With a user base of more than 900 million professionals, there’s no question that LinkedIn is a powerhouse in the B2B space. The business-focused social network, now owned by Microsoft, has been growing since 2003, and its potential to transform a company’s outreach strategy is undeniable. Business brands of all sorts consider LinkedIn when devising their marketing campaigns with the objective of reaching engaged professionals.
Like most marketing channels, though, LinkedIn has its pros and its cons. On the one hand, it offers precise targeting capabilities that enable brands to hone in on their most desirable customers. In fact, LinkedIn is the only platform that offers user data related to factors like occupation and workplace for its high-quality audiences of professionals. This makes it easier for B2B brands to target users based on company and specific role. If activity-based management (ABM), a method of analyzing business profitability, is an important part of your strategy, LinkedIn may be a good fit.
Something else to keep in mind, though, is that users spend considerably less time on LinkedIn than on other social media channels—7 minutes per day, compared with 31 minutes on Twitter / X and 33 minutes on Facebook (Sprout Social). That, in turn, makes it harder for marketers to generate the required impressions, especially when you consider that LinkedIn caps ad frequency at one creative asset per individual every 48 hours.
It probably goes without saying, but LinkedIn isn’t the best choice for B2C campaigns. Since the platform focuses primarily on professional networking, it likely isn’t ideal for marketers aiming to reach a wider or more varied audience—for example D2C (direct-to-consumer) brands, which would see limited scope and impact.
Good news, though: there are several social media alternatives and other paid advertising options for marketers to choose from. If you’re looking for a LinkedIn alternative, you’ve come to the right place.
LinkedIn Ads: Important Considerations Before Choosing Your Platform
Before we dive into other sites like LinkedIn for your brand to choose from, let’s take a closer look at the platform and why it’s a practical option for B2B brands. It offers unique features that range from exceptional targeting tools to an audience that appreciates content tailored to their industry. B2B marketers looking for a broad audience of active and engaged professionals will find that LinkedIn makes good sense. But before you hop over to LinkedIn ad manager and launch into a new campaign, note that other websites like LinkedIn could be an excellent alternative.
As mentioned, marketers and entrepreneurs with distinctive goals around connecting with decision makers may face a few challenges. Something to note is that LinkedIn ads can be costly, and that compared to other social channels, LinkedIn is the most expensive platform for ad campaigns. It generally requires a larger investment than ads on competitor sites like Facebook and Google. Higher Cost per Click (CPC) and Cost Per Mille (CPM, or cost per 1,000 impressions) rates can pose a problem if you hope to boost e-commerce ROI (Return on Investment).
As we explore other sites that are similar to LinkedIn, don’t just consider LinkedIn ad specs but also factors like social media engagement and how best to convert platform users into customers by concentrating on their interests, behaviors, and needs.
The 5 Best LinkedIn Ads Alternatives
If you’re wondering where to start when it comes to assessing social media alternatives and finding the best ad platforms, look at your business objectives. Your unique goals, target audience, and the nature of your products and services should guide both your strategy and your decisions.
Taking all of this into consideration, there’s a real benefit to integrating multiple different platforms into your marketing strategy. Diversifying your media mix in a deliberate and cohesive way allows marketers to increase visibility and boost campaign KPIs (key performance indicators). Whether you go with Google Ads, Meta Ads, Microsoft Advertising, X Ads, Quora Ads, or native advertising, combining these platforms and aligning your strategy with their unique strengths is a viable way to boost your ROI and ROAS (Return on Ad Spend).
As always, don’t forget to track, monitor, and optimize your ad placements. As with any digital marketing campaign, experimentation is an essential part of ongoing success. That includes testing different ad creative, targeting parameters, and campaign strategies without committing significant financial resources upfront. This way you won’t take a big financial hit if a platform simply isn’t working for your brand and marketing needs.
And now, here are some LinkedIn alternatives that should be on your radar, along with the information you’ll need to take your marketing to the next level.
1. Google Ads
Let’s start with Google Ads. This Pay per Click (PPC) advertising platform is a place where brands can tap into a vast amount of inventory across both search and display networks. There are a number of targeting tools to choose from that can help you tailor your ad delivery to the audiences you hope to reach.
Google Ads can effectively target both B2B and B2C customers, and can also drive qualified traffic and leads. Google is a great way to reach engaged shoppers while they’re actively searching for information about specific services and products through search queries.
It’s crucial to note that given Google’s size and status as the world’s most-frequented search engine, your competitors are almost surely using Google search ads. If one of your objectives is to stay relevant and top of mind for your target audience, you may want to purchase ads on Google and maintain an ongoing presence there.
Key Features
- Ad format options range from Search to Display; Shopping; Video, App; Discovery; Local services; Performance; and goal-centered, cross-channel campaigns.
Advantages
- Google’s search engine dominance and massive search presence can’t be overstated. It offers access to a high-intent audience that could be actively searching for products like yours.
Considerations
- While Google Search Network may be very desirable for brands in certain industries, the Display Network is a valuable alternative boasting Google CPCs as low as $1.
(Source: Google Ads)
2. Microsoft Advertising
If you’re looking for a Google ads alternative, consider Microsoft Advertising. Another PPC advertising platform, Microsoft Ads began as Bing Ads and was rebranded in 2019. The rebrand focused on AI and personalization, and since then Microsoft Advertising has expanded to become a leading global platform for search campaigns. Its properties include Bing, AOL, and Yahoo Networks.
A big perk of Google Ads is the extent to which it allows users to manage their campaigns and achieve their marketing goals. Although both Google and Microsoft’s search engines offer paid ads options and related support and even share similar ranking criteria, other factors set them apart.
Search volume is one example of this. Google boasts a greater number of online searches compared with Microsoft, which has a direct impact on its ability to generate impressions, clicks, and conversions. As of July of 2023, Google had a global desktop search market share of close to 82%, while Bing’s market share was just 10.5% (Statista). Consider, though, that this means Bing and Microsoft Ads are less competitive, and that brands stand to pay less in order to reach their target customers.
Key Features
- Search integration and audience identification tools allow businesses and brands to leverage Microsoft’s technology for extreme targeting precision.
Advantages
- Since it has less search volume than Google, and is structured differently than LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads exist in a less competitive environment. That means it’s generally less expensive to advertise on Microsoft than on LinkedIn. For brands interested in coupling Microsoft with a LinkedIn campaign, you can take advantage of its integration function and reach LinkedIn profiles directly for enhanced B2B targeting.
Considerations
- Because Microsoft has a smaller user based and search engine market, marketers have a smaller pool of potential customers at their disposal.
(Source: Microsoft Advertising)
3. Twitter / X
X, formerly known as Twitter, remains a powerful discovery-based social platform with more than half a billion users. Twitter Advertising can be leveraged to promote anything from brands to products or services, enabling marketers to target based on criteria and campaign goals like brand awareness, lead generation, and conversions.
With Twitter, B2B brands can reach decision makers by taking full advantage of targeting options designed to generate leads. These include demographics, interests, and behaviors, and are well-suited for lead generation and driving high engagement rates.
It’s wise to explore the many ad formats that Twitter has to offer—like Promoted Tweets, Promoted Accounts, and Promoted Trends—as these allow for both creativity and flexibility. Video ad formats make it easy for advertisers to showcase their messaging in-stream, seamlessly integrating into organic Twitter content.
Key Features
- Twitter advertisers can boost the visibility of their tweets to a wider audience through formats like Website Ads, App Ads, Vertical Video Ads, Carousel Ads, and Collection Ads.
Advantages
- Twitter lets you engage with your audience through real-time conversations, and utilize hashtags to amplify your message and boost visibility.
Considerations
- On Twitter, content may have a shorter lifespan in-feed. Twitter Ads can be pricey as well, and they must go through a review and approval process that may have you waiting anywhere from 48 hours to several days (or up to 2 weeks in some cases) to launch your campaign.
(Source: X Business)
4. Quora
A roundup of LinkedIn alternatives wouldn’t be complete without Quora. Quora Ads enable businesses to reach their target audience on the Quora platform, a social Q&A website.
On Quora, ads appear when users conduct keyword-based searches. The ads themselves can be targeted to users based on their location, interests, and additional factors like the nature of their queries—and since Quora has 400 million monthly unique visitors, half of which have a college degree, it’s a good place to reach decision makers for you B2B products.
When it comes to incorporating Quora into your marketing strategy, it works well as a supplementary social platform that can open the door to a new audience. Because it’s Google AdSense-approved, marketers can run Google Display Ads on Quora. These are usually placed on the right side of the desktop or mobile screen.
Where value is concerned, it’s also important to note that Quora is one of the most widely-used platforms for Off-page Optimization—meaning marketing activities done outside the confines of a search engine that can positively impact your brand’s search ranking. Quora’s blogs are known for being successfully indexed and driving traffic to brand sites.
Key Features
- Marketers can reach users who ask questions relevant to their business through ad formats like Video, Text, Image, Promoted Answers, and Lead Gen Forms.
Advantages
- You can also connect with users actively seeking information, positioning and promoting your brand as a thought leader and subject matter expert.
Considerations
- While offering an engaged audience, Quora’s user base isn’t as broad as that of other social sites.
(Source: Quora for Business)
5. Taboola Ads
We’ve mentioned the importance of diversifying your media mix, and adding native advertising to your strategy is a terrific way to start. Native ads are well-known for capturing users’ attention and inciting them to take action. Users encounter native ads all over the web, from social media channels to promoted search results and premier publisher sites, so there’s virtually no limit to where you can connect with potential customers.
Native advertising platforms like Taboola provide brands with targeting capabilities on par with those of LinkedIn, particularly where B2B marketing is concerned. But since native ads look and feel like editorial content, blending the brand message with the site environment to avoid feeling intrusive and interruptive, they’re known for their performance. That’s especially important because 85% of consumers now suffer from banner blindness and 45% of all web users employ ad blockers, making it difficult for brands to get their attention (Gitnux).
Studies show that native ads earn 53% more views than display ads, and can increase purchase intent by 18%, making them a worthy alternative to LinkedIn ads (Sharethrough and IPG Media labs). With 70% of potential customers preferring to learn about new products through native ads, they’ve become a go-to choice for brands of all kinds.
Key Features
- As a LinkedIn alternative, native advertising combines brand messaging with great content to create a seamless user experience. Native ads are all about placement and relevance, and designed to deliver successful ad campaigns.
Advantages
- Programmatic advertising is relatively cheap online advertising, with rates far lower than those of LinkedIn.
Considerations
- Native ads work differently on different platforms, which means you’ll need to customize content for each. Campaign success hinges on creating high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your audience.
(Source: Taboola)
LinkedIn Ads Alternatives: Conclusion
Compared with other social channels, LinkedIn boasts access to a primarily B2B audience of professionals, along with work-oriented content. It’s a costly marketing platform—but used in tandem with LinkedIn alternatives like Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and of course Taboola can lead to an effective advertising strategy that helps to drive traffic and build credibility for your brand.
Native advertising platforms are a game-changer for both B2B and B2C brands, largely because of the unobtrusive nature of native ads. They’re economical, effective, and engage more than one billion relevant users across premium publishers. The result is an ad experience consumers appreciate—and just the kind of successful ad campaign you’re looking for.