LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network with over 700 million users, offers B2B marketers unparalleled opportunities to connect with potential customers and boost brand visibility. To fully exploit LinkedIn’s advertising capabilities, integrating your CRM data is a game-changer.
LinkedIn collaborates with various data providers, allowing marketers to share CRM data and gain deeper insights into their target audience. By integrating this data, you can create more targeted and effective advertising campaigns that resonate with your audience. Additionally, you can enhance ad measurement and reporting with offline conversion tracking, enabling you to optimise LinkedIn Ads for improved lead quality.
Beyond online ads, this integration allows marketers to seamlessly nurture leads both online through LinkedIn Ads and offline using their CRM. This holistic approach ensures a cohesive marketing strategy, enhancing your ability to engage and convert prospects across platforms.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the benefits of LinkedIn third-party data integrations, the different types available, and popular integration providers. We’ll also share tips on how to maximise these tools to elevate your marketing efforts. Let’s dive in and unlock LinkedIn’s full potential for your success.
What are LinkedIn Ads Third-Party Data Integrations?
LinkedIn Ads Third-Party Data Integrations are strategic partnerships between LinkedIn and data providers that enhance marketers’ ability to augment their advertising campaigns by incorporating their own contact data alongside insights from external sources. These integrations enable more accurate audience targeting, personalised campaigns, and overall enhanced advertising effectiveness on LinkedIn.
Integrating CRM (Customer Relationship Management) data with LinkedIn allows marketers to transmit valuable information about their target audience, including job titles, industries, and company sizes. Merging this data with LinkedIn’s extensive professional database facilitates a deeper understanding of the audience, leading to more relevant and targeted advertisements.
Furthermore, third-party data integrations provide the opportunity to enrich targeting capabilities by including additional data from trusted external sources. This encompasses demographic, firmographic, and behavioural insights that further refine audience segmentation on LinkedIn.
Ultimately, LinkedIn Ads Third-Party Data Integrations empower marketers to leverage both their own contact data and external insights to craft highly targeted and effective advertising campaigns. This integration not only enhances audience segmentation but also increases ad relevance and drives superior results for advertisers on LinkedIn.
The Benefits of Integrating Your CRM With LinkedIn Ads
Integrating your CRM system with LinkedIn Ads can greatly enhance your advertising strategy by leveraging the strengths of both platforms. Here are the key benefits of this integration:
Enhanced Lead Quality:
Optimising lead quality is a major advantage of using your CRM alongside LinkedIn Ads. Relying solely on LinkedIn’s online conversion tracking can often result in a focus on lead quantity rather than quality. By using your CRM to track offline conversion events, you can sync lifecycle changes back to LinkedIn, enabling more accurate lead quality scoring. This enhanced data feedback loop allows you to:
- Adjust manual bidding and budget allocations to prioritise higher-quality leads.
- Optimise automatic bidding using machine learning to focus on acquiring leads of superior quality, reducing the intake of lower-quality leads.
This approach ensures that your ad spend is directed towards generating more valuable leads, thereby improving overall campaign effectiveness and return on investment (ROI).
Refined Audience Targeting:
Utilise the data within your CRM, including lists and buyer personas, to create highly targeted LinkedIn Ads campaigns. This ensures your ads reach the most relevant professionals. You can export target account lists or company contacts, including emails and website cookies, from your CRM to LinkedIn. This method not only expands your reach to cold audiences but also enhances your retargeting strategies. Additionally, you can build a comprehensive funnel on LinkedIn to nurture leads before capturing their details through a LinkedIn lead form or your website.
Centralised Campaign Management
Manage your LinkedIn Ads campaigns alongside those on other platforms, such as Google and Facebook, within a centralised CRM interface. This integration simplifies workflows by reducing the need to switch between multiple systems and allows you to view advertising results in the broader context of your business data, matched to specific contacts and companies rather than anonymous conversions.
By streamlining the processes of ad creation, management, and optimisation, you can significantly reduce the time spent on administrative tasks, allowing for a greater focus on strategic planning and decision-making.
Improved Analytics, Measurement, Revenue Attribution & Reporting
The integration of your CRM with LinkedIn Ads provides deeper insights into your advertising efforts, enabling more effective optimisation and better results. This combined approach offers advanced tools and analytics to maximise the impact of your LinkedIn Ads campaigns, driving business growth.
Strategic Budget & Bid Management
Leverage comprehensive data from your CRM that extends beyond simple clicks and initial lead stages to make informed decisions regarding budget allocation and bidding strategies. Utilise your CRM’s analytics and bid recommendations to optimise ad spend, ensuring your budget is effectively directed towards high-quality leads and impactful campaigns. By tracking sales cycle stage changes as offline conversions within your CRM, you can refine bids and maximise ROI.
Alignment of Sales and Marketing Efforts
Integrating LinkedIn Ads with your CRM ensures that your advertising efforts are closely aligned with broader marketing and sales activities, fostering better collaboration and strategic coherence. Your CRM tracks all interactions with leads and customers, providing a complete view of the customer journey and enhancing cross-functional communication. Establish a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between sales and marketing to define a sales-ready lead (MQL), set follow-up protocols, and ensure alignment and accountability between teams.
Scalability and Expansion Potential
Scale your LinkedIn Ads campaigns efficiently by leveraging your CRM’s automation and integration capabilities, allowing for business growth without adding complexity. Use performance analytics within your CRM to identify new growth opportunities, refine your LinkedIn Ads strategy, and effectively target emerging markets or demographics.
Integrating your CRM with LinkedIn Ads allows you to elevate your advertising strategy, optimising both platforms to deliver superior results and drive business growth.
1st-Party vs 3rd-Party Data Explained
[*Note: LinkedIn refers to their targeting as Audience Attribute targeting or LinkedIn first-party data. They classify your uploaded data on LinkedIn as third-party data.
In digital marketing, it is customary to refer to your data as first-party data- certainly in the context of GDPR. The sharing of data is typically referred to as third-party data, for instance, when utilising data from external sources.
Understanding the terminology used by LinkedIn can help you navigate their platform more effectively.
How do Third-Party Data Integrations Work on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn allows advertisers to use third-party data to create and target audience segments based on specific criteria. Advertisers can either upload their own data or use data from a third-party provider to target users who match certain characteristics. LinkedIn also provides a tool called the “Matched Audiences” feature, which allows advertisers to target users who have already interacted with their brand, such as website visitors or email subscribers .You can use LinkedIn’s audience tools to learn more about your matched audiences such as website remarketing, contact and company lists.
Sharing Audience Lists
These integrations not only boost the effectiveness of your advertising strategies but also increase operational efficiency. By automating the process, they enhance the performance of your sales team, ultimately driving more revenue for your business.
Furthermore, by transferring audiences from your CRM to LinkedIn Ads, you can create campaigns that are finely tailored to your existing customer base. This approach allows you to share targeted information, including recent purchase data, contact lists, company lists, and website cookie lists. As a result, your advertising is highly precise and relevant, leading to enhanced outcomes.
Sharing contact lists allows you to target users who are already familiar with your brand, such as existing customers or newsletter subscribers. By syncing this data with LinkedIn Ads, you can create targeted campaigns that are specifically designed to convert these users into repeat customers. : Utilise segmented email lists to retarget based on specific user behaviours, preferences, or demographics, optimising engagement.
Sharing company lists allows you to target specific companies or industries that are a good fit for your products or services. For example, you could create a custom audience in LinkedIn Ads based on users who work at companies in a specific industry or who meet certain size or revenue criteria. This can help you reach new audiences that may not have interacted with your brand directly, but who are likely to be interested in what you have to offer.
Sharing website cookie lists allows you to target users who have previously visited your website or engaged with your brand online.
Diverse Audience Examples
CRM integration allows you to build various audience types, enabling the customisation of adverts for different stages of the customer lifecycle or specific user groups:
- Lifecycle Stage Audiences: Design adverts tailored to different stages of the buyer’s journey—introduce new leads to introductory offers, and showcase advanced service features to marketing qualified leads (MQLs) or prospects in active negotiation stages.
- Customer Segments: Craft targeted adverts for existing customers to foster repeat purchases or to upsell complementary products and services.
- Event-Based Audiences: Engage users based on their interactions with your content or participation in events, such as webinar attendees or those who have downloaded specific resources.
- Geographic Audiences: Localise your adverts to cater to the geographic specifics of your audience, delivering region-tailored offers or news.
By leveraging these varied audience types, CRM empowers you to create highly personalised advertising experiences that resonate more effectively with your target demographics, driving higher engagement and conversion rates. The platform’s flexibility allows for continuous refinement of your targeting strategies, aligning your advertising efforts closely with your business objectives.
Types of Integrations Available on LinkedIn
There are several types of third-party data integrations available on LinkedIn, including:
Demographic data: This type of integration provides information about a user’s age, gender, and location.
Firmographic data: Firmographic data integrations provide information about a user’s company, including size, industry, and revenue.
Intent data: Intent data integrations track a user’s online behaviour and can help identify users who are in the market for specific products or services.
Account-based marketing (ABM) data: ABM data integrations allow you to target specific accounts or companies with your advertising campaigns.
Popular 3rd Party Integrations
LinkedIn provides a range of third-party data integrations to help advertisers create more effective campaigns and target specific audiences. Let’s take a closer look at each of these integrations and what they offer.
Zapier: Zapier is a popular automation tool connects many CRM’s with LinkedIn Ads, along with other apps and services, such as Slack, Trello, and Gmail. With Zapier, you can automate tasks such as sharing audiences, uploading offline conversions and automating lead follow-up.
Zapier also provides pre-built workflow templates (Zaps) for common LinkedIn tasks, making it easy to get started. Want to learn more, see our blog post: Using Zapier with LinkedIn Ads
HubSpot: HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing and sales platform that provides integrations with LinkedIn for lead generation, social media management, and advertising. With HubSpot, you can create LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms to capture leads directly from LinkedIn, publish and schedule LinkedIn posts, and create targeted LinkedIn Ads. HubSpot also provides analytics and reporting tools to help you measure the impact of your LinkedIn campaigns. Learn more about HubSpot Ads
Salesforce: Salesforce is a leading CRM platform that provides integrations with LinkedIn for lead generation and sales. With Salesforce, you can sync LinkedIn lead data with your CRM, track LinkedIn engagement and conversions, and create targeted LinkedIn Ads. Salesforce also provides tools for sales teams to connect with prospects on LinkedIn, such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator integration and Salesforce Inbox.
Overall, third-party data integrations can help you get more value from your advertising spend on LinkedIn. By partnering with a reputable integration provider and following best practices for integration and targeting, you can create more effective campaigns and reach new audiences. Consider exploring the various integrations available on LinkedIn and how they could benefit your business.
Tips for using LinkedIn Third-Party Data Integrations
To get the most out of third-party data integrations on LinkedIn, it’s important to select the right integration partner and integrate the data effectively. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
Here are some tips for effectively using LinkedIn Third-Party Data Integrations to enhance your advertising campaigns:
Choose Reliable Data Providers: Select reputable and trusted data providers that offer high-quality data relevant to your target audience. Ensure that the data is accurate, up-to-date, and aligned with your campaign objectives.
Define Your Target Audience: Clearly define your target audience based on specific attributes such as job titles, industries, company sizes, and interests. Leverage both your own CRM data and the additional data from third-party providers to create precise audience segments.
Utilise Data for Personalisation: Leverage the integrated data to personalise your ad campaigns. Craft tailored messaging and creative assets that resonate with your target audience’s needs and interests. Personalisation helps to capture attention and improve engagement.
Test and Refine: Conduct A/B testing to compare different targeting strategies and messaging variations. Monitor the performance of your campaigns and analyse the data insights provided by LinkedIn to identify opportunities for improvement. Continuously optimise your campaigns based on the results and feedback received.
Combine with LinkedIn’s Native Targeting Options: Combine the power of third-party data integrations with LinkedIn’s native targeting options. LinkedIn offers a variety of targeting options based on job titles, skills, industry, location, and more. By combining these options with third-party data, you can create highly focused and effective targeting strategies.
Keep Data Privacy in Mind: Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations and adhere to LinkedIn’s policies regarding data usage. Protect the privacy and security of your own CRM data and adhere to any legal requirements when working with third-party data providers.
Monitor and Measure Results: Regularly monitor the performance of your campaigns using LinkedIn’s reporting and analytics tools. Track key metrics such as impressions, clicks, conversions, and engagement to evaluate the effectiveness of your targeting and make data-driven optimisations.
By following these tips, you can make the most of LinkedIn Third-Party Data Integrations and enhance the precision and effectiveness of your advertising campaigns on the platform.
Combine First-Party LinkedIn Data with your Third-Party Matched Data
Finally, it’s worth noting that you can also use third-party data integrations in conjunction with matched audiences and first-party LinkedIn data. Matched audiences allow you to target users who have already interacted with your brand, such as website visitors or email subscribers. By using third-party data to supplement this information, you can create even more detailed audience profiles and target users who are most likely to engage with your brand.
Similarly, first-party LinkedIn data can provide insights into how users are interacting with your content on the platform, such as which posts are generating the most engagement. By using third-party data to supplement this information, you can create more effective campaigns that are tailored to your audience’s interests and behaviors.
Offline Conversion Tracking with Integrations
Using integrations for LinkedIn Ads offline conversion tracking can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your campaigns and help you measure the impact of your LinkedIn advertising efforts on offline conversions. Here’s how you can make the most of this integration:
1. Set Up Offline Conversion Tracking:
Begin by setting up LinkedIn Ads offline conversion tracking within your ad account. This involves defining the specific actions or events that you consider as offline conversions, such as purchases, appointments, or inquiries.
2. Integrate CRM or Offline Tracking System:
Integrate your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system or offline tracking system with your LinkedIn Ads account. This allows you to synchronise data on offline conversions back to LinkedIn for attribution analysis.
3. Assign Conversion Values:
Assign values to your offline conversions to determine the impact of your LinkedIn Ads on revenue generation. By assigning specific values to each conversion, you can measure the return on ad spend (ROAS) and gain a better understanding of the effectiveness of your campaigns.
4. Enable Conversion Sync:
Enable conversion sync between your CRM or offline tracking system and LinkedIn Ads. This ensures that the data on offline conversions is accurately recorded and attributed to your LinkedIn advertising efforts.
5. Analyse Attribution Reports:
Once the integration is in place and data starts flowing, analyse the attribution reports provided by LinkedIn. These reports will help you identify which campaigns or ads are driving the most significant impact on offline conversions. Use this information to optimise your campaigns and allocate your budget more effectively.
6. Optimise and Refine:
Based on the insights gained from the offline conversion tracking, refine your targeting, messaging, and bidding strategies. Focus on the campaigns and ad elements that drive the highest offline conversion rates and ROAS. Continuously optimise your campaigns to improve results over time.
7. Measure Overall Marketing Impact:
By incorporating offline conversion tracking, you can gain a more comprehensive view of the overall impact of your marketing efforts. This integration allows you to bridge the gap between online advertising and offline conversions, providing a more holistic understanding of your marketing performance.
Utilising LinkedIn Ads integrations for offline conversion tracking can help you measure the true impact of your campaigns beyond online metrics. It enables you to make data-driven decisions, refine your strategies, and allocate your resources effectively to maximise your ROI. By leveraging this integration, you can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of your LinkedIn advertising efforts in driving offline conversions and optimise your campaigns accordingly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, LinkedIn, as the world’s largest professional network with over 700 million users, presents a fertile ground for B2B marketers seeking to enhance their brand visibility and connect with potential customers. By integrating CRM data through third-party providers, marketers can tap into deep insights and refine their advertising strategies on LinkedIn, creating campaigns that resonate profoundly with their target audience.
This blog post has delved into the myriad benefits of third-party data integrations on LinkedIn, from creating precise audience segments to nurturing leads both online and offline. The strategic partnerships between LinkedIn and various data providers enable a seamless blend of internal CRM data with LinkedIn’s expansive professional network, leading to more effective and personalised advertising campaigns.
For businesses looking to leverage LinkedIn’s advertising capabilities fully, understanding the available data integrations and how to maximise their use is crucial. Whether it’s enhancing lead quality, refining audience targeting, or improving analytics and measurement, the integration of CRM with LinkedIn Ads offers a pathway to not only achieve these goals but also to drive meaningful engagement and substantial business growth.
By strategically managing and optimising these integrations, companies can ensure that their marketing efforts are not just aligned with their business goals but are also scalable and responsive to the dynamic digital marketing landscape. Let’s harness the full potential of LinkedIn’s advertising capabilities to propel your marketing efforts to new heights.
