One of the great things about LinkedIn Sponsored Updates is that there’s always fresh data on what’s resonating with audiences and what’s not. Whether you’re new to Sponsored Updates or just looking for a quick refresher, you’ll come away from this session with the very latest insights—plus strategies you can put into practice right away. Join LinkedIn’s in-house Sponsored Content experts as they explore best practices for creating Sponsored Updates that drive results. They’ll walk you through strategy basics and touch on everything from calendar creation to how to set up a successful campaign. See who’s beating LinkedIn’s performance benchmarks, how they’re doing it, and how you can leverage their winning strategies to meet your own business objectives.

1. Creating a Winning Content Strategy
for Sponsored Updates
©2013 LinkedIn
Corporation. All Rights
Reserved.

2. Introductions
Amanda Green
Content Campaign Strategist
​LinkedIn
Caitlin Morrison
Senior Ad Strategist
​LinkedIn
Nicholas Maalouf
Account Manager
​LinkedIn

3. 3
Agenda
• Building Your Content Calendar
• Advertising with a Purpose
• Developing Messaging that Resonates
• Creating Best-in-Class Content

4. The three key phases of content marketing
1.
Develop
2. Distribute
3.
Optimize

5. 1.
Develop
2. Distribute
3.
Optimize
Develop your content strategy

6. 6
Building Your Content Calendar

7. 7
• Plan your content resources
• Provide visibility for internal teams
• Prevent a lapse in conversation with your
audience
• Measure trends in engagement and performance
Why build a content calendar?

8. 8
Sample calendar

9. 1.
Develop
2. Distribute
3.
Optimize
Distribute content through proper channels

10. 10
Advertising with a Purpose

11. 11
Marketing
Goals
Brand
Awareness
Lead
Generation
Does your advertising match your goals?

12. Who is this for?
Where are they in the buyer’s journey?
How does this make them more
productive and successful?
How will we measure success?
Map every piece of content to your mission
statement by asking four key questions

13. Thought
Leadership
Blog Post Rich Media/
Infographic
Examples of content for branding

14. Webinar Whitepaper Form Fill
Examples of content for lead generation

15. 1.
Develop
2. Distribute
3.
Optimize
Optimize program for effectiveness

16. 16
Developing Messaging that Resonates

17. 17
Types of Sponsored Updates

18. 18
Anatomy of an effective post

19. 19
• Image - Select a compelling visual that’s descriptive and
accurately reflects your content.
• Headline - Include a call to action, a snackable stat, or a
thought-provoking message.
• Teaser Text - Pique interest with an intriguing message
to draw your audience in. Provide transparency and
context.
• Messaging - Use language that is relatable to your target
demographic.
Strongest elements of a Sponsored Update

20. 20
Creating Best-in-Class Content

21. 21
Write copy that creates a “curiosity gap”
​Too vague, and
nobody cares. Too
specific, and nobody
needs to click.
​- Peter Koechley, Cofounder, Upworthy

22. 22
Optimize for mobile
149 characters (150 cutoff)
Link in the body
Large Image Format

23. 23
Use concise, interactive copy to drive interest

24. 24
Best practices for content frequency
• LinkedIn members can see up to 4 unique posts from an
advertiser in a 48-hour period
• It is important to run 4 creative variations in any live
campaign to take full advantage of the distribution
settings

25. 25
Effective A/B testing
• Ad variations can be represented through minor changes in
copy or images
• It’s important to focus on one ad element when creating a set
of ad variations

26. 26
Standard format Sponsored Updates

27. 27
Rich media/large image Sponsored Updates

28. 28
Relevancy Score
• Relevancy Score = Bid x Engagement (CTR)

29. 29
LinkedIn performance benchmarks
• CTR: .30%
• Engagement Rate: .40%

30. 30
Presentation recap
• Build a content calendar to plan resources,
provide visibility and measure trends
• Align advertising with the proper distribution
method and target audience
• Leverage creative best practices to drive results

31. Q&A

32. Thank You