5 Biggest LinkedIn Ads mistakes and how to avoid them

With 310 million monthly active users, LinkedIn advertising has become an essential tool for businesses in the fintech and financial services sectors. It’s the ideal platform to connect with decision-makers, build trust and credibility and influence their buyer journey. While it’s predominantly thought of as a place for B2B advertising, LinkedIn’s highly tailored targeting also enables some B2C brands, particularly in financial services, to effectively reach their target audiences, such as high-net-worth individuals, industry professionals or people working in a certain sector.

Having audited over fifty LinkedIn Ads accounts and run hundreds of campaigns over the last seven years, we’ve seen some common pitfalls being made by advertisers that are impacting results and limiting ROI.

Thinking LinkedIn is just a B2B platform could well have made our list of biggest mistakes, and there are of course, more than five we commonly see, but these are the most common things that anyone running ads should be mindful of.

Mistake #1: Poor audience targeting

One of the most common LinkedIn Ads mistakes is poor audience targeting, especially when marketers try to target their entire Total Addressable Market (TAM) with a single campaign. While it might seem like a good idea to cast a wide net, this approach leads to wasted budget.

When you try to target everyone, your messaging inevitably becomes diluted and less relevant. Different segments of your TAM have different pain points, priorities, and stages in the buyer’s journey. By lumping them all into one broad audience, you end up resonating with no one in particular, leading to lower engagement and wasted ad spend.

Another pitfall to watch out for is LinkedIn’s audience expansion feature, which is automatically selected when you set up a campaign. Audience expansion broadens your reach by including people similar to your defined audience. While this might sound helpful, it often results in a lack of precision, meaning your ads reach users who don’t perfectly match your criteria. This reduces the quality of your leads, increases costs, and limits control over who sees your ads.

On top of that, when your ads leak out beyond your carefully chosen audience, engagement rates drop because your messaging won’t resonate with these less-relevant prospects. The result? Higher costs for lower-quality leads and a budget that isn’t being used effectively.

Top Tip: Always segment your audience by specific attributes like job title, industry, or company size. Use the ‘AND’ criteria to layer audience attributes, which helps you narrow down your targeting and ensure maximum relevancy. And don’t forget to uncheck the audience expansion box to ensure your ads are reaching the most relevant prospects.

Mistake #2: Lack of the right type of content

Another common LinkedIn Ads mistake is not using the right types of content to match where your audience is in their buyer journey. Many advertisers make the error of running a single ad campaign without considering that prospects have different needs depending on where they are in the decision-making process. Everyone in your target audience will be at different stages of their journey.

Most buyers do extensive research before they’re ready to speak with a salesperson. In fact, 77% of B2B buyers won’t engage with a sales rep until they’ve done their own research, and 85% of consumers research online before making a purchase. If you’re only running ads focused on the final conversion, you're missing opportunities to nurture leads earlier in the journey.

To avoid this, it’s crucial to align your ad campaigns with each stage of the buyer journey, even if just using a simple: awareness, consideration, and decision approach. In the awareness stage, share top-of-funnel educational content like blog posts or infographics that address your prospect’s initial pain points. During the consideration stage, use case studies or webinars to build trust and credibility and showcase your solutions. Finally, at the decision stage, more direct content like demos or testimonials can help close the deal.

Gaps in your content strategy, where you fail to address these specific needs, can result in missed opportunities and lower engagement.

Top Tip: Plan your LinkedIn Ads to serve your audience at every stage of the buyer journey. Create a mix of educational, solution-focused, and conversion-driven content to guide prospects from research to decision-making.

Mistake #3 :Poor messaging and/or creative

One of the biggest mistakes we see in LinkedIn Ads is poor messaging or creative that doesn’t align with the target audience’s needs. Too often, advertisers make their messaging about themselves - their product, service, or brand - instead of focusing on the challenges, goals, and pain points of their ideal customer profile (ICP).

Great messaging starts by understanding your audience inside and out. What are their needs? What problems are they trying to solve? Your ad copy should speak directly to those challenges and clearly explain how your product or service uniquely addresses them. However, this is where many fall short. Creative messaging is often rushed or left to a non-specialist, resulting in generic, underwhelming ads that are more about the company than the prospect. This approach fails to connect with your audience, reduces engagement and won’t help you stand out in a competitive marketplace. 

Related to this, another mistake is not developing dedicated creatives for specific ad placements. For instance, an ad optimised for desktop may not perform well on mobile, and ads need to be tailored across placements and sometimes even platforms, for example: Meta offers Stories and Reels placements which LinkedIn currently does not. Neglecting to design and test creatives suited to each platform or placement can lead to ads that look out of place or don’t capture attention.

Top Tip: Ensure your creative messaging and intro copy speaks directly to your audience’s pain points and how your product or solution solves them. Develop platform-specific creatives optimised for desktop, mobile, and other placements to maximise engagement and ensure your ads resonate wherever they appear.

Mistake #4: Not Testing and Utilising Different Ad Formats

Many advertisers stick to just one or two ad formats and don’t explore the variety of options available. LinkedIn offers a range of formats, each suited to different goals and stages of the buyer journey, and failing to test and leverage them can limit the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Carousel ads, for example, allow you to tell a story, showcase multiple products or services, or present a sequence of ideas, all within one ad. These are perfect for engaging users with richer content. Video ads are highly effective for grabbing attention and delivering a more immersive experience, especially when you're aiming to explain complex ideas or build trust and credibility with your audience. 

Text ads, though simple, are great for low-cost, always-on brand awareness. They’re not flashy, but they provide steady exposure and keep your brand visible with only a small budget required. Similarly, single image ads, in both square and vertical ratios are versatile and can be used across different stages of the buyer journey.

Lead gen forms can significantly boost your conversion rates. We’ve seen up to 10x better conversion rates when using in-app lead gen compared to directing users to a website landing page.

Another underused format to consider is document ads, which allow advertisers to share valuable content directly on LinkedIn. You can choose between gated (requiring a form submission) and ungated versions, depending on whether you want to collect leads or offer free, easy access to content for brand awareness.

Lastly, there are messaging ads and conversation ads. These allow for more direct, personal engagement, helping you connect with your audience in a more interactive and conversational way.

Top Tip: Test different ad formats to see which resonates best with your audience. Utilise carousel, video, text, and lead gen ads to diversify your strategy, and optimise for different stages of the buyer journey to maximise results.

Mistake #5: Not harnessing retargeting

One of the most overlooked strategies in LinkedIn Ads is retargeting. Many advertisers miss out on the significant benefits of retargeting, which can be a cost-effective way to keep your brand top-of-mind for prospects who have already shown interest.

Retargeting campaigns often yield high engagement rates because they focus on users who are already familiar with your brand or have interacted with your content. This familiarity increases the likelihood of moving these prospects further down the funnel, ultimately leading to higher conversions.

For example, if you've recently shared video content that has successfully built a decent-sized retargeting list, you can run targeted ads to re-engage those viewers. Utilising lead gen forms or ungated case studies in these campaigns can effectively capture leads from warm audiences who are already interested in what you offer.

Additionally, you can retarget website visitors through LinkedIn (and Meta if relevant), allowing you to reach users who may not have converted on their first visit. This tactic is especially powerful, as it allows you to create personalised messaging that addresses specific pain points or interests based on their previous interactions with your brand.

Top Tip: Use video content to build your retargeting list and leverage lead gen forms or ungated case studies to drive conversions. Don’t forget you can also retarget website visitors to reach potential prospects who have engaged with your brand outside of the LinkedIn platform.

LinkedIn Ads should not be run on a ‘set and forget’ basis. Continuously optimising your strategy is crucial for success, especially in competitive sectors like fintech and financial services. By avoiding common mistakes, you can significantly enhance your campaign performance leading to bigger pipeline revenue and the demonstable proof needed to keep marketing budgets secure.

If you’d like more tailored guidance on how to improve your campaigns, enquire about our complimentary LinkedIn or Meta Ads audit for companies in fintech or financial services or book a strategy call.