What are Sponsored Updates on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn has launched an advertising solution called sponsored updates. But what are sponsored updates on LinkedIn?

Sponsored updates are an advertising solution that allows brands to promote any post from a LinkedIn company page to specific people in their news feeds.

It is only possible to sponsor updates on LinkedIn if you have a company page on the social media.

It is remarkably easy to sponsor an update:

Five step guide to sponsoring a post on Linkedin

1. Create a company page and post an update to the page as normal. Wait a few minutes and then refresh the page until you see the ‘Sponsor Update’ button.
2. Name your campaign. Give it a name that is easy to remember. When you set up other sponsored updates, you have the opportunity to use the same campaign criteria each time.
3. Target your campaign by selecting from variables such as location, company, gender, skille etc.
4. Choose your payment option and choose if you want to use cost per click or cost per 1,000 impressions. The update will be live in just a few minutes.
5. Check your preview by clicking in your Campaign Manager. You will see what other users will see.

By sponsoring your update on LinkedIn you can make sure that your updates reach exactly the audience you need to reach.

How does sponsored updates on LinkedIn look like?

• Sponsored updates on LinkedIn look very much like the regular updates in the newsfeed.
• At the top of the update the company logo and name will appear and directly under the name the update will be labelled ‘Sponsored’.
• On the right side a plus sign will be visible which users can click on to start following your company.
• Other than that the update will very much work in the same way that regular post do.
• Users can like the post and comment on it.

A sponsored update look like af regular update but is labelled 'sponsored' next to the company page name.

What are sponsored updates on LinkedIn going to do for me?

• You will get your company's updates out to more people and attract new followers.
• You will reach just the right audience with Linkedin's many targeting options.
• You can get your message on every device from desktop and tablet to smartphone.
• You can set your own budget and choose from cost per click or cost per impression.

All these features will help you raise awareness about your brand by getting the word out on every platform and by reaching exactly the audience you choose.

Sponsored updates will help you build relationships and by sharing your company's content you will spark meaningful conversations with the right people.

By sponsoring updates you will capture the attention of engaged people and drive traffic to your company page or your main landing page.

According to Contently sponsored updates have both advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:

• Strong network of professionals and executives.
• If you have a specific target sponsored updates can provide a lot of value.
• Good filtering based on company, job title, location etc.
• Other social media may yield more clicks but LinkedIn has built a platform that can yield the right clicks.

Disadvantages:

• It is expensive and LinkedIn will charge you for every click.
• There is value in a LinkedIn click but only for businesses which are able to write bigger checks.
• The sponsored ads are not very customizable and an image must fit a standard thumbnail size.