Much like with any B2B sector, LinkedIn is a core communications channel within most aviation business’ marketing strategy. Aviation professionals use the platform to make connections, research companies, explore the latest trends and find jobs.
There are strong arguments for B2B social media marketing on more consumer-led channels, such as Facebook or Instagram. We are still targeting people after all. However, in most instances LinkedIn remains dominant. And it’s growing. In fact, there was 41% more content posted on LinkedIn in 2023 than in 2022.
Why is LinkedIn great at reaching aviation professionals?
Although there are several industry trade titles and global and regional events to attend, due to the niche nature of the sector, for some campaigns, your audience may only be a few hundred people. There are also only a certain number of airlines, OEMs or aircraft operators globally, meaning many of your marketing tactics need to be highly targeted.
Creating an organic LinkedIn presence allows you to directly engage with those you know will be interested in your product or service. It is also an effective channel for getting motivated traffic to your website. However, this content will only reach people who already know your brand. To get to prospective customers in the very early stages of their purchase journey, it is worth considering LinkedIn Ads.
LinkedIn Ads allow us to target exact audiences in terms of job titles, sector, companies, geographies or interests. With snappy, insightful and provocative content, we can encourage prospects to travel further down the sales funnel, either through simply now being aware of your business, becoming an organic follower, providing their contact information, or reaching out directly.
A guide to what works with LinkedIn Ads
Here are some examples of how you can use LinkedIn Ads to target aviation professionals:
- Creating an ad campaign allows you to show your content in the newsfeeds of a highly targeted audience. For example, you can drill down into a user’s job title, the company they currently work for, type of organisation, or job role such as procurement or fleet management teams within an airline.
- If you are exhibiting at a trade show, such as World Aviation Festival, NBAA-BACE or the Singapore Airshow, you can target likely attendees whilst in the host city, inviting them to visit your stand, or sign up for a meeting.
- By promoting customer case studies or research, you can entice users to provide contact information in exchange for content, which allows you to build your owned database and retarget through other digital marketing channels.
How should LinkedIn Ads tie into my organic LinkedIn strategy?
Your ads and organic content should act as sisters, not twins. By pushing the same organic content through ads, you run the risk of existing followers seeing duplicates and switching off. Ensure your ad content is highly tailored to the groups you are targeting and has a clear and convincing call to action.
Having said that, the ad should be reflective of the type of content shared by your page. If you’re encouraging people to follow you, you want to ensure they can trust that they are not being misled by the type of content you produce.
Also ensure your ad copy aligns with your social media tone of voice. Include this within your brand guidelines. LinkedIn Ads must fit within your overall marketing objectives and social media principles.
What type of content works for LinkedIn Ads?
In our experience at 8020, when building brand awareness and recall, using high quality video works well. We’re also seeing an increase in ‘sonic branding’. This is where a company uses composed audio in place of titles or intros at the beginning of the video.
For thought-leadership led campaigns, providing access to an insightful whitepaper or ‘how-to’ guide can encourage people to click through and provide contact information. You can then use this for email retargeting campaigns, for example.
How do I know if my LinkedIn Ads have been successful?
That all depends on what the objective of your campaign is. For example, was the aim brand awareness? In that case, you are looking for the number of impressions, video views, clicks and website journeys. If your goal was newsletter or free trial sign ups, then you’ll be assessing direct links between ad clicks and website goal completion.
Take a look at our work on LinkedIn for long-standing 8020 client, Aerogility. Or visit our Services page to find out how we can help you with targeted digital marketing.
