LinkedIn Retargeting Strategies for ABM Campaigns

In the competitive landscape of B2B marketing, Account-Based Marketing (ABM) has emerged as a powerful strategy to target and engage high-value accounts. LinkedIn, with its vast professional network, offers unparalleled opportunities for ABM practitioners to connect with decision-makers. A critical component of a successful LinkedIn ABM strategy is retargeting – re-engaging prospects who have already shown interest in your brand. This listicle will delve into effective LinkedIn retargeting strategies that can significantly boost your ABM campaign performance, driving deeper engagement and ultimately, higher conversion rates.

1. Leverage LinkedIn Insight Tag for Precise Audience Segmentation

The foundation of any effective retargeting campaign on LinkedIn is the LinkedIn Insight Tag. This lightweight JavaScript code snippet, when placed on your website, tracks visitor behavior, allowing you to build highly segmented audiences based on their interactions with your content.

Actionable Tips:

• Install the Insight Tag: Ensure the LinkedIn Insight Tag is correctly installed across all relevant pages of your website. This is crucial for data collection and audience building.
• Segment by Content Engagement: Create audiences based on specific pages visited (e.g., product pages, pricing pages, blog posts about specific solutions). This allows for tailored messaging based on their demonstrated interests.
• Time-Based Segmentation: Segment audiences by the recency of their visit (e.g., visitors in the last 30, 60, or 90 days). This helps in delivering timely and relevant retargeting ads.

2. Create Matched Audiences from Your CRM Data

Beyond website visitors, LinkedIn allows you to upload lists of target accounts or contacts from your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to create Matched Audiences. This is particularly powerful for ABM, as it enables you to directly retarget individuals within your defined target accounts.

Actionable Tips:

• Upload Account Lists: Import lists of target companies from your CRM. LinkedIn will match these companies to their platform, allowing you to target employees of those specific organizations.
• Upload Contact Lists: For a more granular approach, upload lists of specific contacts (e.g., email addresses) from your CRM. This ensures your retargeting efforts reach the exact individuals you want to influence.
• Regularly Update Lists: Keep your Matched Audiences updated to reflect changes in your CRM, ensuring you’re always targeting the most current and relevant individuals within your target accounts.

3. Retarget Based on LinkedIn Engagement

LinkedIn’s robust advertising platform allows you to create retargeting audiences based on how users have engaged with your content directly on LinkedIn. This includes interactions with your company page, video ads, Lead Gen Forms, and event attendees.

Actionable Tips:

• Company Page Engagers: Target users who have visited your company page, clicked on posts, or followed your page. These individuals have already shown an active interest in your brand on the platform.
• Video Viewers: Create audiences of users who have watched a certain percentage of your video ads. This indicates a higher level of engagement and potential interest in your offerings.
• Lead Gen Form Submissions: Retarget individuals who have opened but not submitted a Lead Gen Form, or those who have submitted one but haven’t yet converted into a sales-qualified lead.

4. Implement Dynamic Creative for Personalized Messaging

Personalization is key in ABM. LinkedIn retargeting allows for dynamic creative, meaning you can tailor ad content based on the specific actions or characteristics of your audience segments. This makes your retargeting efforts more relevant and impactful.

Actionable Tips:

• Product/Service-Specific Ads: If a user visited a specific product page on your website, retarget them with ads featuring that particular product or a related solution.
• Content-Based Retargeting: If a user downloaded a whitepaper on a specific topic, retarget them with additional resources or case studies related to that topic.
• Role-Based Messaging: For Matched Audiences from CRM, tailor ad copy and visuals to resonate with the specific roles or seniority levels of the individuals within those accounts.

5. Optimize Ad Formats for Retargeting Objectives

LinkedIn offers various ad formats, each with its strengths. Choosing the right ad format for your retargeting objective can significantly impact campaign performance. Consider formats like Sponsored Content, Message Ads, and Dynamic Ads.

Actionable Tips:

• Sponsored Content for Brand Awareness & Engagement: Use single image ads, video ads, or carousel ads to re-engage prospects with valuable content, case studies, or product updates.
• Message Ads for Direct Engagement: For highly qualified prospects, use Message Ads (formerly Sponsored InMail) to deliver personalized messages directly to their LinkedIn inbox, offering a demo, consultation, or exclusive content.
• Dynamic Ads for Personalization at Scale: Dynamic Ads can automatically personalize ad creatives with prospect’s profile information, making them highly effective for job title-based retargeting or promoting relevant content.

6. Set Up Frequency Capping to Avoid Ad Fatigue

While retargeting is effective, overexposure to ads can lead to ad fatigue and negative brand perception. Implementing frequency capping ensures your target audience sees your ads a reasonable number of times without being overwhelmed.

Actionable Tips:

• Start with a Moderate Cap: Begin with a frequency cap of 3-5 impressions per week per user. Monitor performance and adjust as needed.
• Vary Ad Creatives: Even with frequency capping, rotating your ad creatives regularly can help keep your campaigns fresh and prevent monotony.
• Consider Campaign Duration: For shorter retargeting campaigns, a slightly higher frequency cap might be acceptable, while longer campaigns benefit from a lower cap.

7. A/B Test Your Retargeting Campaigns Continuously

Continuous testing is crucial for optimizing your LinkedIn retargeting strategies. A/B testing different ad creatives, headlines, calls to action, and audience segments can reveal what resonates best with your target accounts.

Actionable Tips:

• Test One Variable at a Time: When A/B testing, change only one element (e.g., headline, image, CTA) to accurately attribute performance differences.
• Monitor Key Metrics: Track metrics like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost per conversion to evaluate the effectiveness of your tests.
• Iterate and Optimize: Based on your A/B test results, implement the winning variations and continue to test new ideas to constantly improve your campaign performance.

Best Practices for Success in LinkedIn ABM Retargeting

To maximize the impact of your LinkedIn retargeting for ABM, consider these overarching best practices. For instance, recent ABM statistics highlight the growing importance of integrated strategies and data-driven approaches:

• Align Sales and Marketing: Ensure seamless communication and collaboration between your sales and marketing teams. Sales insights can inform retargeting strategies, and marketing can provide sales with valuable context on engaged accounts.
• Personalize at Every Touchpoint: Go beyond basic personalization. Use account-specific insights to craft messages that speak directly to the challenges and goals of each target account.
• Multi-Channel Approach: While LinkedIn is powerful, integrate your retargeting efforts with other channels (e.g., email, display ads) for a truly comprehensive ABM strategy.
• Focus on Value, Not Just Product: Instead of constantly pushing your product, provide valuable content that addresses pain points and educates your target audience.
• Long-Term Nurturing: ABM is a long game. Design your retargeting campaigns to nurture accounts over an extended period, building trust and demonstrating expertise.

Measuring and Optimizing Your LinkedIn ABM Retargeting Campaigns

Effective measurement and continuous optimization are vital for the success of your LinkedIn ABM retargeting efforts. By tracking the right metrics and making data-driven adjustments, you can ensure your campaigns are delivering maximum ROI.

• Key Metrics to Track: Monitor impressions, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, cost per click (CPC), cost per lead (CPL), and return on ad spend (ROAS). For ABM, also track engagement within target accounts.
• Attribution Modeling: Understand how different touchpoints in your retargeting campaigns contribute to conversions. This helps in allocating budget effectively.
• Audience Insights: Leverage LinkedIn’s audience insights to gain deeper understanding of your retargeting segments. This can inform future content creation and targeting adjustments.
• Experiment with Bidding Strategies: Test different bidding strategies (e.g., automated bidding, manual bidding) to find what works best for your campaign objectives and budget. LinkedIn Ads bidding strategies explained

Conclusion: Driving Growth with Strategic LinkedIn Retargeting

LinkedIn retargeting is an indispensable tool for modern ABM campaigns. By strategically re-engaging prospects who have already shown interest, you can significantly shorten sales cycles, increase conversion rates, and build stronger relationships with high-value accounts. The key lies in precise audience segmentation, personalized messaging, continuous optimization, and a deep understanding of LinkedIn’s advertising capabilities. Embrace these strategies to elevate your ABM efforts and drive sustainable growth for your business.

Frequently Asked Questions About LinkedIn Retargeting Strategies for ABM Campaigns

Q: What is the LinkedIn Insight Tag and why is it important for retargeting? A: The LinkedIn Insight Tag is a piece of JavaScript code that you place on your website. It tracks visitor behavior, allowing you to create custom audiences for retargeting based on pages visited, content engaged with, and other actions. It’s crucial because it provides the data foundation for all website-based retargeting on LinkedIn.

Q: How often should I update my Matched Audiences from CRM data? A: It’s recommended to update your Matched Audiences regularly, ideally on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, especially if your CRM data changes frequently. This ensures that your retargeting efforts are always directed at the most current and relevant individuals within your target accounts.

Q: Can I retarget users who have interacted with my company page on LinkedIn? A: Yes, LinkedIn allows you to create retargeting audiences based on various engagement metrics with your company page, including page visits, clicks on posts, and followers. This is an effective way to re-engage individuals who have already shown interest in your brand on the platform.

Q: What is ad fatigue and how can I prevent it in my retargeting campaigns? A: Ad fatigue occurs when your target audience sees your ads too frequently, leading to decreased engagement and potentially negative brand perception. You can prevent it by implementing frequency capping, rotating ad creatives regularly, and adjusting your campaign duration.

Q: What are some key metrics to track for LinkedIn ABM retargeting campaigns? A: Key metrics include impressions, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, cost per click (CPC), cost per lead (CPL), and return on ad spend (ROAS). For ABM, it’s also important to track engagement within your target accounts and how these campaigns contribute to overall account progression.

Ready to supercharge your ABM campaigns with advanced LinkedIn retargeting strategies? Sign up for Karrot.ai!