LinkedIn today announced the LinkedIn Audience Network, designed to increase the reach of Sponsored Content beyond LinkedIn itself.
Following in the footsteps of Facebook’s Audience Network, LinkedIn’s new solution will allow advertisers to reach professionals on other websites and apps where they spend their time, via a native advertising network of third-party publishers. The aim is to increase the footprint of Sponsored Content, and help advertisers deliver on budget.
I asked Divye Khilnani, LinkedIn group product manager at LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, about the precision of targeting on Audience Network. “We are leveraging the same targeting capabilities that advertisers use to serve Sponsored Content on our platform for LinkedIn Audience Network,” he said. “An advertiser can set up a campaign to serve onsite as well as on the Linkedin Audience Network using the Linkedin profile targeting capabilities we currently offer, as well as some of our custom targeting solutions such as Matched Audiences. Advertisers can also use our Conversion Tracking offering to measure performance and ROI of campaigns being served on the LinkedIn Audience Network.”
In beta testing, some 6,000 LinkedIn advertisers participated in Audience Network, reaching professionals they had not yet engaged on a LinkedIn property, and in some cases seeing considerable increase in engagement. LinkedIn estimates a 3-13% increase in unique impressions served, and an 80% increase in new clicks.
LinkedIn is also offering insight into the performance of content on Audience Network, and the possibility of making a comparison between network and onsite performance. Consistent with LinkedIn’s brand safety policy, the network will comprise only quality websites and apps.
Audience Network is available today to LinkedIn advertisers through Campaign Manager.
