LinkedIn has long been a fundamental part of the B2B economy and now tops 1 billion users. Now it is showing signs of further forays into the connected economy.
Those signs come in two forms: reports in late March that the B2B social platform — which posted $4 billion in advertising by 2023 — also said. Short-form videos like TikTok It can be accessed from its navigation bar. Today (April 4) the Microsoft-owned platform announced the Connected TV program, which is offered through several partners, including NBCUniversal.
The notification was part of Many new advertising solutions From LinkedIn Connected TV (CTV) ads, including LinkedIn Premier (in partnership with NBCUniversal) and live event ads released at the company's B2Believe event in New York. According to LinkedIn, the drive for expanded advertising solutions comes from its research that, at any given time, only 5% of potential buyers are actively seeking new purchases. According to LinkedIn's vice president of engineering, Sanjay Dubey, the CTV solution will be powered by the company's data on user behavior and AI algorithms that connect advertisers with the right audience through streaming television content. „Since our initial trials, clients have seen significant improvement in brand lift and lower funnel effects for audiences exposed to CTV campaigns,” he said.
But again that 5% number. LinkedIn's pitch says that „embedding a brand presence in the minds of prospective buyers requires continuous, imaginative engagement across a variety of channels – from video to live events.” With nearly 90% of US households adopting connected TV by 2023 and an equal percentage of marketers confirming its effectiveness in reaching B2B buyers, LinkedIn's introduction of CTV Ads represents a strategic move to build on the success of LinkedIn's streamed video ads. It claims to have significantly increased video completion rates among viewers.
read more: Recent major technology moves highlight the role of B2B pricing strategies
To dance in the connected B2B landscape, you need a partner
Connected TV, of course, requires partnerships. LinkedIn came out of the gate with ads from Paramount, Roku and Samsung among others. LinkedIn also announced a partnership with NBCUniversal to launch Premiere.
Calling it a „managed service,” the partnership will target US decision makers with NBCUniversal's premium CTV content, giving advertisers new to CTV campaigns an in-stream option and precise audience targeting.
The company also includes its measurement features. The process of launching a LinkedIn CTV campaign is streamlined through the Campaign Manager, where advertisers can set goals, define their target audience, budget and schedule before launching their campaigns. Recognizing the challenges of measuring campaign performance, LinkedIn has partnered with iSpot for advanced audience measurement and Kantar for in-depth brand lift studies, facilitating a thorough understanding of campaign reach and impact on brand metrics.
„The moment you dissect the world through the lens of historical transaction behavior, you can use a predictive GenAI framework to tell you something about the likelihood of those future transactions.” Beacon CEO and Co-Founder Zohar Branfman told PYMNTS. „It's evolutionary in terms of how businesses can operate.”
See also: The Power of Accuracy: Monetizing B2B Customer Data
In addition to LinkedIn CTV, the platform introduced live event ads to increase event visibility and engagement. With a 34% increase in professional event visitors on LinkedIn, the company aims to drive this format to event participation.
The new ad units aren't the only use of AI from LinkedIn. COO Daniel Shapero It reported in early March that more than 70% of the site's premium subscribers have adopted AI-powered writing recommendations and profile recommendations, or both. Early tests show that 90% of subscribers find access to an AI-powered work experience useful.
As PYMNTS recently covered, the rise of digital B2B marketplaces and the ongoing digitization of the B2B ecosystem has created an environment where innovative strategies for B2B growth campaigns can yield higher returns on investment (ROI) when benchmarked against traditional strategies. .
Discussing B2B marketing approaches, Sujata Mamidipathula, head of SMB at TikTok, told PYMNTS that focusing only on virals is a mistake, “My suggestion is that SMBs should focus on social. Focus on building it and the virality will come to you.