I want to like LinkedIn ads, I really do. The ability to target people based on who they work for and what they do is awesome.
But when you start building a campaign and get a recommended Cost Per Click that looks like this, it makes you realise that their ad platform is not for everyone.
SIX DOLLARS and SIXTY THREE cents per click. WTF?
So, how did I get this result? I targeted senior marketers in 3 of the largest cities in Australia. Truth be told, I’m probably competing with a lot of bigger businesses with much deeper pockets than mine, but LinkedIn must still be setting a reserve for these targeting options (I’m guessing).
Now take a look at the recommended CPM rate for the same campaign:
Yep, $31.74 and that’s the minimum recommended.
Enter Facebook Job Type Targeting
Facebook also gives you the ability to target people based on what they have entered into their personal profile.
One would hazard a guess that this information probably isn’t as up to date as what you would find on most professional peoples’ LinkedIn profile.
But here’s the thing; how much time do you spend on Facebook, verses, how much time do you spend on LinkedIn? How often do you open the Facebook app on your phone and how often do you open LinkedIn’s?
Unless you get caught on LinkedIn’s infinite scrolling “People you may know” page (I get sucked in once a week), you probably spend a fraction of your time on LinkedIn compared to Facebook. And guess what, that’s probably the same for 95% of other professionals.
But besides this “session visit time” factor, Facebook Ads are much, much cheaper.
Facebook vs LinkedIn Ads
I setup a similar campaign to the above on Facebook Ads; targeting people who had defined their job type as a senior marketing person. Here are the results so far:
How do you like dem apples LinkedIn! Not only is my Cost Per Click ticking along at $0.44, my Click Through Rate is 2.99%. You’ll be lucky to get a CTR of 0.29% on LinkedIn, depending on how you advertise.
Whilst I’m sure LinkedIn ads has it’s place (for recruiters mainly), just remember, business people use Facebook too, and you can reach out to them at a fraction of the cost of LinkedIn ads.
