If you’re in the market for a LinkedIn Ads agency (as opposed to a full-service agency), you’re probably going to do a bit of research to find which one is the best or how much they cost.

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While these things are important, it’s also worth considering why you wouldn’t want to hire a LinkedIn Ads agency in the first place.

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It might seem a bit strange that a LinkedIn Ads agency would dissuade you from partnering with one, but hear us out…

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Our goal in sharing this article is to ensure you’re set up for success from the moment you enter into a partnership with your LinkedIn Ads agency.

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Your success is our success.

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So why wouldn’t you want to hire a LinkedIn Ads agency? Here are 5 reasons:

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YOUR MONTHLY LINKEDIN ADVERTISING BUDGET IS LESS THAN $5,000

On any digital advertising platform, you want to be able to gather a statistically significant amount of data quickly in order to make informed decisions.

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That’s why we recommend advertisers start with a monthly LinkedIn Ads budget of at least $5,000.

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That said, we understand that not all are going to have a budget this large, and that’s okay!

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If you’re working with a smaller budget, you can do things like cut down the number of campaigns you manage or extend the time you test the platform to compensate.

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Or, if you’d rather keep your LinkedIn Ads management in-house, there are some helpful resources available to self-educate.

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We offer LinkedIn Ads courses (from the most basic to the most advanced) and facilitate an online community of marketers looking to learn the ins and outs of the platform.

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If this sounds interesting to you, come join us!

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THE LIFETIME VALUE OF YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE IS LESS THAN $10,000

Despite costs per SQL being half that of social ad platforms like Meta, costs per click typically range between 5 – 8x higher on LinkedIn in comparison.

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The return is much higher on LinkedIn Ads, with the drawback that it also requires investing in higher front-end costs.

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That’s why we recommend you have a lifetime value of at least $10,000.

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If you offer a product or service costing any less than this, you may not see a return on investment from the platform.

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YOU DON’T HAVE MARKETING FUNDAMENTALS IN PLACE

There’s a saying that goes “If you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig.”

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LinkedIn Ads don’t work miracles.

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You’re not going to see a return just because you throw money at the platform.

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LinkedIn Ads is a medium for getting the right message in front of the right audience at the right time.

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In order to do this, not only do you need to run ads, but you need to have some marketing fundamentals in place first. For example:

• Clearly define your target audience. Understand who you best serve and why this audience values what you have to offer. Outline what job titles, skills, level of seniority, etc. your audience has that can translate to LinkedIn’s targeting options.
• Establish strong positioning. This includes defining your differentiated value and having product-market fit. April Dunford has an awesome framework for figuring out product positioning.
• Have the right pricing strategy. Prospects won’t pay for something they feel is overpriced and underpricing can communicate poor quality. So make sure that your price reflects the value of your offer.
• Create a solid website and checkout/booking process. Make your site easy to navigate, quick to load, nice to look at, informative, etc. For more on how to create a good LinkedIn Ads-to-website/landing page experience, check out this episode of The LinkedIn Ads Show.
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This isn’t an exhaustive list, but prioritizing a strong marketing foundation first will set you up for greater LinkedIn Ads success.

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YOU WANT LITTLE TO NO INVOLVEMENT

One reason you might consider partnering with a LinkedIn Ads agency is so that you can pass the management of your account off your plate.

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However, this doesn’t mean that you should totally disassociate yourself from this responsibility.

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For example, an agency may rely on you for things like creative and copywriting, as well as work closely with you to organize overall strategy.

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The success of your LinkedIn Ads account requires you to work with your LinkedIn Ads agency as equal partners.

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You can do this before even signing with an agency by asking what will be required of you as part of the partnership.

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YOU’RE NOT IN IT FOR THE LONG-HAUL

We said it before and we’ll say it again: LinkedIn Ads don’t work miracles.

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Seeing a positive ROI from the channel takes time.

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Even if you’re targeting the right people and promoting the right message, don’t expect shorter sales cycles.

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If you’re just starting on the platform and your sales cycle is typically 3 months, it doesn’t make sense to pause ads after a month because “it’s not working.”

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That being said, advertising on LinkedIn can help reduce sales cycle length, but we wouldn’t bank on it

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Instead, if you want to test the waters a bit before fully committing, we recommend running ads for at least 3 – 6 months before concluding whether or not LinkedIn Ads is for you.

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Remember, there are no shortcuts in marketing. Be in it for the long-haul.

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NOW WHAT?

If you or your business fit any one of these 5 criteria, we wouldn’t recommend partnering with a LinkedIn Ads agency at this time.

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You can rest assured this decision will save you a whole lot of time, money, and headache in the long run.

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On the other hand, if you don’t meet these 5 criteria, then partnering with a LinkedIn Ads agency may be a good fit for you!

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In that case, we encourage you to check out some of the other resources in this article in order to find the agency that’s right for you.

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There are a lot of great options to choose from, but if you value minimizing waste in your LinkedIn Ads account so that you can increase profit, consider booking a discovery call with us at B2Linked.

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We’d absolutely love the chance to get to work with you!

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Written by Eric Jones

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