On the 14th of February, a loaded day, two Lincoln University students decided to attend a session at the LinkedIn headquarters in San Francisco for a LinkedIn Marketing Lab session. With a marketing major, Gibu knew exactly what he was heading for. With smart casuals and fancy Apple products, he was ready to grasp it all. On the other hand, I, a human resources person wasn’t too sure what I would gain from it. In theory I knew that it helped not only businesses but also individuals with simple marketing solutions to generate leads, raise brand awareness, start a campaign or boost it by providing virtual and in-person sessions, so I decided to see what I could make of it.
What to expect before heading out to a LinkedIn session?
1. Choosing a session that fits your need: The session that we went for was a comparatively advanced session. Here is the chart of how you should follow the classes as per your interest:
2. Understanding the structure of the session: The presentation is an informative session combined with questions and answers throughout. They send you a mail prior to the session with a detailed agenda and a pre-class survey that allows you to submit your questions prior to the session.
3. What is in the agenda? They divide the session into sections starting with registration and breakfast then a division of topics that they will cover, finally with a separate Q & A session in the end.
4. After the session: As it is not a networking event, people disperse after the session with some interacting with the speakers. They mail you the slides and resources of the presentation along with a free one-time consultation with a LinkedIn advertising strategist.
What we learned at the session?
1. Definition and short explanation of what Lead Generation is followed by a glossary of all the important terms that will be used.
2. Importance of content marketing in Lead Generation: Segregates and explains the importance of different types of content strategy used and what the decision makers think about it.
3. Comparison of different platforms like Twitter and Facebook based on ad credibility with LinkedIn
4. Strategies to generate leads by using specific types of audiences targeting method like email or website targeting.
5. Understanding what your ad formats should look like according to your goal, i.e. either creating awareness, consideration, or conversions.
6. Different types of ad formats.
7. How to create an effective lead generation form.
8. Measuring the effectiveness of your campaign using LinkedIn campaign manager tools and why we should use them.
9. New conversion tracking and setup features.
10. Further optimizing campaigns.
How useful was it?
For a person who already has in-depth knowledge like Gibu, this advanced session will help him understand LinkedIn more and compare it with other platforms like Facebook that he is also well versed in.
As for a beginner like me, it would have been better if I had some prior practical knowledge about not only LinkedIn ads but ads in general; Maybe attend a basic session before an advanced one. However, I do believe that when I work with it in the future, the knowledge I gained from this session is going to help me.
-Gibu George and Priyanka Thapa