The Digital Marketing Podcast: Complete Guide to LinkedIn Ads

Release Date: March 28, 2025
Host: Daniel Rowles
Guest: A.J. Wilcox, Founder of B2Linked

1. Introduction

In the March 28, 2025 episode of The Digital Marketing Podcast, host Daniel Rowles welcomes A.J. Wilcox, the founder of B2Linked—a specialized LinkedIn advertising agency. This episode offers a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to mastering LinkedIn Ads, providing actionable insights to optimize campaigns and reduce costs.

2. Guest Introduction: A.J. Wilcox

A.J. Wilcox shares his journey into LinkedIn advertising, highlighting his initial foray as an SEO and Google Ads specialist. His success with LinkedIn Ads at a previous company led him to establish B2Linked over a decade ago, now recognized as the largest spender on LinkedIn Ads globally.

A.J. Wilcox [02:40]: "I didn't want to look stupid to my new boss, so I saluted and jumped into the platform. Two weeks later, we were fighting over LinkedIn leads."

3. Understanding LinkedIn Ads

A.J. clarifies the positioning of LinkedIn Ads within the marketing funnel. Unlike Meta (Facebook) which often serves top-of-funnel purposes with low-cost engagements, and Google Ads targeting bottom-of-funnel with higher costs per click, LinkedIn sits uniquely by targeting professionals without explicit purchase intent, positioning it closer to top-of-funnel yet costing near bottom-of-funnel levels.

A.J. Wilcox [04:00]: "LinkedIn's average cost per click in North America is about $10 to $16, targeting professionals without clear purchase intent, making it a top-of-funnel tool at near bottom-of-funnel costs."

4. The Bidding Strategy

A pivotal discussion revolves around bidding strategies on LinkedIn. A.J. challenges LinkedIn's recommendation of higher bids, presenting findings that manual bidding can drastically reduce costs without compromising lead quality.

A.J. Wilcox [05:11]: "Bid manually to start out. Ignore LinkedIn's high bid recommendations and find the least amount you can bid to spend your budget effectively."

He recounts a case where switching from LinkedIn’s automated maximum delivery bidding to manual bidding resulted in 6 to 12 times more clicks without increasing the budget.

A.J. Wilcox [07:53]: "We transitioned clients from automated to manual bidding and saw clicks increase by 6 to 12 times while maintaining the same budget."

5. Audience Targeting

Effective audience targeting is crucial. A.J. advises narrowing down the target audience to micro-segments ranging between 20,000 to 100,000 individuals, allowing for more precise testing and optimization.

A.J. Wilcox [08:58]: "Break your audience into micro-segments to act like focus groups, enabling better comparison and targeted optimization."

He emphasizes segmenting by factors such as seniority levels within job functions to identify which segments yield the highest engagement and conversions.

6. Ad Types and Funnel Stages

A.J. outlines a three-stage funnel approach for LinkedIn Ads:

• Top of Funnel: Focus on providing value without immediate asks. Recommended ad formats include thought leader video ads and document ads.

  A.J. Wilcox [13:00]: "Use thought leader ads and document ads as your first touch to engage and provide value without asking for anything upfront."

• Middle of Funnel: Encourage deeper engagement through subscribable content like podcasts, YouTube channels, or webinars using single image ads.

  A.J. Wilcox [14:32]: "Promote subscribable content with single image ads to move prospects further down the funnel."

• Bottom of Funnel: Drive conversions with lead generation ads and conversation ads that prompt direct actions like booking calls or demos.

  A.J. Wilcox [15:24]: "Utilize single image ads and conversation ads to invite prospects to take concrete actions such as booking a call."

7. Click Through Rate Benchmarks

Setting realistic benchmarks is essential for campaign assessment. A.J. discusses various metrics depending on campaign objectives:

• Engagement Rate: For video ads, an engagement rate between 4-8% is considered excellent.
• View Rate: Aim for over 35% of viewers watching at least two seconds of the video.
• Landing Page Click Through Rate (CTR): A CTR above 0.5% is deemed effective.

A.J. Wilcox [17:37]: "For landing page CTR, anything above 0.5% indicates your ad is effectively driving traffic."

8. Video Ads Best Practices

Video content is a powerful tool on LinkedIn. A.J. provides tips to maximize engagement:

• Use Talking Heads: Videos featuring individuals speaking directly to the camera perform best.
• Clear Headlines: Start with a clear headline to immediately convey the topic.
• Captions: Incorporate TikTok-style animated captions to maintain engagement, especially since over 80% of LinkedIn video viewers watch with sound off.

A.J. Wilcox [20:49]: "TikTok-style captions doubled our video completion rates. Captions are non-negotiable as 80% watch videos without sound."

9. Carousel Ads Insights

While the conventional wisdom suggests using mobile-optimized, minimal text slides for carousel ads, A.J. shares nuanced insights based on recent tests:

A.J. Wilcox [22:56]: "Though large text blocks can be daunting on mobile, detailed content may engage a different segment. Test both approaches to see what resonates."

He suggests measuring document completion rates to assess the effectiveness of carousel ad content.

10. Company Page Importance and Integration of Organic and Paid Efforts

The strength of a company’s LinkedIn page plays a role in ad performance. A.J. advises having over a thousand followers to establish credibility, as ads from pages with fewer followers might be perceived as less trustworthy.

A.J. Wilcox [24:38]: "Having more than a thousand followers on your company page acts as an implicit nod of legitimacy, encouraging engagement."

He also anticipates a future where organic and paid metrics on LinkedIn become more integrated, enhancing data-driven decision-making.

11. CRM Integration

A.J. highlights the benefits of integrating LinkedIn Ads with CRM systems to measure revenue attribution and optimize ad spend based on closed deals influenced by LinkedIn interactions.

A.J. Wilcox [27:03]: "Using LinkedIn’s Revenue Attribution Report with CRMs like HubSpot or Salesforce helps identify how LinkedIn contributes to closed deals."

He also mentions LinkedIn’s Conversions API (CAPI) as a tool for reporting conversions without relying on cookies, facilitating better audience targeting.

12. Final Tips and Conclusion

To wrap up, A.J. offers strategic advice for marketers launching their first LinkedIn Ad campaigns:

1. Specific Targeting: Clearly define and stick to your target audience without expanding aimlessly.
2. Manual Bidding: Start with lower manual bids to optimize cost-efficiency.
3. Content Strategy: Use a multi-stage funnel approach with tailored content for each funnel stage.

A.J. Wilcox [29:51]: "Be specific about who you want to reach, start with manual bidding, and use a staged approach to your content. This sets a strong foundation for effective retargeting."

A.J. also provides resources for further learning, including his LinkedIn profile, the LinkedIn Ads Show podcast, and the B2Linked website, which offers a free checklist for launching initial campaigns.

Notable Quotes:

• A.J. Wilcox [05:11]: "Bid manually to start out. Ignore LinkedIn's high bid recommendations and find the least amount you can bid to spend your budget effectively."

• A.J. Wilcox [20:39]: "I love TikTok-style captions. They keep viewers engaged even with sound off."

This episode equips marketers with essential strategies to harness the full potential of LinkedIn Ads, emphasizing cost-effective bidding, precise targeting, and a structured funnel approach to maximize engagement and conversions.