The Future of Targeted Advertising on LinkedIn: A Shift from Lookalike Audiences to Predictive Audiences and Audience Expansion

Changes in LinkedIn Advertising

LinkedIn, a leading platform for professional networking and business marketing, is undergoing a significant change in its advertising features. In a recent announcement, LinkedIn revealed its decision to discontinue the use of lookalike audiences, effective February 29, 2024. This decision marks a shift in the platform's approach to targeted advertising and has implications for advertisers and marketers who rely on this feature to reach their desired audience.

After February 29, 2024, advertisers will no longer have the option to create new lookalike audiences or modify existing ones. The existing lookalike audiences will become 'static,' meaning they will no longer update with new data. This change will impact the way ad campaigns are targeted and delivered to audiences on the platform.

LinkedIn has also outlined a timeline for the transition, stating that active ad campaigns using lookalike audiences will continue to run but will be directed to the static audience pool. Furthermore, any unused lookalike audiences will be automatically archived after 30 days of inactivity, signaling the end of this feature's functionality on the platform.

Alternatives to Lookalike Audiences

In response to the discontinuation of lookalike audiences, LinkedIn has introduced alternative features for targeted advertising: Predictive Audiences and Audience Expansion. These new features are designed to provide advertisers with advanced options for reaching their desired audience on the platform.

Predictive Audiences leverage LinkedIn's AI technology to create custom audiences that are likely to convert based on advertisers' conversion data, lead generation forms, or contact lists. This innovative approach aims to enhance the effectiveness of targeted advertising by identifying high-intent individuals similar to existing customers.

On the other hand, Audience Expansion offers marketers the opportunity to broaden their target demographics using LinkedIn's professional demographic data. By expanding target audiences, advertisers can reach a wider group of potential customers and enhance their marketing reach on the platform.

Details and Implications

The transition to Predictive Audiences and Audience Expansion comes with specific details and implications for advertisers. Predictive Audiences require a minimum of 300 people in the selected data source and allow a maximum of 30 predictive audiences per ad account. It's important to note that these audiences cannot be shared between accounts, and campaigns using predictive audiences are not eligible to expand the audience.

Audience Expansion, on the other hand, relies on professional demographics and can be combined with Matched Audience segments. However, there are limitations to widening the audience for adaptive ad formats or audiences based on predicted behaviors. These details provide valuable insights into the functionality and scope of the alternative advertising features on LinkedIn.

For current ad campaigns using lookalike audiences, the transition to Predictive Audiences or Audience Expansion is essential to maintain a dynamic targeting approach. LinkedIn has emphasized that there will be a 30-day grace period during which unused lookalike audiences can still be accessed before being archived. Additionally, the discontinuation of LinkedIn's API for creating lookalike audiences through third-party marketing platforms presents a significant shift for marketers who rely on these integrations.