LinkedIn ads offer many opportunities for IT services companies to reach their target audience effectively. With its vast network of professionals and advanced targeting capabilities, the platform can be a powerful tool for creating brand awareness, establishing credibility, and converting prospects into paying customers.
In this article, we will look at real-world case studies featuring LinkedIn ad campaigns from our clients in the IT Services industry. The goal is simple—to understand what makes a successful LinkedIn campaign.
How did we analyze LinkedIn campaigns?
We started by identifying our biggest clients operating in the IT Services industry and shortlisted 5 of them for thorough campaign analysis. Subsequently, we conducted a performance review, closely monitoring how individual campaigns progressed during 6 months, from May to November 2023.
Throughout this analysis, we looked at 138 unique campaigns, and our classification of them was based on 5 campaign objectives, facilitating a more structured measure of impact and effectiveness. Ultimately, this systematic approach helped us—(a) pinpoint the most well-received campaigns on LinkedIn ads that emerged from this diverse set of campaigns and (b) establish valuable performance benchmarks to inform future marketing endeavors.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, here’s a quick snapshot of the companies and campaigns featured in our analysis, including the ad spend associated with each:
The Companies We Analyzed
Company
USP
Time Range
Time Range
Campaigns Analyzed
CQL
A full-service digital commerce agency
$5,758
6 month
8
Company 1
Data and Automation solutions
$3,731
6 month
4
Henson Group
Azure Cloud solutions, OpenAI solutions, and managed services
$18,108
6 month
42
Kentik
The network observability company
$198,650
6 month
78
Rise Display
Customizable LED Tickers
$5,442
6 month
6
LinkedIn Campaign Objectives, Ad Formats, and Performance Metrics
We evaluated key metrics across all campaign objectives and ad types: clicks, click-through rate (CTR), cost per mile (CPM), cost per click (CPC), and conversions. These metrics remained consistent for all objectives, except for Lead Generation and Video Ad campaigns, where we focused on measuring the cost per lead (CPL) and video view rate instead.
We started by focusing on five primary objectives:
Brand Awareness: Campaigns are straightforward, relying on creating impressions. They prove highly effective for establishing and building a brand presence at the initial stages of the sales funnel.
Engagement: Campaigns encourage customers to interact with your posts through social actions like likes, comments, hashtags, shares, and follows.
Video Views: While video is available as an ad format for other objectives, selecting video views as your objective gives you the exclusive option to bid based on cost per view.
Lead Generation: Campaigns target prospects at the bottom of the funnel, using pre-filled forms for seamless lead capture and conversion actions.
Website Visits: Campaigns drive prospects to your website, effectively guiding them from the top of the funnel to the bottom to boost engagement and conversions.
LinkedIn offers a range of ad formats, allowing advertisers to choose the most suitable option for their campaign objectives. We picked the three below.
Dynamic ads use individual user data (such as name, profile image, job title, and other relevant profile information) to create personalized content for each viewer. They can be successfully used for Account Based Marketing (ABM), event or webinar promotion, and bottom-of-funnel customer acquisition.
Text ads: Campaigns provide IT Services companies with a self-service solution for building, managing, and refining personalized campaigns, ensuring optimal reach and relevance.
After setting our ad objectives as performance benchmarks, we relied on the following metrics to measure campaign success.
Cost Per Lead (CPL) indicates the cost of acquiring one lead. A low CPL means that your LinkedIn ads attract new leads without breaking the bank and ultimately maximizing their return on investment.
Click-through rate (CTR) measures the percentage of leads interacting with an ad’s specific calls-to-action. A high CTR demonstrates the campaign’s effectiveness in capturing audience attention, driving engagement, and generating leads.
Cost Per Click (CPC) is the cost incurred for each ad click. A low CPC signifies that your ad campaign secures clicks at a minimal cost, maximizing engagement and resource utilization.
Clicks serve as a measure of engagement and interest, indicating that a user has been sufficiently attracted by the ad’s messaging or visual elements to take further action. This could mean visiting a landing page or filling out a lead generation form.
Conversions quantify the actions taken after ad clicks. A positive ROI occurs when the cost per conversion is less than the value generated. If you’re receiving fewer conversions than usual, evaluating your audience targeting options, ad messaging, and/or landing page is recommended.
LinkedIn Ad Frequency can play a big role in results and should be closely monitored as well.
Impactable’s LinkedIn Ads Showcase: What does a successful IT Service Industry LinkedIn Ad campaign look like?
Now that we’ve talked about our clients and what we want to achieve with the ads, let’s look at the actual ads Impactable has used when following LinkedIn Ads best practices to the fullest. We’re focusing on 2-4 clients in each category out of the 5 because none of them used all four types of ads or campaign goals.
1. Top Brand Awareness Campaigns
Company
Total # of Brand Awareness Campaigns
Total Spend
Rise Display
2
$1,328
CQL
1
$714
Henson Group
3
Organic
Let’s take a look at some top-performing software brand awareness ads.
1.1. Clicks
Henson Group
CQL
Clicks
167
81
Ad
Rise Display
Clicks
19
Ad
1.2. Click-through rate (CTR)
CQL
CQL
CTR
1.23%
1.07%
Ad
1.3. CPM
Henson Group
Rise Display
CPM
$8.05
$10.5
Ad
1.4. CPC
CQL
Henson Group
CPC
$1.44
$2.92
Ad
1.5. Conversions
Rise Display
Rise Display
Conversions
15
15
Ad
2. Top Engagement Campaigns
Company
Total # of Engagement Campaigns
Total Spend
Kentik
7
$27,376
CQL
2
$91
Let’s review some of the top-performing IT Services LinkedIn engagement ads.
Sponsored Updates (Including LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads)
2.1.1. Clicks, CTR & Conversions
Kentik
Kentik
Clicks – 3596 CTR – 8.52% Conversions – 8
Clicks – 1701 CTR – 5.86% Conversions – 14
Ad
2.1.2. CPM
Kentik
Kentik
CPM
$9.23
$12.54
Ad
2.1.3. CPC
Kentik
Kentik
CPC
$0.40
$0.41
Ad
Dynamic Ads
2.2.1. Clicks
CQL
CQL
Clicks
7
6
Ad
2.2.2. CTR & Conversions
CQL
CQL
CTR – 0.06% Conversions – 2
CTR – 0.05% Conversions – 2
Ad
2.2.3. CPM & CPC
CQL
CQL
CPM – $1.14 CPC – $4.3
CPM – $1 CPC – $4.3
Ad
3. Top Video Campaigns
Company
Total # of Video Ad Campaigns
Total Spend
Kentik
8
$57,262
Henson Group
1
$500
Here is what successful video ad campaigns for the IT Services industry look like.
3.1. Clicks
Kentik
Kentik
Clicks
468
287
Ad
3.2. CTR
Kentik
Kentik
CTR
0.56%
0.51%
Ad
3.3. CPM
Kentik
Henson Group
CPM
$17.74
$22.04
Ad
3.4. CPC
Kentik
Kentik
CPC
$5.54
$5.62
Ad
3.5. Video View Rate
Henson Group
Kentik
Video View Rate
70.79%
36.77%
Ad
4. Top Website Visit Campaigns
Company
Total # of Website Visit Ad Campaigns
Total Spend
Kentik
21
$71,514
Henson Group
28
$17,101
CQL
2
$4,627
Rise Display
3
$4,114
Company 1
3
$3,667
Let’s review some of the top-performing Website Visit campaigns for the IT Services industry.
Sponsored Update
4.1.1. Clicks
Kentik
Henson Group
Clicks
979
721
Ad
4.1.2. CTR
Henson Group
CQL
CTR
5.52%
5.68%
Ad
Company 1
CTR
3.94%
Ad
4.1.3. CPM
Henson Group
Company 1
CPM
$8.29
$8.42
Ad
4.1.4. CPC
Henson Group
Rise Display
CPC
$0.53
$0.70
Ad
CQL
CPC
$0.98
Ad
4.1.5. Conversions
Rise Display
Rise Display
Conversions
159
133
Ad
Text Ads
Company
Total # of Text Ad Campaigns (Wesite Visits Objective)
Total Spend
Kentik
2
$135
Henson Group
2
$507
CQL
3
$326
Company 1
1
$64
4.2.1. Clicks
Henson Group
Kentik
Company 1
Clicks
15
9
7
Ad
4.2.2. CTR
CQL
Henson Group
Company 1
CTR
0.05%
0.05%
0.03%
Ad
4.2.3. CPM
Kentik
CQL
Henson Group
CPM
$0.06
$0.1
$0.14
Ad
4.2.4. CPC
Kentik
CQL
Henson Group
CPC
$2
$2
$3.7
Ad
4.2.5. Conversions
CQL
CQL
Conversions
54
46
Ad
5. Top Lead Gen Campaigns
Company
Total # of Lead Gen Campaigns
Total Spend
Kentik
30
$42,363
Let’s review some of the top-performing IT Services LinkedIn lead gen ads.
5.1. Clicks
Clicks
431
164
Ad
5.2. CTR
CTR
1.99%
1.71%
Ad
5.3. Cost Per Lead
Cost Per Lead
$63.07
$85.82
Ad
5.4. Conversions
Conversions
$63.07
$85.82
Ad
In Conclusion
In the realm of IT Services, whether you’re a well-established corporation or an SME looking to enhance your digital advertising efforts, LinkedIn can be a valuable resource. It provides diverse opportunities to connect with the relevant professional audience. Depending on your short- and long-term goals, you can choose from various campaign objectives and ad formats to ensure that you reach the right people at the right time with the right messaging.
We hope that looking through Impactable’s showcase of the top IT Services ads encourages you to embark on your own journey of creating impactful LinkedIn ads.
About Impactable: Impactable is an investor-backed LinkedIn-centric marketing agency. We are a savvy group of marketers who are eager to learn and grow together while servicing clients from around the world as a team. You’ll have the opportunity to learn from the best in the industry, leverage the latest tech, and be exposed to new marketing channels and tactics.
Our agency has doubled in revenue and size in the last year and is on track to more than double again this year through our own growth and a series of planned acquisitions. If you are eager to grow and learn in a constantly evolving startup, this could be the right move for you.
Position Overview:
The Account Coordinator is responsible for servicing and maintaining client relationships with assigned accounts using a consultative approach with client contacts. This position champions the tactical responsibilities that drive client results and manages the daily team business.
You serve as the production contact on assigned accounts and manage their marketing projects/programs across a matrixed organization, working with our sales, service & support teams, Centers of Excellence, data engineering & professional services teams, and client partners. Your role is relied upon to create and demonstrate value within our client relationships, monetize that value, and lead/organize a team to deliver desired results.
You will direct key account planning activities, manage client processes and/or campaigns, and be accountable for on-time delivery of client projects with flawless execution. This will require an eye for detail and adherence to process at each step in account campaign or project work. You will also be responsible for mentoring and developing account support team members. The end result is client satisfaction and retention, and achievement of team revenue and gross profit goals.
Key Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Project Execution
Serving as Process Manager
Client-level Reporting
Quality Control
Solidify and strengthen client relationships at Production level; effectively marshaling the resources needed to meet/exceed client expectations
External customer satisfaction (CSAT); customer reviews assessing quality of services received and likelihood of renewal/continued engagement
High-Level Measurements of Success:
On-time delivery of client projects
Quality: ensure that all deliverables are flawlessly executed and according to expectations or project requirements
Proactively managing time to launch; keen follow-up and resolution skills allowing us to maximize our revenue opportunities by proactively managing process resulting in the quickest time to launch as possible
Client-level reporting: you will directly contribute to our ability to achieve better results for clients by giving visibility to key performance indicators (KPIs).
Employee satisfaction (ESAT): employee self-reported contentment in their role and assessment of Impactable’s responsiveness to their wants and needs
Required Skills / Education / Knowledge:
2+ years experience in marketing/advertising
Basic understanding of marketing concepts and KPIs
Prior client-facing experience
In-depth knowledge of running B2B or B2C campaigns
A good understanding of current marketing trends
Exceptional communication and project management skills
Ability to manage client relationships resulting in high levels of customer satisfaction
Tech-savvy; ability to quickly learn different technologies
Ability to proactively think through, evaluate, and solve problems logically
Ability to multi-task with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail
Ability to work independently and as part of a team
Desired Skills / Education / Knowledge:
Bachelor’s degree in marketing, advertising, business, communications, media studies or related fields
Be able to speak to the marketing funnel with B2B application
Prior experience managing campaigns in one or more advertising platforms (LI, programmatic, Meta, etc.) Prior agency setting experience
Prior sales experience
Meeting management skills; have led or participated in formal client meetings
Specialized knowledge:
Beginner:
PMI Project Management Ready certification (PMI)
Intermediate:
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification (PMI)
Advanced/Technical:
Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) certification (AMA)
Project Management Professional (PMP) certification (PMI)
Experience with Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager
