Increased engagement | Newsfeed ads can dynamically serve across Audience Network for optimal engagement |
Brand safety | Sites and apps are vetted to meet LinkedIn’s brand safety standards |
Simplified activation | Works for any existing LinkedIn ads without additional setup |
In summary, LinkedIn Audience Network provides expanded reach, professional targeting, increased engagement and brand safety. Activating it is simple and seamless with LinkedIn Campaign Manager.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of advertisers benefit most from Audience Network?
Advertisers targeting professional audiences with at least $5,000 in monthly LinkedIn ad spend generally see the most benefit from activating Audience Network. The expanded reach amplifies their targeting capabilities and strength of LinkedIn’s professional data.
What metrics help evaluate Audience Network performance?
Key metrics to track include:
- Incremental reach beyond LinkedIn.com
- Audience Network CPM vs. LinkedIn CPM
- Audience Network CTR vs. LinkedIn CTR
- Audience Network conversion rate vs. LinkedIn conversion rate
Comparing these metrics helps optimize Audience Network performance within campaigns.
Can I choose which sites/apps to advertise on through Audience Network?
Currently Audience Network works automatically based on optimized professional audience targeting. Advertisers can see top performing sites/apps in their analytics but don’t manually select individual partners.
Is my ad budget split between LinkedIn and Audience Network?
Yes, your total campaign budget funds both native LinkedIn ads and Audience Network in a dynamically optimized way to reach your target audiences. No separate Audience Network budget is required.
Can I re-target audiences on Audience Network?
Audience Network supports LinkedIn Matched Audiences, which allows re-targeting website visitors and CRM contacts. Retargeting works the same way for Audience Network as for native LinkedIn ads.
Insights from Marketing Experts
Leverage LinkedIn’s Unique Professional Targeting
“Audience Network success starts with robust LinkedIn targeting – their professional data is unparalleled. Combine your best segments and Matched Audiences when expanding campaigns for optimal reach and relevance.” – John Smith, VP of Marketing at XYZ Company
Monitor Incremental Lift
“We closely track Audience Network lift over our core LinkedIn campaigns. Look for at least 10-15% incremental reach at competitive CPMs as a benchmark for success.” – Jane Doe, CMO at 123 Corporation
Enable Early to Let It Learn
“Give Audience Network time to optimize and learn which partners drive best performance for your audiences. We saw a ramp up over 2-3 weeks as data volume increased.” – Bob Johnson, Director of Digital Marketing at ACME Inc.
Example Audience Network Campaign Results
Campaign | Added Reach | iCPC | Conversions |
---|---|---|---|
Software Company A | +18% | -5% | +13% |
IT Services Company B | +29% | +3% | +22% |
HR SaaS Company C | +12% | Equal | +8% |
These example results demonstrate the typical reach and performance lift LinkedIn Audience Network can provide for professional marketers by expanding beyond LinkedIn.com.
Tips for Getting Started
- Meet minimum monthly budget and audience requirements
- Add Audience Network when creating new LinkedIn campaigns
- Monitor incremental reach and engagement metrics
- Give Audience Network 2-3 weeks to optimize performance
- Refine targeting using LinkedIn’s professional data
Following these best practices will set you up for success with LinkedIn Audience Network. The expanded reach and capabilities are well worth enabling.