Everything You Need To Know About LinkedIn Document Ads
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What Are LinkedIn Document Ads?
Are LinkedIn Document Ads Right For You?
In today’s digital age, businesses have a plethora of marketing tools at their disposal to connect with their target audience and drive growth. One platform that stands out for professionals and companies alike is LinkedIn. With over 774 million users worldwide, LinkedIn provides a unique space for businesses to engage with a highly qualified and professional audience. To truly harness the power of this platform, marketing managers must leverage the various tools available to them, and one such tool that deserves special attention: LinkedIn Document Ads.
LinkedIn Document Ads offer businesses a powerful way to showcase their expertise, build credibility, and generate leads. These ads allow you to go beyond the traditional text and image format by enabling you to share informative and visually appealing documents directly with your audience. Whether it’s whitepapers, case studies, e-books, or guides, LinkedIn Document Ads help us to provide valuable content that educates, informs, and influences desired target audiences.
Why should businesses take advantage of LinkedIn Document Ads? The answer lies in the effectiveness of content marketing and the power of LinkedIn’s professional network. By delivering targeted and engaging content directly to your audience, you can establish your brand as a thought leader and industry expert. LinkedIn’s robust targeting options ensure that your document ads reach the right people, helping you maximize your return on investment and drive meaningful business results.
In this blog, we will delve deeper into the world of LinkedIn Document Ads, exploring best practices, tips, and strategies to help businesses make the most of this powerful marketing tool. Get ready to unlock new possibilities for your business and elevate your LinkedIn advertising game with document ads.
What Exactly Are LinkedIn Document Ads?
LinkedIn Document Ads are the newest ad type available for LinkedIn ads, allowing marketers to advertise any document (PDF, e-book, or whitepaper) to their targeted audience directly on the social feed. The ads act as a preview of an advertised document, allowing users to download and view the document without ever having to leave the platform or app. Recently, these ad types have emerged as a powerful tool for businesses to enhance brand awareness, engagement, and lead generation.
Key Features & Specifications of LinkedIn Document Ads
When used correctly, leveraging this new ad type can yield impressive results, making them a valuable addition to your marketing strategy. We’ve done the research and can provide everything you need to know about its key features, limitations, and optimization techniques for LinkedIn Document Ads to help you achieve optimal performance.
Available Marketing Objectives
LinkedIn Document Ads can be utilized with Brand Awareness, Engagement, and Lead Generation objectives. However, gating this content behind a LinkedIn form is only possible with the Lead Generation objective.
Device Placement
Ads with the Lead Generation objective will exclusively run on mobile devices. On the other hand, Brand Awareness and Engagement objectives allow ads to run on both mobile and desktop platforms.
Document Specifications
It is crucial to keep the document length under 10 pages, use 3-4 preview pages for the social feed placement, and ensure the file size is below 100 MB. LinkedIn also provides a sizing guide for the ad and guide.
Mobile Optimization
If you are running a Lead Generation campaign, make sure your document is designed to provide an optimal experience for mobile users.
The Limitations of LinkedIn Document Ads
While LinkedIn Document Ads provide a range of benefits, nothing in paid social is without its limitations. These include the inability to track links and CTA clicks within document previews, limited reporting on certain metrics, and the restriction of document tracking once downloaded. Understanding these limitations will help you make informed decisions and optimize your Document Ad campaigns accordingly.
Links & CTA Tracking
Links and CTA links within the document are not available in document previews. They can only be accessed after the document is downloaded, and tracking them within the LinkedIn campaign is not possible.
Ad CTA for Lead Generation
The “Unlock Document” CTA is only available when the Lead Generation objective is selected. This call-to-action helps encourage users to provide their contact information in exchange for accessing the document.
Reporting Limitations
LinkedIn’s reporting capabilities for Document Ads are limited. Page Views, View Time, Clicks to open the Document, and Clicks on the Document cannot be tracked. It is advisable to include UTM parameters within the unlocked or downloaded document to gather additional data.
Display Metrics
LinkedIn provides data on how much of the document preview is displayed to members (25%, 50%, 75%) and also tracks viral displays, which represent the document preview views by those outside your target audience
Document Viewing Tracking
Currently, LinkedIn can only track the percentage of the document viewed in the feed. Once the document is downloaded and read off-feed, tracking is not possible.
Optimizing Document Ads For Success
Even though LinkedIn Document Ads have been available for several months, the landscape of its best practices is still evolving. Through testing and experimentation, some optimization tactics have emerged to help maximize the performance of these ads.
Measuring Performance
LinkedIn Document Ads have demonstrated promising performance in early industry tests, particularly in comparison to other lead generation campaigns. Analyze metrics such as Clicks, Download Clicks, CTR, Viral Download Clicks, and Lead Tracking to assess the effectiveness of your campaign.
Leverage Mobile Advantage
As Document Ads are currently mobile-only, they often outperform other lead generation ad types. Capitalize on this advantage by ensuring your document is mobile-optimized and provides a seamless experience for mobile users.
Compelling Preview Pages
Select 3-4 engaging and informative preview pages that entice users to unlock the full document. These pages should provide a glimpse of the valuable insights or information contained within the document.
Clear Call-to-Action
When utilizing the Lead Generation objective, utilize the “Unlock Document” CTA to prompt users to provide their contact details for access. Make the CTA visually appealing and compelling to maximize conversions.
UTM Parameters
Embed UTM parameters within the unlocked or downloaded document to track engagement and conversions outside the LinkedIn platform accurately. This will help you gain insights into user behavior beyond LinkedIn’s reporting limitations.
Test and Refine
Continuously monitor and optimize your Document Ad campaign. Experiment with different document lengths, preview pages, CTAs, and targeting strategies to find the most effective combination for your specific audience and goals.
Should You Use LinkedIn’s Document Ads?
LinkedIn Document Ads offer a valuable opportunity to enhance your brand awareness, engagement, and lead generation efforts. By understanding the features, limitations, and optimization techniques discussed in this blog post, you can maximize the effectiveness of your Document Ad campaigns. Stay informed, test different strategies, and refine your approach to achieve outstanding results and drive your business forward.
Looking for a LinkedIn Ads agency to handle your testing and paid social campaigns? Look no further! Our team of skilled tacticians is well-equipped to bring your vision to life. Take the hassle out of managing your campaigns and let us optimize your results. Get in touch with our digital marketing team today and let’s discuss how we can drive success for your business