Choosing the right LinkedIn ad format can make a huge difference in your campaign’s performance. Get it right and you’re laughing. Get it wrong and you’re throwing money down the drain. With 14 different ad formats available, each designed for different purposes, finding the best fit for your objectives requires some experimentation. That’s where A/B testing comes in.
Understanding LinkedIn Ad Formats
Firstly, it’s important to understand the different ad formats available to you. LinkedIn offers loads of ad formats, including single image, video, message/conversation, thought leader, document. Each format serves a different purpose though If your goal is brand awareness, video and thought leader ads capture attention and engage viewers. If you want leads, lead gen forms and message ads may be the way to go. For a comprehensive guide on ad formats, check out our article here which goes into detail.
But Which Ad Format Should I A/B Test?
With so many formats to choose from, it can be daunting to choose where to start. Think about the objective of your campaign and use that as a starting point.
If you’re running some top of funnel, awareness campaigns, a quick test would be to run image ads against video ads. Monitor metrics like engagement, click-through and conversion rates to see what your audience engages with. Newer metrics like dwell time offer valuable insights into the types of content that truly engage your audience too.
If you’re running middle of funnel or lead generation campaigns, perhaps look to test single image ads vs message or conversation ads. Yes the metrics you’ll be monitoring will be slightly different but ultimately which format is getting in leads at the lowest cost per lead? And more importantly which leads are impacting bottom line?
Run your tests for at least 2 weeks to gauge performance. If you’ve had zero leads come through using message ads then you can assume this format may not be the right one for this audience or offer. Or perhaps the messaging is off. Again, there may be other elements to test first before making a final conclusion.
Running continual tests enables you to gather data and refine your strategy based on real performance insights – rather than just what you “think” might work.
Practical Tips for A/B Testing
Ready to get started? Here are a few things to remember when running tests:
- Define clear objectives for the test to start with – what are you looking to improve on? What do you hope to achieve? Create a hypothesis and decide why you’re running the test and what you want to learn. For example: Switching from single image ads to document ads will increase engagement rates (clicks, likes, and shares) by 20% among our target audience of IT Directors in the manufacturing sector.
- Ensure your test groups are similar in size. Ideally you’d want to use the same audiences in LinkedIn.
- Run tests long enough to capture performance trends – a minimum of 2 weeks is recommended.
- Keep an eye on any outside influences that could skew results. If you’re running a campaign to HR managers in the UK but the biggest conference in the HR sector is on that week, could that impact results? Think about seasonality too – summer holidays and Christmas may not be the best times to run tests with people in and out of the office. Or perhaps they might be! There’s something else to test out!
- Document and analyze results to learn from each test. There’s no point running any tests if you’re not learning from them.
- Continue iterating and refining based on findings. It’s a continual process.
Conclusion
Choosing the right LinkedIn ad format is key to unlocking your campaign’s full potential. A/B testing allows you to experiment and discover what truly resonates with your audience. It makes much more sense to use data-driven insights rather than relying on guesswork! But remember, testing is an ongoing process, and the more you refine, the better your campaigns will perform in the long run.
