LinkedIn's new targeting tool tailors campaigns to match users' interests

Dive Brief:

LinkedIn is launching a new marketing solution in Campaign Manager called Interest Targeting, which aims to help marketers reach members with relevant ads that match their interests based on the content they share and engage with on the platform, according to details shared with Marketing Dive.
Marketers will be able to combine Interest Targeting with account targeting to reach audiences of potential buyers who have already expressed interest in the content relevant to a business or brand. Marketers can target campaigns using more than 200 professional interest topics, such as "artificial intelligence," "global economy" or "customer experience."
Digitas has seen a 25% increase in click-through rates since using Interest Targeting as part of the agency's campaigns, according to Lloyd Palmer, senior paid social specialist at Digitas UK.

Dive Insight:

The new Interest Targeting tool gives marketers the opportunity to reach their most desirable consumers with relevant content that they will likely engage with. The Digitas example, which used Interest Targeting in conjunction with Carousel Ads, suggests that the new targeting product can help increase the efficacy of ad campaigns.

Marketers are increasingly using LinkedIn to reach consumers in the business-to-business space and generate leads. LinkedIn has seen a 212% rise in ad spend growth, according to 4C data. LinkedIn claims that users are spending more time than ever on their newsfeeds, and Interest Targeting could lets marketers leverage that activity to create better-targeted campaigns.

Consumers are expecting brands to offer more personalized experiences and are most responsive to relevant messaging. The new LinkedIn tool could help marketers improve their personalization efforts and connect with consumers. Personalization has been a struggle for some marketers. Nearly half of consumers, or 48%, have left a brand's website and purchased elsewhere after a poorly curated experience, according to Accenture research. Seventy-three percent of consumers said no brand has communicated with them in a way that felt "too personal," and consumers are usually willing to share their information with brands.

LinkedIn continues to roll out new ad products. Last year, the platform added two new video capabilities, including video for sponsored content and video on company pages. The move was inspired by 46% of B2B advertisers saying that finding a quality environment to reach decision-makers with video is a top challenge. LinkedIn members spend nearly three-times more time watching video ads compared to static sponsored content, and videos are five-times more likely than other formats to start a conversation on the platform.