B4B: Before You Boost

This one goes out to my friends with B2B hustles who ask me if I can run a LinkedIn Ads campaign for them.

I love you, truly. But before you grant me Admin access, we need to talk. Because LinkedIn Ads can work beautifully—but only after a few other ducks are in a very neat row. Otherwise, it’s like dousing your money in champagne and lighting it on fire.

Let’s get into it.

Before You Boost Anything

LinkedIn isn’t where you go to find out if your offer works. It’s where you amplify what already does. So before you even think about boosting, here’s what needs to be in place:

1. Your positioning is tight.
   If you can’t clearly articulate who you help and how, no targeting trick will save you. The algorithm can’t fix confusion. A “we help companies grow” tagline doesn’t cut it—especially when you’re paying $10–$20 a click.

2. Your website can close the deal.
   Your landing page should look and feel like a confident handshake. Fast load, clear headline, social proof, and one focused action. If someone clicks your ad and bounces because they’re met with a wall of jargon or a generic homepage, that’s money and audiences evaporating in real time.

3. You’ve got a strong organic presence.
   If your company page posts once every 6 months, don’t expect people to trust your sponsored content. LinkedIn users check. They’ll click your logo, scroll, and wonder if you’re legit. Post thought leadership, testimonials, case studies—show up before you pay up. But also, don’t hide behind your company page. The LinkedIn algorithm loves people, not logos. The reach, engagement, and trust all live on personal profiles. Your leadership team, subject matter experts, even your sales reps should be posting insights, commenting, and building visibility in their own voices. When your brand shows up through real humans, it builds warmth and familiarity that no sponsored post can buy. The best-performing ad accounts usually belong to companies whose people are already active in the feed—because by the time the ad hits, the audience already knows who you are.

4. Your offer is compelling and concrete.
   Nobody wants to “book a discovery call to discuss synergies.” Give people something real: a free assessment, a benchmark report, a webinar invite, a downloadable guide. LinkedIn Ads perform best when there’s clear value in exchange for a click.

5. You know your math.
   LinkedIn is expensive. That’s not a complaint—it’s a filter. You pay a premium because you’re reaching professionals with buying power. But if your customer lifetime value or close rate can’t absorb a $150–$250 cost per lead, this might not be the channel for you yet.

The Types (and What They’ll Cost You)

If you are ready, here’s a quick tour of what’s possible and what you’ll need to budget for each.

1. Sponsored Content: These are the in-feed ads that look like regular posts. Great for awareness, thought leadership, and promoting webinars or reports.

Budget: At least $2,000–$3,000/month to get statistically meaningful results
Goal: Reach, engagement, and qualified traffic

2. Lead Gen Forms: These let users fill out a form within LinkedIn—no clicking away to your site. They work best when paired with a strong offer (e.g., “Download the 2025 Benchmark Report”).

Budget: $3,000–$5,000/month to get 100+ quality leads
Goal: Lower-funnel lead capture

3. Message Ads (a.k.a. Sponsored InMail): These slide right into inboxes. When done well, they can drive event signups or gated content downloads. When done poorly, they feel like spam. (Hint: They’re usually done poorly.)

Budget: $1,000–$3,000 for a test, with solid copy and targeting
Goal: Personalized engagement and event registration

4. Dynamic Ads: These show up in the sidebar with the user’s own profile photo and name (“Hey Allie, want to boost your brand?”). They’re cool/ creepy, but not always cost-efficient.

Budget: Small test budgets ($500–$1,000) work fine
Goal: Awareness and retargeting

5. Video Ads: High-impact, but pricey. Think of these as your digital billboard to build brand memory.

Budget: $5,000+ minimum for creative testing and distribution
Goal: Awareness, thought leadership, brand lift

Wait, What’s the Difference Between Boosting a Post and Creating an Ad?

I’m glad you asked.

Boosting a Post

Boosting a post is basically the “fast lane” version of advertising on LinkedIn. You take something that already exists on your company page (or sometimes a personal profile) — like a post, article, or update — and pay to show it to more people.

Know before you go:

• Simplicity: You don’t need to build a separate campaign, set up complex targeting, or create new creative. One click and LinkedIn pushes it out.

• Targeting: You can select basic targeting like location, job title, industry, or company size, but it’s more limited than a full campaign.

• Goal: Usually awareness, engagement (likes, comments, shares), or clicks to your website.

• Control: Very limited. You can’t split-test creatives, use multiple ad formats, or do advanced bidding strategies.

Think of it like: “I like this post. Let’s throw some money at it and see if more people notice.”

Creating a LinkedIn Ad

Creating a LinkedIn ad through Campaign Manager is the full, professional approach. Here you build a campaign from scratch with objectives, multiple creatives, targeting options, budgets, and optimization settings.

Know before you go:

• Full targeting control: You can layer targeting — job seniority, company size, skills, groups, interests, retargeting, lookalike audiences, and more.

• Multiple ad types: Sponsored content, message ads (InMail), text ads, dynamic ads, and video ads. Each can have its own goal and placement.

• Optimization: You can test multiple creatives, headlines, and calls-to-action. LinkedIn will optimize delivery based on your goal (clicks, conversions, leads).

• Goal-oriented campaigns: Campaigns are built around objectives like lead generation, website visits, conversions, or engagement.

Think of it like: “I want to run a campaign that strategically reaches my ideal audience, generates leads, and maximizes ROI. Let’s design it from the ground up.”

So, When Should You Run LinkedIn Ads?

When your house is in order.
When your positioning is sharp, your content is alive, and your offer is magnetic.
That’s when ads don’t feel like a gamble—they taste like champagne-flavored gasoline.

Until then, I’ll keep saying it with love: LinkedIn Ads can wait.

Reluctantly yours,

AL

P.S. Don’t even get me started on if your business needs Meta ads. Actually, now I’m started. Be on the lookout for that post. It’s sure to be a doozy.