LinkedIn tends to be a little behind the times with the latest tools and tricks - they get there eventually, but it just takes a while. That doesn’t make such additions any less valuable, it just means you have to wait a little longer to see LinkedIn’s version.
I was reminded of this again this week with LinkedIn’s announcement of automated bidding for Sponsored Content.
As per LinkedIn:
“Today, we’re rolling out automated bidding for Sponsored Content. That means that by using a powerful combination of machine learning and pacing algorithms, our system will find the perfect bid for your Sponsored Content campaigns to get you the most results - be it for more clicks, impressions, leads, website conversions, or even video views - for the best possible price.”
Similar ad buying options have been available on other platforms for some time, and as such, the functionality will be pretty familiar for digital ad buyers. As shown above, when selecting your bid type, you’ll now be able to let LinkedIn optimize, within your budget, for best results.
Automated bidding for Sponsored Content will be available when looking to optimize for website visits, awareness, lead form submissions, website conversions and video views. The option, LinkedIn says, will use “historical data and machine learning to automatically find the best bid on members who will fulfill that objective”.
It’s a good, and logical addition, one which LinkedIn probably should have had sooner – but as noted, they tend to take their time with new tools, as they have with video, QR codes, new ad formats, etc.
LinkedIn says that beta participants in their automated bidding trial saw their ad costs reduce by up to 30% over a two-month test period, so there’s clearly potential there. Next time you’re implementing a LinkedIn ad campaign, it might be worth trying out the option to see what results you get.
Also, if you’re not sure which LinkedIn ad option is for you, check out this chart.