Best LinkedIn Ads Targeting Options for B2B ABM

What Is ABM (Account-Based Marketing)?

ABM, also known as Account Based Marketing, is a marketing strategy which involves targeting very specific customer profiles and curating a target company list instead of targeting a broad audience or multiple industries.

So basically, it’s a sniper approach picking off high-value targets as opposed to the spray and pray approach (mild exaggeration) where broader marketing efforts can bring down many more low-value targets.

Instead of targeting demographic personas, you’re marketing to specific accounts and companies that are of higher value, instead of a general audience that brings in lower to medium-sized deals. For example, we’re having conversations with big brands like Zoom, Clutch, and Sixth Sense.

In this article, we’ll dive deeper into why LinkedIn is perfect for ABM, how to use LinkedIn for your ABM strategy, and LinkedIn targeting best practices.

LinkedIn Ads For Account-Based Marketing Is Your Best Choice

LinkedIn is an amazing platform for ABM due to its extensive company and professional database. Instead of targeting everyone, you create a targeted list of higher-value accounts and intentionally reach out to those companies.

Having your ads or content on LinkedIn is more authoritative in the B2B space than having a popular Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok page for these companies.

Main Targeting Options for ABM with LinkedIn Ads

1. Company targeting using LinkedIn’s native filters

Use LinkedIn’s native filters, such as company size, growth, revenue, and number of employees to specify individuals in your target companies. Instead of using other databases, layer on their demographic data to create specific profiles. Without a list of companies, you’d create all the criteria that those companies need to have, and LinkedIn will create your target audience and target relevant decision-makers within the audience. We dive deeper into LinkedIn audience targeting and segmentation in this article.

2. Contact targeting

Specify individuals in your target companies. You upload a list of companies you want to target or use the LinkedIn company filter to find relevant companies. LinkedIn will show you their employee profiles, and you can layer on their demographic or personal data.

3. Matched audiences or list uploads

Use matched audiences or list uploads to upload curated ABM lists. Matched audiences also have retargeting information in them. Most companies doing ABM create their lists on other platforms like Clutch, uploading their lists to LinkedIn, and then layer on native LinkedIn filters.

4. Website retargeting

Try website retargeting for accounts already in the ecosystem so you don’t have to target exclusively cold contacts. You can retarget prospects based on whether they already visited your website or company page, or if they interacted with your cold ads for a cold ABM. I’d recommend a general 90-day retargeting campaign for prospects who fit your ABM criteria and are warm prospects you can attend to in a segmented retargeting bucket.

5. Lookalike audiences

LinkedIn’s lookalike audience works by using your ABM list or list of your current clients to make a targeted list of similar prospects based on the criteria in your list. However, I’d recommend Facebook’s lookalike audience instead because it has a better algorithm and audience quality.

Best Practices for ABM Targeting on LinkedIn

1. Deeper company penetration

This means penetrating companies deeper by targeting more than just decision-makers so that your list isn’t too small and you ensure that they’re active. If you’re targeting CEOs or founders, go wider and target other decision-makers like the COO or CMO. If their team knows about you, the deal moves faster.

2. Saturate target companies with targeted LinkedIn ads

Penetrate the company and saturate relevant decision-makers with ads so that they know who you are and what you do to get better buy-in and bigger deals. If your target audience is small and your budget is big, saturate your list with high-frequency ads. Test segmenting some cold ABM campaigns with LinkedIn, uploading a contact list, and layering on LinkedIn’s demographic filters. Use retargeting in the cold layer to build trust and credibility, and show third-party validation. If you need further help with your ABM strategy, we can help.

3. Avoid only tracking conversions

Avoid siloed conversion tracking and track all possible prospect actions, such as booking a call, visiting your website, or going to a specific landing page.

4. Personalization for larger target companies

Personalization and creating specific campaigns for larger target companies. If a company is big enough, you can create a specific campaign just for retargeting them with specific messaging and your logo.

Final Thoughts on LinkedIn for ABM

If you’re doing ABM and you’re not using LinkedIn, I’d recommend using LinkedIn’s native filters over the lists you upload, and penetrate those companies. You can land bigger deals by targeting other decision-makers, retargeting cold contacts, personalizing your ads, and saturating your target companies with ads. If you’re considering using ABM for your company, talk to one of our representatives, and let’s see how we can help.