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A practical guide to using LinkedIn ads properly, not just expensively.
Let’s start with a small reality check.
LinkedIn ads have never been the cheapest way to generate a lead. They’re rarely the fastest either. And if you treat them like Facebook with job titles, they will politely burn through your budget while nodding encouragingly.
And yet, in 2026, LinkedIn remains one of the most powerful B2B ad platforms available.
The difference between “LinkedIn doesn’t work for us” and “LinkedIn is driving our best pipeline” usually comes down to three things:
This guide is about how to use LinkedIn advertising properly in 2026 in a way that respects long sales cycles, multiple stakeholders, and the fact that B2B buyers are still human beings.
If you expect LinkedIn to close the deal from a cold audience in one click, you’ll be disappointed.
LinkedIn is at its strongest when it shapes consideration and credibility early and then supports other ppc strategy and channels that capture intent later.
A typical modern B2B journey might look like this:
Your attribution platform may credit Google ads.
But LinkedIn did a fair amount of the heavy lifting.
This is especially true for:
In 2026, the most effective LinkedIn strategies are woven into a broader paid and organic ecosystem, not bolted on as an afterthought.
Video continues to be one of the most effective LinkedIn formats, not because it’s flashy, but because it feels human.
In B2B, that matters.
The videos that perform well in 2026 aren’t cinematic brand films. They’re sharp, focused pieces that get to the point quickly:
What works is clarity.
What doesn’t work is theatre.
Video also does something strategically valuable: it builds retargeting audiences. You can segment people by how much of your video they watched and sequence follow-up ads accordingly. That sequencing, done well, is where LinkedIn becomes powerful.
For long enterprise sales cycles, video often acts as the first touch in a much longer conversation. For shorter sales cycles, it can accelerate trust, but only if the message is tightly pain-led.
Document ads don’t get talked about as much, but in B2B they often convert beautifully.
Why? Because they feel useful.
Instead of immediately pushing someone to a landing page, you’re letting them preview something of value directly in their feed, a report, a checklist, a playbook.
For analytical audiences like CFOs, operations leads, technical buyers, this format works particularly well. It signals seriousness. It says, “We know what we’re talking about.”
But there’s a catch.
The content actually has to be good.
A glorified brochure disguised as a whitepaper won’t carry you far. The most effective document ads in 2026 offer genuine insight, benchmarks, frameworks, practical advice, and position the brand as credible without overselling.
This format is particularly effective in mid-funnel nurturing. Someone has engaged before. Now you give them depth.
Lead gen forms still work on LinkedIn, but they work best when you’ve earned the right to use them.
If you’re targeting cold audiences with “Book a demo” ads and hoping for low CPLs, you may find LinkedIn humbling.
Where lead gen forms shine is:
For shorter sales cycles with a single decision-maker, think niche consultancy or compliance services, lead gen forms can drive strong results fairly quickly.
For longer enterprise cycles, they tend to work better later in the journey. When trust has already been built.
This is where many B2B advertisers trip up. They apply the same LinkedIn strategy regardless of buying complexity.
If your buyer can say yes without a committee, LinkedIn can function closer to a direct response channel.
Clear problem.
Clear solution.
Clear outcome.
You can lean harder into direct messaging and conversion-focused creative.
For SaaS, martech, HR tech, operational tools, you’re usually dealing with two or three stakeholders.
Here, LinkedIn works best as a nurture engine.
Educational video.
Downloadable guides.
Case studies.
Retargeting sequences.
It becomes less about instant demo bookings and more about building informed preference.
This is LinkedIn’s natural habitat.
When you’re targeting:
…precision matters.
Account-based targeting, seniority filtering, industry segmentation, this is where LinkedIn justifies its higher costs.
But you have to accept that optimisation looks different. You measure influenced pipeline, deal velocity, and opportunity quality, not just cost per lead.
LinkedIn is powerful not just for acquisition, but for reinforcement.
If someone clicks a Google Search ad and reads your site but doesn’t convert, retargeting them on LinkedIn adds professional credibility. It says: “We’re established. We’re serious.”
Some of the most effective 2026 setups combine:
Retargeting pools to build on LinkedIn include:
When you layer these intelligently, LinkedIn stops being expensive and starts being efficient.
Behind all the targeting, tracking and sequencing, LinkedIn ads succeed for a very simple reason: they speak clearly.
The ads that work in 2026:
“Struggling to scale paid ads without ballooning CAC?”
Will outperform
“Revolutionising performance marketing ecosystems.”
It’s rarely about being clever.
It’s about being clear.
Visually, restraint tends to win. White space. Strong hierarchy. One key message. LinkedIn is a professional environment. You don’t need to shout.
And of course, your landing page matters enormously. If the experience after the click feels generic or misaligned, performance suffers quietly and consistently.
The best LinkedIn advertisers in 2026 treat landing page optimisation as seriously as ad creative.
If you judge LinkedIn solely on last-click cost per lead, you may miss its real contribution.
More meaningful indicators often include:
For complex B2B companies, especially in SaaS and FinTech, this broader view is essential.
LinkedIn rarely wins the “cheapest lead” award.
But it frequently wins the “best-fit client” one.
It doesn’t mean viral engagement.
It doesn’t mean thousands of impressions.
And it doesn’t mean running one ad and hoping for immediate demos.
It means:
When used thoughtfully, LinkedIn is one of the sharpest tools in the B2B advertising toolkit.
When used lazily, it’s just an expensive awareness platform.
The difference isn’t the format.
It’s the strategy around it.
And in 2026, that strategy needs to be full-funnel, patient, and properly integrated, not siloed and reactionary.
If you approach it that way, LinkedIn stops being a cost centre.
It becomes a pipeline driver.
Lever Digital is proud to be a 2026 UK Paid Media Awards finalist, recognised for outstanding performance-led paid media campaigns across B2B and SaaS.
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