Create your first campaign

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1. Sign in to Campaign Manager

Campaign Manager is the advertising platform on LinkedIn. After you create a free account, the platform will guide you through each step of setting up your first campaign. Learn how to prepare for your first LinkedIn campaign, and then read on for an overview of the key steps in this process.

2. Choose your objective

An objective is the action you want your audience to take upon seeing your ad. Selecting your objective helps show ad formats, features and bid-types that support your objective during campaign creation. Learn more about the available objectives in Campaign Manager.  

3. Build your target audience

Next, you’ll be guided to build and save an audience for your campaign.


You can target with professional traits—like job title, company name, and industry type, target by professional or personal interests, or customize by bringing in your own data using Matched Audiences—which includes retargeting, email contact targeting, and account-based targeting.

4. Choose your ad format

After building your audience, you’ll be asked to choose an ad format for your first campaign. Depending upon your objective, you can select from the various  Sponsored Content formats (single-image, carousel or videos ads in the LinkedIn feed), Message Ads (ads that show up in LinkedIn messages), or Text Ads.

Learn more about Sponsored Content (single image, carousel and video ads)
Learn more about Message Ads (ads that show in LinkedIn messaging)
Learn more about Text Ads (right rail and top banner ads)
Learn more about Dynamic Ads (follower, spotlight and content ads)

5. Set your bid and budget

Setting the right initial budget will help you automate or control costs and validate your marketing strategy. Learn how to plan your starting budget and adjust it over time based on campaign performance:

Make the most of your budget

Campaign Manager will suggest a range based on current competing bids for your target audience.

Learn how to set the right bids for your ads

6. Set up your ad creative

As you create Sponsored Content and Text Ads, Campaign Manager will generate previews in different sizes and environments, so you can see what they’ll look like. For Message Ads, you can send yourself a test message to preview.

Best practices vary depending on the ad format (Sponsored Content, Message Ads, or Text Ads), so refer to these guidelines and tips to create the most effective ads for your business.

View LinkedIn ad specs and guidelines
Get Sponsored Content tips
Get Message Ads tips
Get Text Ads tips

7. Save your billing information

The final step before launching your first campaign is setting up payment details. Enter a debit or credit card, save, and your campaign will enter a review process before launching.

Learn how ads are reviewed
Learn more about billing