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There are 137 million unique search queries on the Bing Network. That’s a lot of searching! 

Microsoft Ads recently announced that they would extend the profile targeting function to LinkedIn through text ads, shopping campaigns, and dynamic search ads. You’ll soon be able to connect with the most relevant consumers through LinkedIn targeting audiences. Currently in beta testing, this new feature is not yet available to advertisers at the moment. Working with a certified agency like White Shark Media will give you a preview of what this new feature can do for your campaigns.

Target a Highly Defined Buying Persona

Tapping into the LinkedIn networks gives you access to:

• 630M Members on LinkedIn
• 180M Senior-level influencers
• 63M Decision-makers
• 10M C-level Executives

Through Search and Linkedin Audiences target, you can showcase your ad to people who work at Apple every time they search for something on Bing or Yahoo! 

You will be able to add Linkedin audiences to your already existing search campaigns and bid higher if the users fall under specific job categories. 

Leveraging LinkedIn data provided by the network has great value because members have professional incentives to keep their profiles accurate and up-to-date. 

Microsoft advertisers will be able to target audiences in a professional context as you’ll have access to real, member-generated demographic data to reach the right audience: job title, company, industry, seniority, and more.

Depending on your products and services, you’ll be able to market the influencers of a particular industry or high-level executives who can take decisions. Connecting with the right people can make a world of difference.

LinkedIn’s targeting criteria are designed to help you build your ideal persona:

• IT decision-makers
• C-level executives
• prospective students
• small business owners

Put Your PPC into Practice

So, now that you know, how can you learn to leverage these profiling features to target your ideal audience? Here are some ideas:

• You can start by adding relevant companies, industries, or job functions to your already existing search campaigns with a bid modifier. You would still target the same audience with keywords; but if you sell Softwares online, you may want to bid higher on people who work for tech companies.
• You can also launch a separate Search Campaign that, as opposed to your regular campaigns, will target highly broad keywords along with Linkedin Audiences. In this scenario, it wouldn’t matter what search query people are using to see your ad as long as they are part of your Linkedin Segments. 
• If you know your target audience, and you are willing to pay more for them, you can increase or shift your budget to get in front of them. You’ll most likely see lower CPAs and/or higher conversion rates. You can also the ability to increase bids for users that fall into this target segment.

For example, if you are a vendor who provides equipment to the restaurant industry, LinkedIn’s profile targeting will help you narrow down your ideal audience. 

Conclusion

In summary, the LinkedIn Network helps you stay top of mind, deliver your budget, and advertise in brand-safe environments directly to your target audience. A powerful platform, this professional network is worth including in your campaign strategies. 

Would you like to learn more about how you could be using these targeting options in your Microsoft Advertising campaign? Feel free to reach out to one of our reps to learn more about Microsoft/LinkedIn campaigns or subscribe to our blog!