LinkedIn sets its eyes on interest-based targeting

After three months of beta-testing, LinkedIn has debuted interest-based targeting by way of its self-serve ad platform.

B2C marketers are accustomed to targeting prospects based on their interests – “fast food lovers,” “coffee drinkers,” “gym goers” – but there is less interest data available for B2B marketers, said Abhishek Shrivastava, LinkedIn’s director of product.

“A lot of B2B targeting is based on reaching accounts or looking at job titles and so forth, and that is something we’re trying to change by combining profile data with expressions of intent to make the targeting more compelling,” Shrivastava said.

Marketers on LinkedIn will initially have 200 professional interests to choose from, including “global economy,” “data centers,” “super computing,” “AI” and “customer experience,” with more to come.

LinkedIn already offered an assortment of targeting options through Campaign Manager and its Audience Network of third-party apps, including by geo, member profile data (company, job function, industry and the like) and by account. Marketers can also upload their own email lists to the platform and LinkedIn will find matching companies and users to target.

But bringing interest targeting to the table enables marketers to be more relevant with their messaging, Shrivastava said, and to “humanize” their interaction with potential leads.

Read more here.

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