LinkedIn Ads for Personal Profiles: Strategy, Funnels, and More

Want more visibility for LinkedIn posts from important people in your company? Wondering how to use LinkedIn ads to promote content from personal profiles?

In this article, we’ll explore using LinkedIn ads on personal profiles.

This article was co-created by Anthony Blatner and Michael Stelzner. For more about Anthony, scroll to the end of this article.

Why LinkedIn Ads Matter for Personal Profiles

LinkedIn has seen tremendous growth in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic forced many people to work remotely. As a result, more business professionals are actively using the platform to network, share content, and build their personal brands. This increased familiarity and usage have created a fertile ground for marketers and thought leaders looking to expand their reach and influence.

While many people use LinkedIn organically, many members are missing out on a hidden opportunity: using ads with their personal profiles. This feature, introduced about a year ago, allows users to boost posts from individual profiles. Previously, ads could only be run from company pages.

The introduction of personal profile ads has created a significant opportunity, particularly for smaller businesses, marketers, coaches, and consultants who may have found traditional LinkedIn advertising too expensive. With personal profile ads, you can now leverage the platform's advertising capabilities at a more accessible price point.

The Benefits of LinkedIn Personal Profile Ads

There are several key advantages to running a LinkedIn ad campaign from your personal profile. First, ads from personal profiles typically get 3–4 times higher engagement than standard company page ads. This increased engagement translates to 3–4 times cheaper ad costs, making it more affordable for individuals and small businesses to advertise on LinkedIn.

One of the most significant challenges faced by content creators and marketers on social media platforms, including LinkedIn, is audience reach and engagement. Even if you have a substantial following, it's important to understand that only a fraction of these followers will typically see your content organically.

Over time, follower engagement tends to degrade. People who once actively engaged with your content may stop seeing it regularly, and consequently, they might forget about you or your brand. 

Social media algorithms prioritize content based on numerous factors, including recency and user engagement. As a result, if a follower doesn't interact with your content for a while, they're less likely to see it in the future. Additionally, the sheer volume of content on these platforms means that users' feeds constantly compete for attention, making it easy for your posts to get lost in the noise.

This is where the power of LinkedIn personal profile ads comes into play. By using ads, you can re-engage with followers who may have dropped off your radar, reminding them of the value you offer and rekindling that connection. This is especially important for thought leaders who are the face of their brand, where maintaining visibility and authentic connection is crucial. 

LinkedIn ads also offer superior control over who sees your content. With organic posts, you're at the mercy of the platform's algorithm to determine your audience. In contrast, when you boost a post as an ad, you gain the power to handpick your audience. This targeted approach ensures your content reaches the professionals you want to connect with, whether people in specific industries, job roles, or companies.

Additionally, organic posts typically have a limited shelf life. When you share content naturally, it may receive initial engagement and visibility as the algorithm promotes it for a short period—usually a day or a week. However, this visibility quickly diminishes for most posts on social platforms. LinkedIn ads solve this limitation by allowing you to extend the lifespan of your best-performing content. By boosting your top posts, you ensure they appear in front of your target audience long after the initial organic reach has faded.  

The 2 Best Types of LinkedIn Ads for Personal Profiles

There are two main types of LinkedIn ads to consider: Thought Leader Ads and Sponsored Messaging Ads. When using boosted posts from personal profiles, you can combine these ad types to create effective ad funnels for your marketing strategy, sometimes called “influencer funnels.”

Thought Leader Ads

Thought Leader Ads are essentially boosted posts from your personal newsfeed. After you post content on your personal profile, you can boost it as an ad. The types of posts eligible for boosting include:

Single image posts (note that you cannot boost multiple image posts) Video posts Text-only posts Link posts

Note: Currently, you cannot boost document posts (such as PDF carousels) or event posts.

One unique aspect of LinkedIn's Thought Leader Ads is the ability to boost text-only posts. This feature is particularly exciting for writers and content creators who focus on written content. 

These ads appear very similar to regular organic posts in the LinkedIn feed, with a small “Promoted by [Company Name]” label added below where your follower count would usually be.

Note: Running these ads requires setting up a LinkedIn ad account linked to your personal profile. This account will be associated with your company name, which appears in the “Promoted by” line.  

For companies with employees who have substantial LinkedIn followings, there's potential to collaborate on content that could outperform traditional company page posts. Many large companies likely have employees who regularly post insightful content related to their areas of expertise. These individuals, who may be seen as thought leaders in their field, can be excellent candidates for boosted posts. 

Additionally, this approach allows for more nuanced targeting. Companies with diverse target audiences or multiple buyer personas can match specific employee-generated content to relevant audience segments. For instance, a tech company might boost a software developer's post to reach other tech professionals while promoting a sales executive's content to potential clients.

Sponsored Messaging AdsThe second type of LinkedIn ad that's crucial for building effective influencer funnels is Sponsored Messaging Ads. While these have been available for some time, their combination with Thought Leader Ads creates a powerful strategy for personal branding and lead generation.

When creating a Sponsored Messaging Ad, you must designate a sender. For consistency and authenticity, use the same profile that you're using for your Thought Leader Ads. 

Sponsored Messaging Ads appear in the recipient's LinkedIn inbox, resembling a regular message. However, there are a few key differences that set them apart:

Labeling: These ads are prefaced with “Sponsored” in the inbox, distinguishing them from organic messages or InMail (which is part of Sales Navigator and labeled as such). Call-to-Action (CTA) Button: Unlike regular messages, Sponsored Messaging Ads can include a clickable CTA button.  Limited Interaction: Recipients cannot reply directly to these ads. Their options are limited to clicking on included links or submitting any forms within the ad.

Note: Sponsored Messaging Ads are distinct from InMail, a LinkedIn's Sales Navigator feature. While both appear in the user's inbox, Sponsored Messaging Ads offer more robust advertising features and targeting options.

#1: How to Create Effective Thought Leader Ads on LinkedIn

To start with Thought Leader Ads, it's important to audit your existing content first. Review the posts you've already shared on your personal LinkedIn profile, looking for ones that performed well organically. These high-performing posts are often good candidates for boosting as ads.

Next, categorize your content into different types. There are four main types of content on LinkedIn. Each category serves a specific purpose in your overall strategy and can be leveraged at different stages of your audience's journey.

Story and Journey Posts

These posts focus on your personal experiences and how you've reached your current position. By sharing your journey, you connect with your audience, making them feel like they know you better. These posts are excellent for boosting as they help build a personal connection with potential clients or collaborators.

Thought Leadership Posts 

These posts showcase your expertise in your niche or industry. They're particularly effective as “cold awareness drivers,” meaning they work well for introducing yourself to new audiences. Demonstrating your knowledge and insights establishes credibility and attracts those interested in your expertise.

Social Proof

This category includes posts about awards you've won, client testimonials, and case studies of your work. These posts are most effective as retargeting ads, shown to people already familiar with you. Once someone knows who you are and what you do, seeing evidence of your success and others' positive experiences with you can significantly boost your credibility.

CTAs and Offers 

These posts promote specific actions you want your audience to take, such as subscribing to your newsletter or visiting your website. While these posts often perform poorly in organic reach due to algorithm preferences, they're excellent candidates for boosting. By putting ad spend behind these posts, you can ensure they reach your audience and drive the desired actions.

When selecting content to boost, consider using a mix of these categories. 

Remember, while organic reach might favor certain types of content, boosting posts allows you to ensure all parts of your content strategy, including crucial CTAs, reach your intended audience. This approach lets you create a comprehensive funnel, moving people from initial awareness to specific actions or conversions.

It's important to understand how LinkedIn ads, particularly those with links or CTAs, perform compared to organic posts. While LinkedIn's algorithm typically doesn't favor posts with off-platform links, boosting these posts as ads can help overcome this limitation.

Recently, LinkedIn changed how organic link posts appear, reducing the size of link previews. However, when you boost a post with a link, it returns to the full-size preview, giving your content more visibility. 

One crucial aspect of LinkedIn ads is that they maintain the social proof from the original organic post. When you boost a post as an ad, all existing likes, comments, and shares remain visible. Any new engagement generated through the ad is added to the original post.  

Targeting

Setting up targeting for your ads is crucial. LinkedIn offers many options that go far beyond simply reaching your existing followers. In fact, these ads primarily focus on attracting new audiences to your content. 

Some of the most commonly used targeting options include:

Company Industry: Target professionals in specific sectors, such as healthcare or software. Company Size: Reach employees at small businesses or large companies. Job Title and Function: Target specific roles (e.g., VP of Marketing) or broader job functions (e.g., all marketing roles). Seniority Level: Focus on entry-level, senior managers, directors, or other levels. Skills: Target professionals with specific skill sets. Interests: Use LinkedIn's predefined interest categories. Groups: Reach members of particular LinkedIn groups. Geography: Target by location. 

This granular targeting is beneficial if your professional focus has shifted over time. For instance, if you've changed industries or specialties, you can ensure your ads reach the most relevant audience for your current offerings rather than assuming all your followers are still interested in your previous niche.

Note: While narrower targeting can sometimes lead to higher costs, this isn't always true. The competitiveness of your chosen audience plays a significant role in determining ad costs. For example, targeting small business owners might be less expensive than reaching Fortune 500 CEOs.

Importantly, Messaging ads allow you to reach beyond your current follower base. This is a key difference from boosting posts on platforms like Facebook, where the primary goal is often to re-engage existing followers. If you want to target your existing connections, there's a workaround: You can export your LinkedIn connections and import them into the ads platform. 

Creating a retargeting strategy is also essential. Set up retargeting audiences to show additional ads to people who engage with your initial ads. This helps nurture leads through your funnel. For instance, you might show social proof content to people who engaged with your thought leadership posts and then offer a free consultation to those who engaged with multiple pieces of content.

#2: How to Create Effective Sponsored Messaging Ads on LinkedIn

Sponsored Messaging Ads are a powerful tool in your LinkedIn advertising arsenal. They allow you to reach users directly in their inboxes. These ads function similarly to sending a cold email or a regular LinkedIn message, providing a more personal touch to your outreach efforts.

When setting up these ads, you'll designate yourself (or another relevant person) as the sender and craft a subject line and message body. LinkedIn offers personalization options, allowing you to include variables such as the recipient's first name, job title, or company name. This customization helps your message feel more tailored and relevant to each recipient.

The key to effective Sponsored Messaging Ads is to write them as if you're sending a personal message. Write conversationally, keeping the tone friendly and authentic. Acknowledging the recipient's previous engagement with your content or website is a strategy that often works well. 

For example, you might start with, “I noticed you were reading my content on [topic] and wanted to reach out…” This approach, particularly effective for retargeting campaigns, creates a sense of continuity in the recipient's experience with your brand.

Make sure you have a clear, valuable offer for the recipient. This could be a free consultation, assessment, trial, or demo. The offer should be specific and relevant to the audience you're targeting.

Finally, include a strong CTA. Use LinkedIn's built-in CTA buttons to make it easy for people to take the next step. These could lead to a landing page, a scheduling tool, or a LinkedIn lead gen form.

Note: LinkedIn operates on a pay-per-send basis, but with an important caveat: you can only send messages to active users. This means that when a user is currently on the LinkedIn platform, they'll receive your message, often as a pop-up if they're on desktop or as a new message notification in their inbox. This targeting of active users contributes to the high open rates typically seen with Sponsored Messaging Ads.

It's also important to note that these ads are confined to the LinkedIn platform. Unlike regular LinkedIn messages, which users might receive notifications about via email, Sponsored Messaging Ads appear only within the LinkedIn environment.   

#3: How to Build an Ad Funnel With Personal Profile Ads on LinkedIn

To maximize the impact of your LinkedIn advertising efforts, it's crucial to create a well-structured ad funnel using different ad types. The process typically involves three main stages: cold audience targeting, retargeting engaged users, and finally, using sponsored messaging ads for warm leads.

Start with cold audience targeting by using your best awareness-driving posts to introduce yourself and your expertise.

Your thought leadership content should be aimed at users unfamiliar with your brand. Use Thought Leader Ads to boost posts that provide valuable insights or tips relevant to your target audience. For instance, if you're targeting financial advisors, share marketing tips specific to their industry. This approach helps to establish your credibility and attract initial interest from your target demographic.

Next, set up retargeting audiences based on engagement with your initial ads. This includes users who interacted with your posts, visited your company page, or your website. LinkedIn offers retargeting windows of 30, 60, 90, or 180 days, allowing you to customize your approach based on your sales cycle and content strategy. Create separate ad campaigns for different types of content (thought leadership, social proof, offers) to ensure a diverse content mix in your retargeting efforts. This variety helps to nurture leads and showcase different aspects of your brand or offerings.

Reserve Sponsored Messaging Ads for users who have engaged with your content multiple times. This ensures you're reaching warm leads who are more likely to convert. These personalized messages can be highly effective when used judiciously with an audience that's already familiar with your brand.

Regarding ad engagement and retargeting, it's important to understand that engagement includes clicks, video views, “see more” expansions, reactions, and comments. Depending on your campaign setup, users can see the same ad multiple times. The timing of retargeting depends on the algorithm and user activity, so it's not always predictable when a user will see your follow-up content.

Consider creating audience segments based on specific campaign engagement for more sophisticated retargeting strategies. You can also layer additional filters, such as job title or company size, for more targeted retargeting. To optimize your ad spend, don't forget to exclude irrelevant audiences like job seekers or competitors.

Messaging ads, especially for B2B (business-to-business) campaigns, focus on lead generation rather than direct sales. Offer something valuable but free, like a consultation or assessment. Use LinkedIn lead forms to capture user information easily, and integrate these leads with your CRM (customer relationship management) email marketing system using native integrations or tools like Zapier. This approach allows you to continue nurturing leads outside of the LinkedIn platform.

Regarding costs, Thought Leader Ads typically range from $0.50 to $2 per click, while Sponsored Messaging Ads cost about $0.50 to $1 per send. Remember that costs can vary based on audience competitiveness and targeting specificity. Generally, more niche or high-level audiences (like C-suite executives) will be more expensive to target.

Remember to continuously monitor and adjust your campaigns based on performance data to optimize your results over time.

By leveraging LinkedIn's personal profile ads, you're not just boosting individual posts; you're actively working to maintain and strengthen your presence in your professional network. This sustained visibility is crucial for long-term brand building, lead generation, and establishing yourself as a go-to expert in your field.

Other Notes From This Episode

Connect with Michael Stelzner @Stelzner on Instagram and @Mike_Stelzner on X. Watch this interview and other exclusive content from Social Media Examiner on YouTube.

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