With over 4.5 billion daily users, social media has quickly morphed from a place to make friends into a place to do business.
And when it comes to doing business on social channels, nailing your adverts is crucial.
Is your company active on LinkedIn but not hitting the spot when it comes to advertising? Then, this article is a must-read.
We are going to reveal four fantastic LinkedIn ad examples that result from clever, targeted, and effective social media marketing strategies.
Get ready to take notes and find the right inspiration for your next LinkedIn ad campaign.
1. Making Room for Safety: Airbnb
For a large chunk of 2020 and 2021, coronavirus-related restrictions forced people to stop doing ordinary activities, including traveling.
In the summer of 2021, though, the pandemic gradually got more under control in many countries across the globe. As a result, a widespread eagerness to “get back to normal” by booking trips and vacations resumed.
Online holiday rental marketplace Airbnb quickly stepped in with a great LinkedIn ad. Its introductory message is simple, clear, and informative.
The plan is presented by Airbnb in the form of a LinkedIn carousel, complete with great, concise information, bright and attractive colors, and hip, modern graphics.
Why We Love It
Who doesn’t love an ad that doesn’t scream in your face: “I’M AN AD! BUY MY PRODUCTS!”?
Well, Airbnb clearly knows a thing or two about the power of non-salesy ads, and has smartly crafted an advert that provides useful information and guidance on an important topic — without actually trying to sell you anything.
For ads to be successful, in fact, they don’t necessarily be all about promoting a product or a service in a sales-y way.
Sometimes, all it takes is some eye-catching colors and visuals, very few, impactful words, and a clear statement.
How You Can Adapt It to Your Business
It doesn’t matter which industry you operate in — these types of ads can work great for any company.
Are you an activewear clothing brand? Great, then try putting together a fun, bright carousel full of useful tips on how to stay fit during the holiday season.
Do you run a financial firm? Your clients will love seeing some easy-to-understand infographics about how to save money in the New Year.
Are you a healthy food influencer? Then, how about an ad that shares simple, five-minute meals to prepare with the kids over Christmas?
As you can see, there are plenty of options for any type of business.
2. Putting Your Best Face Forward: ClickUp
LinkedIn is abuzz with job offerings — after all, that’s pretty much the point of this social network, right?
But what if, instead of spending time and resources drafting the same old (read: dull) job vacancy ads, you’d shift the perspective a bit and try to make it more fun, relatable, and enticing?
Cue ClickUp.
The online app that helps people work more productively has chosen to place a large image of its smiling employees (complete with thumbs up) to promote its latest job openings on LinkedIn.
Put yourself in the shoes of someone looking for a job and coming across this unusual, fun, relatable ad.
Wouldn’t you instantly want to be part of THAT team, too?
Why We Love It
It’s young, it’s cool, it’s full of emoticons, and it’s different.
Speaking mostly to Millennials and younger generations, this is a job opening advert like no other — and one that truly entices people to want to apply (and become one of those happy-faced employees, too).
How You Can Adapt It to Your Business
OK, perhaps your company is a bit more formal, and something so light-hearted and laid-back might look a bit misplaced and at odds with your brand identity.
Don’t worry, you can still take a leaf out of ClickUp’s book and craft a much more engaging ad that, instead of including the grinning faces of your (young and hip) employees features another catchy image.
You might be particularly proud of your stunning offices, for example, in which case you could opt for an awesome shot of the view from one of the windows.
Creating something a bit more visually interesting (like an infographic) might also work well if you don’t think that sharing an image of your company and people is an authentic way to portray your brand.
3. Telling Authentic Stories: LinkedIn
Featuring this LinkedIn ad in an article about the best LinkedIn ad examples was a bit of a no-brainer.
The world’s biggest professional social network launched a series of storytelling-based adverts that feature real people, with real stories, and real (work-related) struggles and hopes.
Such a compelling narrative is key in the world of advertising, as it helps to arouse an emotional response thanks to its authenticity and relatability.
Why We Love It
By turning ordinary job seekers into the focal points of its adverts, LinkedIn has managed to create a solid emotional connection to its network of users.
Also, the positivity and optimism that successful real-life stories exude can truly strike a chord with anyone who finds themselves in a tough place work-wise because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
How You Can Adapt It to Your Business
This LinkedIn ad is a perfect example of how leveraging user-generated content can help you craft messages that look and feel genuine, relatable, and engaging.
You don’t necessarily need to shoot short clips as LinkedIn did: direct quotes from your customers or end-users work great, as do customer reviews and explanatory videos featuring real-life people using your products or services.
Just make sure that you are telling your customers’ story, and that it is a truthful, relatable, and enticing one.
4. Humanizing Your Tech: Asana
The online collaboration platform Asana knows very well how important it is to produce content that resonates with your audience.
And, because few things are more current, right now, than the whole “working from home” topic, they decided that that was exactly what they were going to use for one of their LinkedIn ads.
This ad shows the blurred lines between working from home and working in a traditional office setting.
The bottom line? Some things might have changed (a lot) because of the pandemic, but other things have stayed the same.
Why We Love It
If you look on Wikipedia for a definition of Asana as a company, you will find the following:
“Asana is a web and mobile application designed to help teams organize, track, and manage their work.”
But when you watch this ad, all you see is people, not computers. Emotions, not codes. Children playing and women walking along office corridors, not mobile applications.
In a word? What you see is human. And what is more convincing, relevant, and authentic than being human?
How You Can Adapt It to Your Business
A whole lot of creative work went into Asana’s ad, but trust us — you can achieve similar results even on a budget and without a huge amount of in-house resources.
It can help, for example, to produce a short, animated video clip demonstrating how to make the most out of your tech products.
Or, how about showing what your customers can achieve by using your products?
This could be as simple and effective as a photo of a smiling family having dinner together, and a few lines on how using your technology helped them carve out this precious moment.
LinkedIn Ad Examples: Lessons Learned
Let’s now do a quick round-up of all the main lessons we can learn from the four, great LinkedIn examples that we have analyzed.
1. Short and Sweet
Did you know that the attention span of social media users is on a constant downward trend?
If you want to ensure that people actually read your ads, then try to make them as short, concise, and informative as possible.
2. Storytelling Is Key
For your LinkedIn ad to hit the spot, it needs to feature some compelling storytelling.
Just remember, though: you are not telling your brand’s story, you are telling your customers’. Your message needs to resonate with them, be relatable and attainable, and convince them that you truly “get them”.
3. The Power of Visuals
An image is worth a thousand words, right? So, make it bright, make it colorful, and make it useful and informative — as Airbnb did.
4. Make Tech Human
Many companies with an active presence on LinkedIn are technology-oriented, selling products or services that sometimes feel a bit detached from our everyday lives.
Well, with an ad like Asana’s, you can instill that little bit of “human touch” into your brand, which makes it instantly more enticing and relevant to people.
Wrap Up: LinkedIn Ad Examples That Hit the Spot
Social media networks are a fantastic place to promote your brand — LinkedIn, in particular, offers plenty of examples of companies that have truly nailed their ads in several different ways.
Whether you choose storytelling, bright visuals, or super-concise messages, remember to always stay true to your brand identity.
Do you need more help supercharging your ad performance? Request your FREE demo in the link!
