linkedin-ad-campaign

name	linkedin-ad-campaign
description	Plans LinkedIn ad campaigns with audience targeting, ad formats, lead gen form design, and budget recommendations. Use when running B2B advertising campaigns on LinkedIn.
allowed-tools	Read Write Glob
metadata	{"author":"matthewhitcham","version":"1.0"}

LinkedIn Ad Campaign

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Plan a LinkedIn advertising campaign from targeting to creative
• Design lead gen form campaigns for B2B lead generation
• Select the right LinkedIn ad formats for your business goal
• Create a budget and bidding strategy for LinkedIn ads

DO NOT use this skill for organic LinkedIn content, LinkedIn profile optimization, or non-LinkedIn paid advertising. This is specifically for LinkedIn's paid advertising platform.

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Core Principle

LINKEDIN ADS ARE EXPENSIVE PER CLICK — EVERY CAMPAIGN MUST TARGET A SPECIFIC DECISION-MAKER WITH A SPECIFIC OFFER WORTH THE PREMIUM CPM.

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Phase 1: Campaign Brief

Required Inputs

Input	What to Ask	Default
Campaign objective	"What is the goal? (lead gen, website traffic, brand awareness, event registrations)"	Lead generation
Target audience	"Who are you targeting? (job titles, industries, company sizes)"	No default — must be provided
Offer	"What are you offering? (whitepaper, demo, webinar, free trial)"	No default — must be provided
Monthly budget	"What is your monthly LinkedIn ad budget?"	$3,000/month
Geographic targets	"Which regions?"	United States
Landing page or lead gen form	"Do you want to send traffic to a landing page or use LinkedIn's native lead gen forms?"	LinkedIn lead gen forms

GATE: Do not proceed until audience, offer, and objective are confirmed.

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Phase 2: Audience Build

Design the targeting strategy using LinkedIn's targeting options.

Targeting Layers

Build 2-3 audience segments to test:

## Audience Segment 1: [Name]
- Job Titles: [Specific titles]
- Industries: [Industries]
- Company Size: [Employee ranges]
- Seniority: [Entry, Senior, Manager, Director, VP, C-Suite]
- Estimated audience size: [Target 50,000-500,000]

## Audience Segment 2: [Name]
- [Different targeting combination]

Targeting Best Practices

• Audience size sweet spot: 50,000-500,000 for lead gen
• Do not stack more than 3 targeting dimensions — overly narrow audiences drive up CPM
• Use exclusions: competitors, current customers, job seekers
• Matched Audiences: upload customer lists for exclusion or lookalikes

GATE: Present audience segments for user approval.

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Phase 3: Campaign Build

Ad Format Selection

Format	Best For	Avg CPC
Single Image	Lead gen, traffic	$5-12
Carousel	Multi-feature showcase	$4-10
Video	Brand awareness, demos	$6-15
Document	Thought leadership	$3-8
Message/InMail	High-value offers, events	$0.50-1.00/send
Text Ads	Low-budget awareness	$2-5

Ad Copy Framework

## Ad Variation [A/B/C]

**Format:** Single Image
**Headline (70 chars max):** [Benefit-driven headline]
**Description (100 chars max):** [Supporting detail]
**Intro text (600 chars max):**
[Hook — question or bold statement]
[Problem acknowledgment — 1-2 sentences]
[Solution — what they get]
[CTA — clear next step]

**CTA button:** [Download / Learn More / Sign Up / Register]
**Image specs:** 1200x627px, minimal text overlay

Lead Gen Form Design (if applicable)

## Lead Gen Form

**Form name:** [Descriptive name]
**Headline (60 chars):** [Value proposition]
**Description (160 chars):** [What they get + urgency]
**Fields:**
1. First Name (pre-filled)
2. Last Name (pre-filled)
3. Work Email (pre-filled)
4. Company Name (pre-filled)
5. [1 custom question max — keep friction low]

**Privacy policy URL:** [Required]
**Thank you message:** [Confirmation + next step]
**Thank you URL:** [Link to resource or landing page]

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Phase 4: Budget and Launch Plan

Budget Allocation

## Budget Plan

**Monthly budget:** $[amount]
**Campaign duration:** [Ongoing / Fixed dates]

### Allocation
- Testing phase (Week 1-2): $[amount] across [X] ad variations
- Optimization (Week 3-4): Shift budget to top performer
- Scale (Month 2+): Increase daily budget on winning combinations

### Bidding Strategy
- Objective: Maximum delivery (recommended for testing)
- Switch to: Target cost after 50+ conversions
- Target CPL: $[amount based on offer value]

### KPI Targets
| Metric | Target |
|--------|--------|
| CTR | >0.4% |
| CPL | <$[amount] |
| Lead form completion rate | >10% |
| Cost per MQL | <$[amount] |

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Example: B2B SaaS Webinar Campaign

Audience: Marketing Directors at companies with 50-500 employees in SaaS/Technology.

Ad copy excerpt:

Intro text: "67% of marketing teams waste 10+ hours/week on manual reporting.

Join our live workshop and see how to build automated dashboards in 30 minutes — no code, no data team required.

Seats limited to 100. Register free."

Headline: Build Marketing Dashboards in 30 Minutes
CTA: Register

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Anti-Patterns

• Targeting too broadly — "all marketers in the US" wastes budget. Narrow by title + seniority + industry.
• Too many form fields — every field beyond 4 drops completion rate significantly. Pre-filled fields reduce friction.
• Running one ad variation — always launch 3-4 variations to identify winning copy and creative.
• Using "Learn More" for everything — match the CTA button to the action: Download, Register, Sign Up.
• Ignoring the offer — LinkedIn users expect value in exchange for their info. A "contact us" form will not convert at $8+ CPC.

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Recovery

• Budget under $1,500/month: Focus on one audience segment and one ad format. LinkedIn requires minimum daily budgets. If under $500/month, suggest a different platform.
• No lead magnet or offer: Help the user identify a valuable asset — checklist, template, mini-course, or calculator — before building the campaign.
• Audience too small (<20,000): Broaden one targeting dimension. Expand from exact job titles to job functions, or widen company size range.
• No LinkedIn Company Page: A Company Page is required to run LinkedIn ads. Help the user set one up before proceeding.