LinkedIn Ads Playbook (Part 3): Choosing the right LinkedIn objectives for B2B marketing

Your campaign objective in LinkedIn isn’t just a label; it changes how the algorithm optimises and what you pay for.

Here’s how we approach objectives in B2B LinkedIn ads.

3.1. Brand awareness – for reach and frequency

• Optimises for reach (CPM)

• Lets you set frequency caps (e.g. max 3 impressions per user per week)

Perfect for:

• First-touch, educational campaigns

• Founder / expert thought leadership you want your ICP to see regularly

Use Brand Awareness when your goal is visibility and familiarity, not immediate clicks.

3.2. Engagement – the best default objective for B2B

Engagement campaigns optimise for actions like:

• Clicking “see more”

• Opening comments

• Clicking to your landing page

We love Engagement for:

• Thought leadership posts from your team

• Problem-focused content

• Content that explains your solution, not just sells it

Usually:

• It gives more affordable clicks than “Website visits”

• It builds strong remarketing audiences (people who actually interacted with your ad)

If you’re unsure where to start: choose Engagement.

3.3. Website visits – for traffic with intent

“Website visits” (clicks) focuses purely on driving traffic to your site.

We use it when:

• We’re sending people to high-intent pages (e.g. “Book a Demo”, “Request Plant Assessment”)

• We want a clear view of cost per visit for specific offers

  
  

But often, engagement-optimised campaigns will give similar traffic at a lower cost.

3.4. Video views – build audiences, not just vanity metrics

Video view campaigns are powerful when used as part of a B2B LinkedIn funnel, for example:

• Top-of-funnel explainer videos

• Deep-dive walkthroughs for a specific audience (e.g. “How maintenance managers in food production can reduce downtime by 30%”)

The magic is in remarketing:

• Create audiences based on people who watched 25%+ or 50%+

• Retarget them with mid-funnel offers: case studies, calculators, workshops

This is where B2B LinkedIn video marketing becomes a growth loop.

3.5. Lead generation (native forms) – use with intent, not as a default

LinkedIn’s native lead gen forms are:

• Easy to fill in

• Great for things like webinar registrations

  
  

But for B2B:

• Cost per lead is often high

• Lead quality is inconsistent

• People sometimes “half-commit” because it’s too easy

  
  

We use lead gen forms when:

• There’s a clear, simple ask (event, checklist, diagnostic)

• Sales and marketing agree on follow-up expectations

  
  

We don’t build whole strategies around them. For complex B2B deals, pipeline quality beats raw MQL volume.

3.6. Website conversions – why we rarely use it

The “Website conversions” objective sounds ideal… but in B2B, it often:

• Makes traffic more expensive

• Doesn’t significantly improve conversion rate

LinkedIn’s conversion optimisation isn’t as mature as platforms like Meta, especially for long B2B buying journeys.

Our default:

• Use Engagement / Traffic

• Set up robust conversion tracking

• Use CRM data to see what leads turn into pipeline and revenue

3.7. Thought leadership ads: your experts as the creative

If you want to promote personal posts from your CEO, founder, subject-matter experts or sales leaders, you’ll use Thought Leadership Ads.

Key point:

• They only work with Brand Awareness or Engagement objectives

Done right, this turns your internal experts into a core asset of your B2B LinkedIn marketing strategy.

Any questions? Be sure to reach out or leave a comment down below.

Want to know more about Targeting? Check out Part 4 of our LinkedIn ads Playbook for B2B