LinkedIn has announced some new retargeting options, which will enable businesses to reach people who’ve interacted with their previous video and Lead Gen Form ads, while it’s also making it easier to extend your campaigns to its Audience Network, giving brands the capacity to reach more people via ‘trusted’ third-party apps and sites.
First off, on retargeting – as noted, LinkedIn will now give advertisers the option to retarget people who’ve engaged with their video ads and Lead Gen Form campaigns.
As explained by LinkedIn:
“Retargeting by Video and Lead Gen Forms builds on our current offering by helping you reach those most interested in your brand based on their actions with your ads, such as video views and Lead Gen Form interactions.”
The option will enable brands to re-connect with those who’ve taken specific action to engage with their previous efforts, which could be a good way to help capitalize on attention, and hook in those who’ve clearly expressed some level of interest in your ad content. Well, you assume they have, some could have clicked on your ads accidentally, but they would be in the minority either way.
Furthering this, LinkedIn will also let advertisers retarget people based on how much of a video ad they’ve previously watched, with the capacity to hone in on those who’ve viewed 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of a previous video promotion. Advertisers will also be able to target those who’ve opened or submitted a Lead Gen Form.
“For example, if you’re running a video ad showcasing an upcoming event, you can retarget those who watched 75% or more of that video and invite them to register with a Sponsored Content ad.”
As reported by TechCrunch, the change aligns with the broader shift towards increased video engagement amid the COVID-19 lockdowns. Now, as per LinkedIn’s example, if you’re looking to maximize your virtual event, you can re-market to those who’ve expressed some interest through their actions.
How effective each viewing increment will be will depend on your business, and likely the video content itself, but it adds another option for consideration, and experimentation, in order to maximize response.
On Audience Network, LinkedIn says that it’s looking to make it easier for businesses to extend their campaigns ‘in one click’, helping to reach more eyeballs via its network of apps and sites.
“With our select trusted apps and publishers, including Flipboard, Microsoft News and MSN.com, you can deliver Sponsored Content campaigns that achieve up to 25% more reach and up to 9x more monthly touchpoints to LinkedIn members who are more active on our Audience Network.”
I mean, Microsoft News and MSN.com are both owned by Microsoft, which also owns LinkedIn, so it seems logical that they would also be included within its Audience Network – though it is also worth noting that Microsoft recently sacked its team of journalists working on Microsoft News and MSN in favor of stories generated by AI, which could, eventually, impact the quality and patronage of those sites.
Of course, these aren’t the only partner sites or apps within LinkedIn’s Audience Network, but it is interesting to note, given that LinkedIn has chosen to highlight these specific, high-exposure platforms within its announcement.
LinkedIn’s also extending its video retargeting capacity to Audience Network campaigns as well.
In addition to this, LinkedIn is also looking to provide more assurance on ad placement, and performance data, via new partnerships with Integral Ad Science and Pixalate.
“Our new, platform-wide, pre-bid integration with Integral Ad Science automatically provides an additional layer of brand protection and contextual brand safety for all ads, and our Pixalate integration will score and filter all publishers based on invalid traffic.”
Businesses already have a range of controls over where their ads appear via Audience Network campaigns, and the new integration will provide additional assurance that your messages are not being associated with questionable sites.
Retargeting can be a powerful option, engaging users who’ve previously expressed some level of interest in your offerings, while having the capacity to more easily broaden your campaign across the Audience Network could be of value, depending on how you use it. If you’re able to reach the right people, definitely, that extra exposure will help drive more brand awareness, and it may well be worth experimenting with these new options to see whether they generate better results.
You can read more about the latest LinkedIn ad updates here.
