The introduction of the internet has impacted our everyday lives in more ways than we can count. Even some of the basic activities we do can be done in a matter of seconds, thanks to modern technology. Today, we want to talk about how some tech strategies can help with accelerating your business growth. When […]
How to Create a Standout Instagram Aesthetic [Free Templates]
IG is a visual-focused social media platform, and commitment to a cohesive Instagram aesthetic is one of the best ways to make your brand stand out from the rest.
Scroll on for aesthetic advice when it comes to posts, captions, stories, bios and more (and, perhaps most importantly, how to get that elusive aesthetic grid). Examples included, of course.
Bonus: Claim your free pack of 15 creative Instagram post templates made by Hootsuite’s professional graphic designers. Easily customize them in Canva, and start getting more engagement today.
What is an Instagram aesthetic?
The term “aesthetic” is basically a synonym for beautiful (like, you know, the Northern Lights or Blake Lively). But when it comes to Instagram, your aesthetic is about more than purely visuals: it’s about the mood that those visuals convey, and the overall vibe (if any) that can be felt from the content as a whole.
The biggest component of an Instagram aesthetic is a color palette (which should be part of your style guide). Picking a cohesive, consistent and eye-catching color scheme as a guide for all of your Instagram content is the best way to curate a specific aesthetic. That said, your use of fonts, spacing, and even emojis can contribute to your aesthetic, as well.
Usually, Instagram aesthetics are beautiful—for example, there’s the warm, natural vibe of this interior design studio’s profile.
Source: Instagram
There’s more bold examples, too—take the IG profile of Cheetos Central America.
Source: Instagram
The concept of an aesthetic might be simple, but not every account has one (actor Jake Gyllenhaal, for example, has yet to find a cohesive vibe).
Source: Instagram
Instagram aesthetic examples
Visual learners, you’re in luck: the best way to learn more about different Instagram aesthetics is to study examples. Here are some standouts on the ‘gram.
Aesthetic Instagram bios
There isn’t a ton of flexibility when it comes to IG bios, meaning that you have to be creative to come up with a unique aesthetic. Emojis are your friend.
For example, you can pick an emoji for each snippet of information in your bio (exemplified below). This gives your profile a clean, organized look, and also injects a bit of personality into the feed.
Source: Instagram
Another, even cleaner option is to pick your favorite emoji and use it over and over, almost like a bullet point. If it’s a weird, niche emoji no one’s ever seen before, even better.
Source: Instagram
Or switch it up and put your emojis at the end—it’s a less organized look, but also creates a cartoony vibe.
Source: Instagram
You can also use an Instagram font generator to change the look of the font in your bio, creating an aesthetic that stands out immediately.
Source: Instagram
Whether your bio leans more minimalist or info-packed, whether you use emojis liberally or not at all, don’t forget to use a link in bio to drive traffic—you can link to your blog, YouTube channel, online store, etc. using this handy-dandy link. Hootbio is one of the best (okay, we’re biased!) link-in-bio solutions there is.
Aesthetic Instagram Highlight covers
Instagram Highlight covers are an effective and simple way to give your profile some extra oomph—plus, they’re an opportunity to really unify your aesthetic. The key to Highlight covers is keeping them simple: because they’re so small on the screen, less is definitely more.
This cosmetic company uses icons for Instagram highlight covers. They are clean, clear and communicative, and use a single color that matches the brand’s visual identity and Instagram palette. Highlight covers like these can be made easily using Canva (and if you need a template to get started, here’s 40).
Source: Instagram
This donut shop’s creative covers show off the drool-worthy donuts (donuts are round, highlight covers are round—it’s delicious serendipity).
Source: Instagram
And this tattoo artist’s highlight covers feature some of their artwork. Because the background color is consistent, these highlight covers have a unified, professional look, despite the fact that the actual drawings are quite different from one another.
Source: Instagram
Not sure where to start? Hootsuite offers 40 free templates for aesthetic Instagram highlight covers — download them here.
Aesthetic Instagram captions
Aesthetics are mostly about visuals, but you can communicate a consistent brand aesthetic in your captions, too.
For example, this flower company’s minimal captions all employ the same spacing, punctuation and use of a few choice emojis (plus some relevant hashtags, of course).
You can also create an aesthetic caption by using hard returns to make sure that your entire caption isn’t visible on someone’s feed. In the post below, the account uses spacing, colons and vertical bars to make the caption—which is quite long—easy to digest.
Here’s another example of careful spacing—at first scroll, only the recipe title and emoji are visible, so the entire caption doesn’t clutter up a viewer’s feed.
Aesthetic Instagram profile pictures
Just like highlight covers, Instagram profile pictures are small—but they’re also the single image that most represents your brand.
Still, you don’t have to overthink it. Below is an example of a straightforward but aesthetic profile picture: it’s the brand’s logo, in colors that match the rest of the feed.
Source: Instagram
Or, there’s a bolder take: if bright colors and high-impact fonts are your brand’s thing, make that statement in your profile picture.
Source: Instagram
Another way to go? Just choose an excellent photo—one that incorporates your brand’s identity and the overall vibe you want to communicate to your target audience. (Life hack: to test the impact of a potential new PFP, post it on your story or feed first to see what kind of engagement it gets).
Source: Instagram
All of the above considered, a profile picture doesn’t have to be beautiful to make an impact—Rihanna has a pretty iconic image repping her personal brand, and it’s not exactly a masterpiece.
Source: Instagram
(Maybe this isn’t a great example of “aesthetic,” but it is a great example of how you can use different parts of Instagram to show off different parts of your personality.)
Aesthetic Instagram story backgrounds
If something you want to post on your story doesn’t quite fit your overall aesthetic, no fear: use a story background to keep that cohesion going.
Say you’re sharing a post to your story and want a more unified look—just pick an aesthetic photo from your camera roll and set it as the background to create more dimension.
Source: Instagram
The same goes if you just want to post a link on your IG story—don’t just use the “Create” option for those standard ombre backgrounds (you’re better than that). Pick a beautiful, engaging photo to grab your audience’s attention, and layer the link over top.
Source: Instagram
Using images in a frame as a story background is another beautiful way to incorporate your aesthetic into your stories (if you’re stuck on where to start, we’ve shared 30 aesthetic Instagram story background templates at the very end of this blog post).
Source: Instagram
These next two are going to be video examples (bear with me—screenshots can’t quite convey video).
The information presented in the story below isn’t super interesting; it’s a class schedule for a fitness studio. But the brand used an oscillating, lava-lamp-like video behind the text, creating instant movement and visual interest.
Source: Instagram
You can also use a GIF as a story background. It creates a similar effect as above: instant motion, compelling imagery and a reason to keep watching. In the post below, a GIF of different images runs in the background of the central image.
Source: Instagram
Aesthetic Instagram posts
Here’s where the Insta magic happens: your feed posts are the backbone of your aesthetic.
There’s really nothing a delicious-looking food photo can’t do, as is exemplified here by this ice cream product shot. Rather than just a simple pic of a pint, this post adds interest with apples and apple pie, giving the viewer a more visceral idea of what the ice cream tastes like. It’s high-quality, well-lit and jibes with the rest of the brand’s Instagram feed posts (we’ll talk more about curating an overall grid in the next part).
And sometimes, simple doesn’t cut it—this post of a grandma-core, maximalist living space proves it. This post is bright, eclectic and detailed, with plenty of different elements to focus on. All together, it’s a very unique look (one that probably isn’t for everyone, but inarguably shows off a signature style).
The post below is also bright and colorful, but there’s a grid-like rigidity to it—organized chaos is a one-way ticket to aesthetic success.
And lastly, one more aesthetic hack: when in doubt, go for nature. Landscapes and photos taken outside almost always have a serene, organic vibe. If it suits your business or personal brand, use as many outdoor photos as possible, and you’ll naturally (pun intended) create a consistent aesthetic.
Need more post ideas? Owlywriter AI can help generate awesome concepts for your content—get the ball rolling with a little robot assistance.
Craft perfect posts in seconds
OwlyWriter AI instantly generates captions and content ideas for every social media network. It’s seriously easy.
Aesthetic Instagram profile grids
Time for the work on your aesthetic to really come together. A profile grid is a snapshot of a brand’s aesthetic (or lack thereof). Here are some excellent examples from folks who got it right.
To start, there’s the neutral-heavy aesthetic of this designer’s Instagram (artists and designers are often the best at curating a signature look—turn to them for the best examples). This grid is almost 100% photos of home interiors, with lots of natural light and natural materials.
Source: Instagram
Then, there’s the pretty pastel posts from this fashion brand. Soft pinks, blues, greens and yellows dominate this grid. There’s also lots of sunshine and smiles—the brand trades the usual model-esque smolder for big grins, creating a more fun, lighthearted vibe.
Source: Instagram
Another way to make your Instagram grid appear more aesthetic is to make use of the layout. Profiles measure three posts across, regardless of what platform you’re viewing IG on, and you can use those specs to create a pattern. Every third post that Sesame Street makes is a screenshot of a Tweet, which forms a very uniform-looking feed (despite the rest of the posts being rather random).
Source: Instagram
Or, you can go full grid boss and create an image on your profile–that’s the way that Monopoly Go does it. Each post is ? of the full picture. This is effective when it comes to your grid as a whole, but each individual post looks kind of strange (exhibit A) so consider that when choosing this kind of post pattern… you’re essentially committing to post in groups for eternity, or have your feed appear all Rubix-cubed in the future.
Source: Instagram
Not every single post needs to have the same color palette and mood to create an aesthetic profile grid: as long as the majority of posts fit your brand’s aesthetic, you’re golden. That’s exemplified below in this food producer’s grid. Most of the posts use the brand’s dusty pinks, oranges and blues, but not all of them do—don’t dismiss posting a photo just because it doesn’t fit your aesthetic. Rules were made to be broken.
Source: Instagram
The easiest way to create a beautiful grid is to make a plan and schedule your posts—that way, you know they’ll go live in the order they need to. You can plan and schedule posts ahead using the Hootsuite Composer.
126 free templates that will help you build a cohesive Instagram aesthetic
Canva is a social media manager’s best friend—and it’s also Hootsuite’s best friend (Hootsuite has a built-in Canva integration!). All of the templates below are editable in Canva.
15 Instagram post templates
Text plus images? A match made in heaven. This super-editable, super-free template has 15 square Instagram posts that you can modify to suit your aesthetic (for example, use your brand fonts to replace the template fonts).
72 Instagram Story templates
Here’s a story for you. Our free Instagram story templates contain four different pre-built aesthetics, with 18 different stories in each one–that’s 72 total templates if you’re counting. From colorful and retro to modern and neutral, these templates will set you up for success.
4 Instagram Reels templates
It’s not just still images that make up a beautiful Instagram page: videos are included in the aesthetic equation. Here’s four stunning templates to make editing your reels a breeze (and you don’t even need to use IG’s extraordinarily frustrating native software to do it).
5 Instagram carousel templates
Carousel posts on Instagram can get about three times more engagement than single photos—so if better IG engagement is what you seek (and it should be), try making carousel posts. While photo dumps have their purpose, aesthetics are our focus now: start with these five templates for Instagram carousels, each one with four different slides.
30 aesthetic Instagram Story background templates
Psst: you don’t even really need to stick to your aesthetic when posting on your story—throw any pic on to a background that fits your branding and you’re all set. These 30 diverse Instagram story backgrounds range from cute fruit to minimal patterns to funky frames. Save to camera roll, STAT.
What, 126 templates for Instagram isn’t enough for you? The feed is always hungry—here’s over 200 templates specifically designed for IG.
Start building your Instagram presence using Hootsuite. Schedule and publish posts directly to Instagram, engage your audience, measure performance, and run all your other social media profiles — all from one simple dashboard. Try it free today.
Grow on Instagram
Easily create, analyze, and schedule Instagram posts, Stories, and Reels with Hootsuite. Save time and get results.
The post How to Create a Standout Instagram Aesthetic [Free Templates] appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.
8 of the Best URL Shorteners To Help You Save Space in 2023
URL shorteners can turn any long and unwieldy website address into a short and sweet URL at the click of a button. Not only are short links easier to digest, but they can help you meet certain character limits and make your link performance seamless to track.
It sounds like magic, I know, but anyone with an internet browser can use link shorteners: social media managers, regular everyday Facebook moms, small business owners, TikTok tweens of all heights — and you!
Here’s everything you need to know about how to use URL shorteners and why they should be an essential part of your social media tool kit.
What is a URL shortener?
A URL shortener is a tool that creates a short, unique URL that will redirect to the specific website of your choosing.
Basically: they make a link shorter, simpler, and easier to look at. Your new, shorter URL will typically include the shortener site’s address plus a combination of random letters.
For example, if I punch in a URL like animalplanet.com/tv-shows/puppy-bowl/full-episodes/puppy-bowl-xvi into the link shortener in the Hootsuite Composer, I can click Shorten with Ow.ly to create a short, handy URL that uses fewer characters.
Try Ow.ly URL Shortener for free!
In some cases, you can even customize this mini URL with a custom phrase — we’ll dig into that more later.
Why you should use link shorteners
If you’re sharing links across your social and communication channels, URL shorteners can be super handy. Let’s go over a few benefits of a short URL.
1. Long links can look suspicious
If you’re linking to a specific page buried deep on your website or are using UTM parameters to track your visitors (more on that below), you might find yourself wrestling with a lengthy URL.
An oversized URL will look clunky pretty much anywhere you use it—in social posts, shared via text, or pasted into an email.
But worse than that, long URLs also look super suspicious. With so many letters and backslashes and numbers and question marks, anything could happen when we click that link! Anything!
You’re sharing those links because you want traffic, so the last thing you want is for your audience to hesitate to click on your link because it looks like spam.
To ensure your link gets as many clicks as possible, use a link shortener that reduces the amount of questionable-looking characters. If your shortened link includes an identifiable keyword or phrase that lets people know the link is associated with a brand they trust, even better.
2. URL shorteners make it easy to track performance
As we mentioned above, you can (and should) use UTM parameters to track where your traffic and clicks are coming from. Most link-shortening sites will offer tracking metrics that include information about who clicked your link, where, and when—info that will help you calculate your social media ROI.
To easily track your traffic’s source, create short links using different UTM parameters. Combine this with other analytics tools—like Google Analytics—and you’re setting yourself up for marketing success.
To keep things looking neat, tidy, and trackable, use a URL shortener that creates a link as short as possible. Link shorteners like Hootsuite’s Ow.ly make it easy to create custom UTM parameters while automatically shortening the link to make sure it’s clean and simple.
3. A custom URL shortener lets you brand your links
If brand awareness is part of your social media strategy, a custom URL shortener is one more tool to help spread the word.
URL shorteners that allow you to customize your short link offer a chance to name-drop your brand. Hootsuite’s link shortener, for example, lets you create a vanity short link in just a few clicks.
If you’re using a free web hosting service or have an ISP that’s less than exciting, a custom URL shortener can keep your brand front and center whenever you share links.
4. Short URLs allow you to get the most out of limited space on social media
Depending on where you’re distributing your links, you may have to keep the character count in mind. For instance, for non-paying users, Twitter has a strict character limit of 280 — which includes links.
When you need to get a compelling point across in just a short sentence or two, keeping posts concise is key.
Shortened URLs give you more room for that poignant observation about politics or the perfect punctuating emoji for your killer joke about hot dogs.
Even for posts on Facebook or Instagram, where the character limits are in the thousands, it’s still best for readability and engagement to keep things short and sweet. Short URLs help avoid TL;DR syndrome.
Another benefit of shorter links? They’re great for messaging or emails, where longer links may be hard to read or disrupted altogether by line breaks.
8 top link shorteners you should use
Google’s URL shortener was discontinued back in 2019, but on the bright side, there are dozens of alternative options out there.
On the downside, though, there are dozens of alternative options out there. How do you know which to choose?
Our advice: look for shortener services that allow you to customize your link, have built-in detailed analytics or easily integrate into your social media workflow. A URL shortener that’s been around a while might also be more reliable and reputable and likely to avoid service closure or disruption.
Here are our top eight picks for the best URL shorteners.
1. Ow.ly URL Shortener
If you’re looking for a user-friendly all-in-one URL shortener, Ow.ly is for you. Hootsuite’s link shortener is integrated right into the Hootsuite platform and is included with every plan type.
Not only does Ow.ly shorten long links, but it can automatically apply tracking parameters at the same time. You can easily add UTM parameters for the traffic source, medium, or campaign all in one place. This takes the heavy lifting out of creating custom links yourself.
And because Ow.ly is integrated into your Hootsuite account, you can easily track and measure your link’s performance directly in your analytics dashboard.
Owly’s link settings seamlessly integrate with everything else you do within Hootsuite, so it’s an easy and secure option if you already use Hootsuite as your social media platform.
Best for: Marketers and small business owners looking for an all-in-one link shortener and tracker that integrates with your analytics platform.
Pricing: Hootsuite offers a range of plans suited for individuals and enterprises alike. Plans start at $99 per month.
2. Bitly
Looking to hone in on custom URLs and QR codes? Bitly is a standalone app that creates digital connections such as links, QR codes, and link-in-bio pages.
Bitly’s link-shortening tool can create a unique back-half for your URL. This means you can add a branded topic, campaign name, or keyword if you want your link to include certain words instead of randomly generated characters.
A free account offers analytics and customization for one individual, but Basic and Enterprise subscriptions are available, too, which offer branded links, QR codes, richer data and multiple users.
While Bitly makes it easy to create a custom URL, if you plan to create over ten unique links per month, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.
Best for: Solo business owners who are looking for a free link shortener to get started with.
Pricing: Bitly has a free plan that includes ten links per month, five of which can have a custom back half. Paid plans start at $8 per month.
3. TinyURL
Another standalone app, TinyURL is a straightforward option that gets the job done. Founded in 2002, TinyURL is the oldest link shortener out there, and it does everything you need it to do: turn a long link into a tiny new URL.
Customization is possible without logging in, making it an efficient option when you’re rushing to share the latest episode of your MasterChef Junior podcast.
Source: TinyURL
One cool feature here: you can edit your TinyURL links. This comes in handy if your website has changed or you initially set up the wrong parameters and need to update them.
TinyURL’s basic plan offers free URL shortening as long as you’re okay with seeing ads across the website (its free plan is ad-supported). Otherwise, you can upgrade to a paid plan with additional features like URL editing, link tracking, and customization.
Best for: If you need to put together a short URL in a pinch, TinyURL is an efficient option.
Pricing: TinyURL has a free plan. Paid plans start at $9.99 per month.
4. Rebrandly
With Rebrandly, you can create a branded short link of your own with a custom domain—even with a free account.
SujindersCookiePalace.com might be a great main URL to have, but when it comes to sharing on social, that character count adds up. A short, branded URL just for link sharing, like su.jinders, still gets your business name in there, without taking up precious space.
After you’ve signed up for a free account, you can connect your domain name and create up to 25 branded links per month.
Rebrandly also features tracking, optimization, and scaling tools in various packages.
One downside to Rebrandly? Its free plan only tracks up to 1,000 clicks. If you happen to share something that goes viral or tend to see more traffic to your website than this, then you may want to consider upgrading to a paid plan.
Best for: If you run a small business and want to share unique links across your various channels, Rebrandly’s free plan is a great option.
Pricing: Rebrandly has a free plan. Paid plans start at $13 per month.
5. Hyperlink
Can’t wait to see how much traffic your URLs are getting? Get real-time notifications when links are clicked with the help of Hyperlink,
If the idea of frequent click notifications sounds *a bit* too distracting, you can also change the settings to hourly, daily, or weekly summaries.
Hyperlink also provides insightful per-click details and a live tracking dashboard: find out the device, location, and referral info for every visitor.
The app (for iOS and Android) is a nice complement to the Chrome extension for those who need to share links on the go. (You’re busy! We get it!)
Hyperlink also offers custom links and branded domains, but those features are only available with a paid plan.
Best for: Marketers who want to gain real-time insights on the go.
Pricing: Hyperlink has a free plan that includes up to 100 links per month. Paid plans start at $39 per month.
6. Tiny.CC
Another standalone app, Tiny.CC is a simple URL shortener. Similar to TinyURL, the free link shortener is no-frills and easy to use.
Simply enter a long URL and shorten it in seconds. You can also create a custom short URL, all without an account.
Best for: If you have a side hustle or small business, TinyCC is a useful and budget-friendly tool.
Pricing: If you want access to some of TinyCC’s premium features, paid plans start at $5 per month.
7. Shorte.ST
Data is valuable for your insights, right? Well, third-party companies are often interested in that information, too, which is why a cottage industry has popped up of businesses that actually pay you to shorten your links with them.
Shorte.ST is one of the higher-paying URL shorteners of the many on the web, with payout rates varying depending on your audience’s geography. (For example, Shorte.ST pays $14.04 CPM for U.S. traffic.)
In addition to cold hard cash, Shorte.ST offers a dashboard of thorough stats for review.
Best for: Affiliate marketers or anyone who wants to monetize a blog.
Pricing: Shorte.ST is free to join. You can find details about payout rates here.
8. Cutlly
Cuttly is an all-in-one link management platform. Whether you want to shorten a URL, generate QR codes, or set up a link-in-bio microsite, Cuttly offers many features.
You don’t need an account to use Cutlly or even to customize the URL, but an account will get you access to real-time analytics, including click-throughs and social media referrals.
Cuttly has a free custom URL shortener button you can add to your browser toolbar, so shortening your link takes one click.
If you opt for a paid plan, you get access to branded QR code generation to create a cohesive brand across your links, QR codes, and anything else in your link-in-bio page.
Best for: Marketers or small business owners looking for an accessible link management tool.
Pricing: Cuttly has a free plan that includes up to 30 links per month and link analytics for the last 30 days. Paid plans start at $12 per month.
Frequently asked questions about URL shorteners
How do I make my URL smaller?
You can make your URL smaller by using a link shortening tool. A URL shortener takes a long link and creates a short, unique URL that will redirect to the specific website of your choosing.
How can I shorten a URL for free?
To shorten a URL for free, use a free link shortener such as Bitly, TinyURL, or Rebrandly.
How do I shorten a URL without Bitly?
To shorten a URL without Bitly, use a Bitly alternative. There are several URL shorteners to choose from, including Owly link shortener, TinyURL, Rebrandly, and other free link shortening tools.
Is there such a thing as a Google URL shortener?
Google URL shortener was discontinued in 2019. There are other URL shortener alternatives, such as Hootsuite’s Owly, Bitly, and more.
Save time managing your social media presence with Hootsuite. Publish and schedule posts, find relevant conversions, engage your audience, measure results, and more — all from one simple dashboard. Try it free today.
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The post 8 of the Best URL Shorteners To Help You Save Space in 2023 appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.
7 Types of Social Media and How Each Can Benefit Your Business
With so many types of social media platforms out there, it can be tempting to join them all—or bury your head in the sand. But not all social media platforms are created equal, and if you want to be successful on social, you need to prioritize.
Which platforms are worth your time and energy, and which ones will yield diminishing returns?
To help you make sense of the social landscape, we’ve grouped a wide variety of platforms into seven general categories. We break down specific use cases and what businesses can accomplish by using them. If you’re ready to find the right fit for your business, read on!
7 types of social media platforms
1. Traditional social networking sites
Examples: Facebook, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Threads
Used for: Connecting directly with customers in specific areas, communities, or interest groups.
How your business can use them: Traditional social networking sites are a great way to amplify your voice and connect with your audience. These flexible platforms are designed to help you share both text and visual content with whomever you like. They share features like networking, event organizing, and advertising.
Traditional social platforms also gather lots of information about their users. This allows you to run specific targeted ads and connect with the right audience to share useful information, promote upcoming local events or appearances, or run contests.
Extra time has been added! Every #FIFAWWC goal is your chance to win $1,000 cash per match.
Tweet GOAL + @Lays + #LaysGOALdenGiveaway + #Sweepstakes. The more goals, the more chances to win!
Rules: https://t.co/GRFuF46cmB
— LAY’S (@LAYS) August 10, 2023
You can also use these platforms to connect directly with customers using direct messaging tools. These can be valuable for customers who are looking for quick answers to simple questions. Here’s an example of a Facebook Messenger business chat:
At the top of the chat box, Facebook highlights other friends who have liked the page. This community-focused feature adds social proof and helps build trust for potential customers.
2. Image-based social media
Examples: Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok (photo mode)
Used for: Visual storytelling, brand-building, and social commerce.
How your business can use them: Almost all image-based social media platforms are great for social commerce. They offer various ways to shop in-app and eliminate the need to drive traffic to an external site. You can sell directly to your customers by building a robust in-app shopping presence.
Instagram Shopping allows businesses to create a storefront. You can tag specific products in your images and videos and mention products in your profile bio.
Pinterest Shopping allows you to connect your store catalog and add shoppable links to search results. You’ll also get a Verified Merchant badge on your profile, which creates a sense of security for customers.
With the Snapchat Store feature (currently in beta), brands with verified Snapchat Business profiles can upload a catalog and include a Shop tab on their profile.
If your business caters to a younger demographic, Snapchat is a must. The platform reaches 90% of the 13-24-year-old population and 75% of the 13-34-year-old population in 20+ countries.
TikTok Photo Mode is an image-based format similar to Instagram’s carousels. Users can add music to soundtrack their images, and viewers can either swipe through each photo or let them scroll automatically.
Your business can use this format to showcase product collections, announce a sale or giveaway, or tell longer stories.
3. Short-form video social media
Examples: Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts
Used for: Sharing short-form video content (usually between five seconds and ninety seconds long)
How your business can use them: Short-form videos are great for driving brand awareness and bringing products to life.
This type of content is quick to film and edit, making it perfect for businesses with a lean social media team. Short on inspiration? The constant stream of trends on each platform means that inspiration for your next short-form video is at your fingertips.
Just note that any video content you publish should entertain, educate, and/or inspire your audience. Videos that feel sales-y aren’t going to engage viewers.
talk about a mood kill #socialmediamanager #sociaediamarketing
4. Livestream social media
Examples: Facebook Live, Instagram Live, TikTok Live, Twitch, YouTube
Used for: Broadcasting live video to many viewers at once
How your business can use them: Livestreaming’s popularity exploded during the pandemic. By late 2022, nearly 30% of internet users aged 16-64 were watching livestreams every week.
Source: Digital 2022 October Global Statshot Report
You can use livestreams to launch new products, interview well-known guests, or hosting AMA sessions.
Livestreams often include features like live chats and polls. They also allow users to interact live with the hosts, so it’s vital to monitor and engage with comments during the stream. Read more tips in our guide to social media live streaming.
5. Discussion forums
Examples: Reddit, Quora
Used for: Asking and answering questions, networking, and forming communities around niche- and interest-based topics
How your business can use them: It can be challenging for brands to crack discussion forums. Users can be naturally wary of businesses inserting PR-speak into a community-oriented space.
The key to mastering discussion forums is to add value for your customers. Lend your subject matter expertise and answer questions related to your industry. Listen to their issues and offer useful solutions.
You get bonus points if you can share information about your brand and products in your answers. But that shouldn’t be your primary goal of participating in discussion forums.
One thing to note: Redditors (as Reddit users are called) dislike answers that include self-promotion. They’re likely to downvote this type of post to bury it deep in the feed.
If you’re posting as a business, make sure to answer the original question. Only add links to your products if they’re genuinely helpful. Before posting in a subreddit, check the rules to verify if including links to your own business is allowed.
While Microsoft didn’t create the /r/XboxOne subreddit, once they saw how popular it was, they started engaging with Redditors by hosting AMA sessions with game developers to offer tech support.
Source: Reddit
6. Private community platforms
Examples: Discord, Facebook Groups, Patreon, Slack
Used for: Creating communities, with the possibility of requiring registration or other screening measures for new members.
How your business can use them: Private groups bring your community members together. They can bond over shared challenges and help answer each other’s questions without the distraction of unrelated conversations.
You can use your private community to engage with customers, solicit user-generated content, and run contests and promotions that add value for members. You can also use the group welcome screen to ask members questions and learn more about your audience.
The Sorry Girls recently launched a paid online course that includes access to a private Discord server. This type of private community allows you to connect directly with your biggest fans.
Source: Sorry Girls Discord
The Instant Pot Facebook Group (started by the brand in 2015) has grown to over 3 million members who love sharing recipes and product tips.
When users submit a request to join this group, they must answer a few questions, including:
Which Instant Pot Model do you own?
How long have you been an Instant Pot user?
What is your ability level with the Instant Pot?
Do you agree not to post self-promotion, discussion of brands other than Instant Pot (including images), or use inappropriate language or bullying?
These questions operate like low-lift market research. They allow the Instant Pot marketing team to learn more about their users and create content that targets their pain points.
Source: Instant Pot Community on Facebook
7. Decentralized social networks
Examples: Bluesky, Mastodon
Used for: Building brand awareness, engaging with your community, and monitoring ongoing conversations.
How your business can use them: Connecting with users to do community outreach and run UGC campaigns. Conducting market research using social listening.
Decentralized social networks such as Mastodon pride themselves on being “radically different” than traditional social media platforms. But what does this mean exactly?
Well, most of the social media platforms we’ve mentioned so far operate on centralized servers. One company calls the shots for everything on its servers.
But unlike traditional social networks, decentralized platforms distribute information across many servers. That means your data isn’t confined to a single server, and no one entity controls it. Users can find communities and interact across servers without worrying about data collection or censorship.
But how can your business use a decentralized social network like Mastodon or Bluesky?
Well, Mastodon is a non-profit organization, and they’re unlikely to ever allow advertising. Bluesky remains invite-only and ad-free. Still, plenty of businesses are operating on both platforms. They’re just using them to create community, conduct market research, and build their brands.
How to choose the best types of social media for your business
Know your audience
Before joining a new social media platform, ask yourself: Where is your audience?
If you don’t have a lot of time and money to burn, it makes more sense to go where your audience is already hanging out. Otherwise, you risk joining a new platform and then having to attract your audience to it.
Only join the networks that support the goals of your social media marketing strategy.
Align to your key business goals
Next, ask yourself: Which platforms match my business goals best?
For example, suppose one of your goals is to increase awareness about a new product or service that could benefit from video tutorials. In that case, you should focus on video platforms (like YouTube and TikTok) or video formats available on the sites where you’re already active (like Instagram Stories and Reels, Facebook Live, etc.).
Create content tailored to the platform
Once you’ve picked the best platform for your audience, figure out how they’re using that platform. Before you start creating content, ask yourself a few questions:
What type of content is your audience engaging with?
Which types of accounts do they follow?
Are they passive consumers or content creators?
You can use this information to design effective content that will catch your audience’s attention and help you reach your goals.
Keep up to date with social media statistics
New social media platforms are exciting, we know. But before you go all-in, do your due diligence. It’s important to determine whether a new network is a shiny new object or a platform with the potential to stick.
One way to estimate if a platform has staying power is to compare its statistics to established social media platforms. If you’re not sure where to find recent stats, we’ve got you covered:
Instagram Statistics
Facebook Statistics
Twitter Statistics
YouTube Statistics
Pinterest Statistics
TikTok Statistics
Save time managing your social media presence with Hootsuite. Publish and schedule posts, find relevant conversions, engage your audience, measure results, and more — all from one simple dashboard. Try it free today.
With files from Laura Wong.
Do it better with Hootsuite, the all-in-one social media tool. Stay on top of things, grow, and beat the competition.
The post 7 Types of Social Media and How Each Can Benefit Your Business appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.
The Complete Guide to LinkedIn Ads in 2023
Without careful planning, advertising on social media can sometimes feel like shouting into the void (or throwing money directly into a shredder). With a bit of foresight, though, using LinkedIn ads can guarantee your brand’s voice makes its way to the right audience—an audience of influential decision-makers, at that.
Among LinkedIn’s 875 million+ members, your ads have the potential to reach an audience of 808 million. Even more impactful, four out of five members have the power to influence business decisions. These movers and shakers also have 2x the buying power of typical online audiences.
Follow along with our guide to LinkedIn ads to discover the types of ads available and the kinds of goals they can help you achieve. We’ll also walk you through creating an ad on LinkedIn and share some of our best tips and tricks to boost your conversion rates.
Types of LinkedIn ads
Advertising is one of the best ways to use LinkedIn for business. Choosing the right type of ad for your goal is an important first step.
Here are the types of LinkedIn ads you can choose from when setting up your paid content.
Sponsored Content
Sponsored Content, also known as native ads, shows up in your audiences’ LinkedIn feed, regardless of whether they’re scrolling on mobile or their desktop. LinkedIn labels these ads as “promoted” to distinguish them from regular content.
When advertising with Sponsored Content, you have the following ad format options:
Single image ads
Video ads
Carousel ads
Event ads
Document ads
Thought leader ads
Here’s an example of a single-image sponsored content ad as it appears in the desktop feed:
Sponsored Messaging
Sponsored Messaging (previously known as Sponsored InMail) lets you directly advertise to LinkedIn members in their inboxes.
While 89% of consumers prefer that businesses stay in touch via messaging, only 48% of companies currently interact with customers and prospects this way. If you want to take advantage of this untapped opportunity, take note of the recent changes to Sponsored Messaging.
For starters, members now have a two-tabbed inbox. One tab is for “Focused” conversations, while the second tab is called “Other.”
Secondly, LinkedIn is slowly converting all message ads into conversation ads. This means the older version of Message ads will no longer be available in your Campaign Manager. With conversation ads, you can increase your engagement by adding multiple CTA buttons to your message.
Here’s how a sponsored conversation ad would appear in a member’s inbox (note the CTA buttons at the end of the message):
Another thing to note: LinkedIn has a cap on how many members will receive a Sponsored Message ad per month. For instance, a member of your target audience won’t receive one of your ads more than twice within a short timeframe.
Dynamic Ads
Dynamic Ads run on the right rail of LinkedIn and are personalized to speak to audiences directly. When a Dynamic Ad pops up in a member’s feed, personal details, such as their photo, employer’s name and job title, are reflected to them.
(Sound a little startling? Don’t worry: if members find these ads too personal, they can change their settings to hide these details.)
Follower Ads, Spotlight Ads, and Sponsored Ads are a few types of dynamic ads. Below is an example of a Spotlight Ad as it appears on the right side of the feed.
Text Ads
Text ads are a form of PPC (pay-per-click) advertising on LinkedIn. Text ads appear along the top and right-hand side of LinkedIn’s desktop feed. They’re a good option if you’re looking to build strong leads with a professional demographic.
Considering that 58% of marketers say that improving lead generation is one of their top digital marketing goals, LinkedIn Text Ads can be a way to cast a wide net on a budget.
Lead Gen Forms
Lead gen forms are another type of advertising on LinkedIn that businesses can use to collect information from potential leads.
LinkedIn’s lead gen forms option allows you to gather information from members using pre-filled forms. You can add these forms to sponsored messaging or sponsored content campaigns.
LinkedIn ad objectives
LinkedIn uses objective-based advertising, which helps advertisers build ad campaigns around specific business goals.
Businesses can place ads for all three stages of a sales funnel, from awareness to conversion.
Let’s break down the three main types of objectives below.
Awareness
Want to get your name out there without necessarily making a direct sale? Start with an awareness ad to get your brand on the tip of people’s tongues. These top-of-funnel campaigns help get audiences talking about your products, services and brand.
You can also use these impression-based campaigns to gain more followers, increase views, and spark greater engagement.
Most of LinkedIn’s available ad formats can successfully generate awareness, but the types that are best to use if you want to achieve this objective are:
Single image ads
Carousel ads
Follower ads
Event ads
Spotlight ads
Consideration
If your audience is already somewhat familiar with your brand, opt for a consideration ad.
Consideration ads are optimized to help advertisers meet the following goals:
Website visits: Get more eyeballs on your website and landing pages.
Engagement: Encourage likes, comments and shares, as well as visits to other social media platforms and websites.
Video views: Share your business story, your latest product, or a day-in-the-life via video.
To nurture these mid-funnel leads, consider using the following LinkedIn ad formats:
Video ads
Carousel ads
Conversation ads
Text ads
Conversion
If your audience is already familiar with your brand and ready to make a decision, it’s time to pull out the big guns. When you want to generate leads, drive home a sale, or reach job applicants, consider a conversion ad.
They can help meet these three objectives:
Lead generation: Gain leads on LinkedIn by using forms pre-filled with LinkedIn profile data.
Website conversions: Inspire more website visitors to download an ebook, sign up for a newsletter, or purchase a product.
Job applicants: Spread the word about your company’s latest job opening with a job post.
The best ad formats to use if you want to achieve these objectives are:
Conversation ads
Lead gen forms
Carousel ads
Job ads
Text ads
11 LinkedIn ad formats
LinkedIn has 11 different ad formats to help you meet your ad objectives.
This section will break down each ad format and explain which goals each ad can help you achieve. We’ll also share ad examples and specs so you can nail your LinkedIn advertising planning.
Single image ads
Single image ads appear on LinkedIn’s home page and mostly look like regular content on the platform. However, these paid ads are marked as “promoted” to distinguish them from other unpaid content.
(Perhaps unsurprisingly, single image ads only include one image.)
Goals: Brand awareness, website visits, engagement, website conversions, lead generation and job applicants
LinkedIn single image ad specs:
Name of ad (optional): Up to 255 characters
Introductory text: Up to 150 characters to avoid shortening (this includes spaces, punctuation, and emojis. If you really need the space, you can use up to 600 characters)
Destination URL: Up to 2,000 characters
Ad image: A JPG, GIF or PNG file 5MB or smaller; the maximum image size is 7680 x 4320 pixels. (Note: If you use an animated GIF, images must be shorter than 300 frames)
Headline: Up to 70 characters to avoid shortening (but can use up to 200 characters)
Description: Up to 100 characters to avoid shortening (but can use up to 300 characters)
Find more details about LinkedIn single image ad specs here.
Carousel ads
LinkedIn carousel ads use a swipeable row of cards to tell your brand’s story, showcase products, or share insights. Carousels are great for increasing engagement, but the key is to use strong visuals to keep your readers swiping.
Goals: Brand awareness, website visits, engagement, website conversions, and lead generation.
LinkedIn carousel ad specs:
Name of ad: Up to 255 characters
Introductory text: Up to 150 characters to avoid shortening on some devices (255 total character limit)
Cards: At least two and up to 10 cards.
Max file size per card: 10 MB
Max image dimension per card: 4320 x 4320 pixels
Rich media formats: JPG, PNG, GIF (non-animated only)
Headline text per card: No more than two lines
Character limits: 45-character limit on ads leading to a destination URL; 30-character limit on ads with a Lead Gen Form CTA
Find more details about LinkedIn carousel ad specs here.
Conversation ads
Conversation ads on LinkedIn work kind of like flowcharts. They offer a choose-your-own-path experience for audiences (think of those choose-your-own-adventure books but for advertising).
You can set up multiple CTAs within a conversation ad. Once you start a conversation, your audience can select a response that speaks most to them. This type of ad lets you showcase products and services while also encouraging event or webinar sign-ups.
Goals: Brand awareness, website visits, engagement, website conversions, and lead generation.
LinkedIn conversation ad specs:
Name of ad: Up to 255 characters
Banner creative (optional and for desktop only): Up to 300 x 250 pixels. JPEG or PNG.
Custom footer and terms and conditions (only): Up to 20,000 characters
Introductory message: Up to 8,000 characters
Image (optional): 250 x 250 pixels using either JPEG or PNG
CTA text: Up to 25 characters
CTA buttons per message: Up to five buttons
Message text: Up to 8,000 characters
Find more details about LinkedIn conversation ad specs here.
Document ads
Similar to how you can use content for lead generation on your website, LinkedIn Document Ads allow you to do the same thing on the platform.
With document ads, you can share PDFs, slideshares, presentations, and other long-form documents to collect member information and generate leads.
Types of documents you can share include whitepapers, reports, how-to guides, and more.
Goals: Brand awareness, website visits, engagement, website conversions, and lead generation.
LinkedIn document ad specs:
Name of ad: Up to 255 characters
Headline: Up to 70 characters
Introductory message: Up to 150 characters
File type: PDF, DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX
File size: 100 MB
Number of pages: Under 10 pages (300 pages maximum or 1 MM words)
Find more details about LinkedIn document ad specs here.
Video ads
LinkedIn video ads can help you promote thought leadership, highlight your customer experience, reveal new products, offer an insider look at company culture, and anything else you can dream up.
Use video ads on LinkedIn as an opportunity to show, not tell, your brand’s story.
Goals: Video views
LinkedIn video ad specs:
Name of ad (optional): Up to 225 characters
Video headline: Up to 70 characters to avoid shortening (200 max characters)
Introductory text (optional): Up to 600 characters
Video length: 3 seconds to 30 minutes (high-performing LinkedIn video ads tend to be 15 seconds or less)
File size: 75KB to 200MB
Frame rate: Less than 30 frames per second
Aspect ratio:
Horizontal/landscape: 16:9 (1.77)
Square: 1:1
Vertical: 4:5 (.80)
Vertical: 9:16 (0.56)
Find more details about LinkedIn video ad specs here.
Event ads
To make an event ad on LinkedIn, you must first create a LinkedIn event on your page.
This type of ad campaign can help you increase your event’s reach and highlight important details.
Goals: Brand awareness, website or landing page visits, engagement, and event sign-ups.
LinkedIn event ad specs:
Name of ad (optional): Up to 225 characters
Introductory text: Up to 150 characters to avoid shortening (max of 600 characters on desktop).
Image: The image thumbnail you used in your LinkedIn Event will automatically be used for your ad.
Find more details about LinkedIn event ad specs here.
Follower ads
Follower ads are a type of dynamic ad personalized to your audience. These ads promote your LinkedIn Page to others to encourage them to hit that follow button.
Goals: Brand awareness, website visits, and engagement.
LinkedIn follower ad specs:
Ad description: Up to 70 characters
Ad headline: Choose a pre-set option or write up to 50 characters
Company name: Up to 25 characters
Ad image: Company logo; 100 x 100px for JPG or PNG
Find more details about LinkedIn follower ad specs here.
Lead generation forms
Lead gen forms, short for lead generation forms, are available for message ads and sponsored content. These ads can help you discover more qualified leads.
For instance, if you’re hosting a webinar, you can connect a lead gen form to your CTA, which will automatically input your target audiences’ profile data. After, you can download your leads from LinkedIn’s ads manager or integrate LinkedIn to work with your own CRM.
Goals: Lead generation
LinkedIn lead gen form specs:
Form name: Up to 256 characters
Headline: Up to 60 characters
Details: Up to 160 characters total
Privacy policy text (optional): Up to 2,000 characters
Call-to-Action: 20 characters
Confirmation message: 300 characters
You can learn more about lead gen forms here.
Spotlight ads
Spotlight ads highlight your products, services, content and more. When members click a spotlight ad, they’re immediately directed to your landing page or website.
Like follower ads, these dynamic ads use personalization to connect with audiences.
Goals: Brand awareness, website visits, engagement, lead generation, and job applicants.
LinkedIn spotlight ad specs:
Ad description: Up to 70 characters
Ad headline: Up to 50 characters
Company name: Up to 25 characters
Image: Preferred size is 100 x 100px for JPG or PNG
CTA: Up to 18 characters
Custom background (optional): Must be exactly 300 x 250px and 2MB or less
Find more details about LinkedIn spotlight ad specs here.
Single job ads
Single job ads promote opportunities directly in your audience’s newsfeeds. If you’ve been struggling to find that perfect candidate or always seem to be in hiring mode, these ads are the way to go.
It also doesn’t hurt that LinkedIn internal data shows that these ads provide a 25% increase in the average click-to-apply rate.
Goals: Job applications
LinkedIn job ad specs:
Name of ad: Up to 255 characters
Introductory text: Up to 150 characters to avoid shortening of text (desktop max of 600 characters); any legally required language must go here
Find more details about LinkedIn single job ad specs here.
Thought leader ads
Thought leader ads are one of the newest ad formats LinkedIn has introduced. These ads are used to promote content from a thought leader, like an executive, within an organization.
When the promoted content shows up in members’ feeds, it will have a label that shows which company is promoting it.
Creating a thought leader ad on LinkedIn is similar to boosting an ad on Instagram. The content must have already been created by the thought leader for the company to promote it.
Unlike other ads, you can’t add headlines, explanatory text, or CTAs to thought leader ads.
Goals: Brand awareness and engagement
LinkedIn thought leader ad specs:
Ad format: A thought leader ad must be a single image ad or video ad
Headline: You cannot add a headline (the ad is based on the original post)
Introductory text: You cannot add text (the ad is based on the original post)
CTA: There are no call-to-action buttons on a thought leader ad
Find more details about LinkedIn thought leader ad specs here.
How to get started with advertising on LinkedIn
To create your own LinkedIn ad, either for the first time or to ramp up your existing advertising strategy, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Create a LinkedIn Page (if you don’t have one already)
You need a LinkedIn company page in order to create Sponsored Content and ads. If you need help setting one up, read our guide on LinkedIn for business.
Oh, and if you’re a visual learner, check out the short video below:
Step 2: Log in to Campaign Manager or create an account.
The Campaign Manager platform, also known as LinkedIn’s ad manager, will be home to all your advertising activities, such as running campaigns and managing your budget.
Step 3: Select your ad objective
Think about what type of action you want to inspire among your audience. Your options, as we described above, are awareness, consideration, or conversions.
Step 4: Choose your target audience
First, you must choose a location, and then you have the option of adding a job title, company name, industry type and personal or professional interests.
You can also choose to connect with people you already know through Matched Audiences. You can do this by retargeting people who’ve visited your website or uploading a list of email contacts.
Psstt: Need help creating a Matched Audience? LinkedIn’s got a handy video tutorial on just that.
Step 5: Select an ad format
Depending on your chosen objective, you can pick from Sponsored Content options (single-image, carousel or video ads), Event Ads, Text Ads, or Conversation Ads.
Step 6: Create your budget and schedule
Campaign Manager will provide a budget range based on other competing bids for your ideal audience.
The initial 2-4 weeks are typically considered a learning experience to determine what works (or doesn’t). For testing, LinkedIn recommends a daily budget of at least $100 or a monthly budget of $5,000. For new advertisers, LinkedIn recommends $25 for the minimum spend.
Step 7: Start building your ad
If you opt for Sponsored Content or Text Ads, the Campaign Manager will share previews so you can get a sense of the final look of your ad. In the case of Message Ads, you’ll be able to send yourself a test message.
Step 8: Provide payment information
Before you can debut your ad to the world, you must provide payment information. Once that’s done, you’re ready to launch!
Step 9: Measure performance
When you sign in to Campaign Manager, the first thing you’ll see is the reporting dashboard for your LinkedIn ads. From here, you can review performance metrics, access charts and demographics, or export a CSV report. This is also where you’d go for conversion tracking.
If you’re only running ads on LinkedIn, the platform’s native tool might be enough.
But if you want to create, publish, and monitor ad performance across multiple platforms, an all-in-one tool like Hootsuite is your best option.
Book a free Hootsuite demo today
LinkedIn ads best practices
Last but certainly not least, here are the criteria LinkedIn itself says are vital to crafting a successful ad campaign on the platform.
Figure out your target audience
On LinkedIn, defining where in the world you want your ads to be seen is mandatory. Your desired location is actually the only field that’s mandatory when setting up your ad campaign. You can go broad by only designating the country, state or province, or you can go granular and target audiences by city or metropolitan area.
You can further refine your target audience with company details (e.g., industry or company size), demographics, education, job experience and interests.
One word of caution: Like other advertising platforms, LinkedIn advises against getting over-specific with ad targeting. If you’re new to LinkedIn ads, you might want to try casting a wider net initially and sticking to three targeting facets.
You can also A/B test campaigns with different targeting criteria, such as skills versus job titles, to learn which audiences connect better with your brand.
Craft your ad copy around a clear call to action
LinkedIn ads should have a concise headline, descriptive copy, and end with a clear CTA, often in the form of a text button.
Your readers are busy. They need someone to spell out exactly what they should do next. Otherwise, they might miss out on signing up for that career-boosting webinar or purchasing a new product that could simplify their life. Just make sure that your CTA matches the objective you initially selected.
Some effective CTAs include “Register Now” or “Sign Up Today!”
Read Hootsuite’s blog to learn more tips about creating captivating CTAs.
Choose the right content
LinkedIn can boost your content so it finds the right audience, but that won’t keep people glued to the screen. If you really want to connect, your ad needs to stand out.
Try the techniques below to keep audiences hanging onto every word you say.
Sponsored Content:
Repurpose content from your blog, website and social media channels.
Include 4-5 ads in each campaign
Use video, audio or other rich media elements.
Develop an emotional connection by sharing human interest stories.
Do more than just share trending news. Add your insights into the mix to show off your brand’s thought leadership.
Sponsored Messaging:
If encouraging brand consideration, share blog posts, webinars, or industry trends and analysis.
When developing leads and trying to convert customers, promote product demos, tutorials and success stories or advertise an upcoming webinar or event.
Text Ads:
Despite the name of these ads, don’t skip the visuals. Images may be optional but they land better results.
Instead of including an object or logo, opt for a profile image when possible.
Video Ads:
According to LinkedIn, videos under 30 seconds saw a 200% lift in view completion rates, so keep them short and sweet.
Design videos for sound-off viewing and add subtitles.
A good hook is critical — viewers drop off fast after the first 10 seconds.
Carousel Ads:
Use 3-5 cards to start, and test adding more cards later.
Create a carousel of content that speaks to a similar theme or break down a large piece of content into carousel cards.
Use visual storytelling to pique your audience’s interest.
Each carousel card description should include a CTA and clear, direct messaging.
Dynamic Ads:
Be as descriptive as possible in the main ad headline and text.
Test image layouts in advance of posting.
Include one clear message and CTA in each ad.
Promote organic posts as sponsored content
When time is of the essence, hop on Hootsuite to promote organic posts as sponsored content. You can target audiences based on location, interests, or professional information.
After you’ve published your ads, make sure you analyze their performance. Watch the video below to learn more about LinkedIn analytics:
Frequently asked questions about LinkedIn ads
How much does it cost to put an ad on LinkedIn?
The cost to put an ad on LinkedIn varies. LinkedIn uses an online auction system that allows you to place competitive bids for your ads to win placement.
Are ads worth it on LinkedIn?
Running ads on LinkedIn is worth it if you want to reach an engaged audience of business professionals. LinkedIn ads are a smart way to promote a job listing, company page, online event like a webinar, or a lead generation document like a whitepaper.
What are the ad options for LinkedIn?
The different ad options for LinkedIn include the following formats:
Single image ads
Carousel ads
Conversation ads
Document ads
Video ads
Event ads
Follower ads
Lead gen forms
Spotlight ads
Single job ads
What is the minimum spend on LinkedIn ads?
LinkedIn recommends $25 for the minimum spend for new advertisers and anywhere from $50-$100 for existing advertisers.
Easily manage your LinkedIn Page alongside your other social channels using Hootsuite. From a single platform you can schedule and share content—including video—engage your network, and boost top-performing content.
Easily plan, manage and analyze organic and paid campaigns from one place with Hootsuite Social Advertising. See it in action.
The post The Complete Guide to LinkedIn Ads in 2023 appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.
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