Top 10 best B2B LinkedIn Ads Campaigns

Linkedin Ads should be on every B2B marketing team’s radar. A form of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, Linkedin Ads give you several ways to target potential customers based on professional details. While advertising on the platform is expensive compared to other PPC ads, the lifetime value of a LinkedIn lead can be notably higher than those acquired through Google Ads or other social media advertising efforts. This fact makes it a valuable source for lead generation. The best Linkedin Ads target a specific type of customer and build brand awareness through a mix of ad formats. 

The best ads on LinkedIn today 

The 10 B2B Linkedin Ads examples we’ve collected below show how to utilise colour, copy and data to develop ad creative that inspires conversions.

1. Slack

While many LinkedIn Ads target the top of the funnel, this Slack ad speaks to recently acquired customers. It offers clearly labelled answers to common questions a new Slack user may have, and could work well as a retargeting campaign. While this carousel ad does not have a clear value assigned to it at first glance, it works to build trust between new users and the Slack platform. As this trust grows, users may opt to upgrade to higher-tier Slack plans with more features.

2. BigCommerce

Original research, whitepapers and guides can all help to build brand awareness and trust. This BigCommerce ad catches the ad with a bold statistic before promising the answer on their website. It’s an excellent way to generate website visits while further establishing your brand’s reputation.

3. Google

The LinkedIn Campaign Manager lets advertisers target their content to specific local areas, and you can get quite granular. This Google ad is specifically targeted toward LinkedIn members in the U.S. state of Illinois and does double duty — it highlights a positive action taken by LinkedIn, and lets the audience know they can get help learning new skills.

4. Figma

This Figma ad is a triple threat: it clearly states a statistic, references a time- and profit-saving result that will be of interest to its audience, and offers a free download. It doesn’t hurt that the client company in question is very well known to city dwellers worldwide. The clear, bold graphics are eye-catching, and the minimalist suggestion of a cursor above the “e” in Uber encourages the viewer to click. 

5. Hootsuite

B2B advertising isn’t always the place for humour, but it can make your campaigns stand out when done right. The mention of a destroyed refrigerator catches the eye and inspires curiosity about how Hootsuite could be linking a nail gun to social media posts. 

6. Monday.com

If you’re running top-of-funnel LinkedIn Ads, you need to speak to an audience that may not even realise it needs your product. Monday.com does a great job of making that connection with this brightly coloured ad. There’s a good chance that busy, time-crunched professionals will see it and realise the ad perfectly mirrors the top of their very cluttered web browser. In just two sentences, it introduces awareness of a problem and solves it at the same time.

7. Asana

Asana utilises social proof with this short ad that highlights a quote from a satisfied customer. The brief caption is easy to digest and gets the point across even without clicking on the link to watch a video and learn more.

8. Adobe

This sponsored content isn’t a hard sell or even a request for information. Instead, it’s a link to personal stories shared by Adobe staff members. This not only humanises the brand but creates a positive association in viewers’ minds. Even if you don’t click through to read the content, you’re still getting the impression that Adobe cares about diversity and, in turn, its employees.

9. Hubspot

Video is an increasingly popular format for creating and consuming ad content, with 70% of marketers stating that video views deliver a positive ROI.

Hubspot’s video ad is a 16-second primer on how their CRM platform helps users “prospect, connect, create, report and unite like never before.” With bold graphics and clear product visuals, this ad is easily absorbed while browsing the LinkedIn feed. 

10. Coda

Coda’s bold graphics catch the eye — and they also mirror the design of a Coda doc. The ad immediately familiarises new viewers with the feel and format of using Coda while also standing out from other content in the LinkedIn feed. Using design and typography that’s consistent with your brand is an excellent way to build visual associations and awareness across repeat campaigns. 

What kinds of ads can you run on LinkedIn?

The above roundup focuses on the best LinkedIn carousel ads and sponsored content that appears publicly in the LinkedIn news feed. There are a total of four ad formats you can run on LinkedIn:

1. Sponsored Content ads that appear in the LinkedIn newsfeed like an organic post. These ads may be photos, videos, events, or multi-image carousels. 
2. Sponsored Messaging, or Sponsored InMail, that lands in your target audience’s inboxes like a standard LinkedIn direct message. 
3. Text Ads that appear as short snippets along the right-hand side of the LinkedIn feed. 
4. Dynamic Ads, which are similar to text ads. This format changes to include the viewer’s name or profile photo for a personalised touch.

You can utilise these ad formats in a variety of ways, including building brand awareness, increasing job applications, and lead generation. Each ad’s CTA may link to a landing page, lead gen form, job application — or nothing. Some LinkedIn advertisers opt to run single-image ads that deliver a bold statement or fact. While this type of ad does not lead directly to a website visit, it can be incorporated into a campaign to build brand awareness. 

What are the benefits of a LinkedIn Ad campaign?

LinkedIn Ads are a really excellent way to connect with B2B customers toward the beginning of the purchasing or decision-making journey. Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn users log on to discuss professional updates and industry news, not share family updates or recipes. Because of this, you can very closely target LinkedIn users based on their job title, company name, company size and other demographics. Everything you need to know is right in their LinkedIn profile — and the LinkedIn Campaign Manager helpfully groups it together for you. 

How to succeed with B2B LinkedIn marketing

In addition to experimenting with ad formats and assets, you can further optimise your LinkedIn advertising by:

• Testing new campaign strategies, including daily budget and total budget changes
• Experimenting with bid types
• Tracking click-through rates and conversion metrics to attribute ROI to your campaigns
• Utilise matched audiences 
• Add and remove audience attributes to change the type of LinkedIn user you target 

Launching a successful Linkedin Ads campaign can take some experimentation and patience if you’re new to the platform or PPC advertising in general. 

Working with an experienced Linkedin Ads agency is a great way to maximise your ad performance and get new leads straight away. The Linkedin Ads experts at Clarity Performance will help you define the right audience, craft high-converting ad copy, and understand what conversion rates mean for your ROI. 

Interested in how you can incorporate LinkedIn into your B2B social media advertising strategy? Learn what it’s like to work with a LinkedIn ads expert at Clarity Performance and get in touch today to discuss how we can help you generate more business through PPC advertising.