How to unlock the potential of LinkedIn’s Thought Leader Ads

Why Thought Leadership Matters in Healthcare

It'll be no surprise that trust and credibility are critical in healthcare marketing. Customers - including decision-makers and influencers - are more likely to engage with content that resonates with their professional challenges and offers insightful solutions from an expert who they respect, admire and trust. Thought leadership content helps establish your brand as a trusted authority in the field, paving the way for deeper relationships with potential customers. 

What Are LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads?

LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads allow you to amplify the voices of your company’s employees and your Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs). Unlike traditional ads that promote company messages or products, Thought Leader Ads use the power of personal influence to get your message across to your audience, while still being linked to your company. These ads appear in the LinkedIn feed and are an impactful way to get the attention of your audience using trustworthy messengers to deliver content that's valuable and of interest. 

The Benefits of Using Thought Leader Ads

• Humanising Your Brand: Thought Leader Ads put a face to your brand, making it more relatable and trustworthy. By showcasing the expertise of your experts, you humanise your company and nurture genuine connections.
• Building Credibility: When your experts share their knowledge and insights, it positions your company as a thought leader in the relevant sector. This credibility can significantly influence decision-makers and other key stakeholders.
• Enhancing Engagement: Thought Leader Ads are designed to engage. LinkedIn members are more likely to interact with content that offers valuable insights rather than overt promotional messages. This leads to higher engagement rates and more meaningful conversations.
• Expanding Reach: By tapping into the networks of your thought leaders, you can extend your reach beyond your immediate company followers. This organic amplification can attract a broader audience of healthcare professionals interested in your expertise.

Crafting Effective Thought Leader Ads

To create impactful Thought Leader Ads, consider the following:

• Identify the Right Leaders: Select experts who are well-respected in your industry who also have a genuine passion for sharing their knowledge, whether that's an employee, advocate or customer.
• Create Valuable Content: Ask your expert to focus on providing insights, trends, and knowledge relevant to your audience's current needs. Ensure their post complies with LinkedIn's advertising policies - for example, they must not use any unusual fonts in the text and should only include up to 4 emojis.
• Include a Subtle Link to your Company: To ensure your company also stays at the forefront of any post:
  1) ask your expert to mention your company early on in the post 
  2) ask them to include a call to action to follow your company on LinkedIn (e.g. to receive updates on new data releases)
  3) ask them to add your company logo to any images or videos they include in their post
• Leverage Multimedia: Incorporate videos, infographics, and high-quality images to make your content more engaging and visually appealing. Videos work well too. For example, you could ask your expert to do a short piece-to-camera detailing their thoughts.
• Engage with Your Audience: Encourage your thought leaders to actively engage with comments and messages. This interaction can further build trust and establish a two-way dialogue, whilst further boosting engagement. 
• Measure and Optimise: Use LinkedIn’s analytics to track the performance of your ads. Monitor engagement metrics, audience demographics, and conversion rates to refine your strategy continuously. 

Case Study: Success in Action

We're currently running a campaign for a MedTech client that includes thought leader ads. By sponsoring the post of one of their well-known KOLs and combining this approach with a low-manual bidding approach, we've increased their previous campaign CTRs by 10x, achieving an average CTR of 15%. The client is delighted with the results so far.

"Pretty amazing to see the difference between promoting a company
post to an opinion leader post. Thanks for pushing us to do it!"

Conclusion

LinkedIn’s Thought Leader Ads offer a unique way to differentiate your brand, build trust, and engage with your target audience. By harnessing the power of thought leadership, you can position your company as an authority in the industry and better meet the needs of your audience, all while improving your advertising effectiveness.

How to set up a Thought Leader Ad

Setting up Thought Leader Ads is easy, although there are some key pitfalls to avoid, so we've created a handy video to help.

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