Analysing the competition is a part of online marketing that should not be neglected. It would be an advantage here if it were possible to view the adverts of the largest competitors. Such an analysis of adverts is usually accompanied by a great deal of effort – but not with LinkedIn. The B2B and business platform has a solution that allows you to view your competitors’ adverts: the LinkedIn advertising library or ad tab.
How can I view my competitors' LinkedIn adverts?
Many LinkedIn users are unaware of this function, as it is very hidden and you literally have to stumble across it to discover the LinkedIn advertising library. In the following, we will briefly describe, using screenshots, the quickest way to access the LinkedIn advertising library and thus the adverts of the competition.
The first step is to open the LinkedIn company profile of the company to be analysed.
Then click on the ‘Posts’ tab, as shown in red in the image on the right.
The latest company updates open. These can be sorted again using the filters ‘All’, ‘Images’, ‘Videos’, ‘Articles’ and ‘Documents’.
The sixth option here is the ‘Advertise’ button.
This advert button should be clicked.
All LinkedIn Ads that are currently active or have been active in the last six months, i.e. have been displayed to at least one LinkedIn member, are listed here.
It should be noted here that these are not just pure ads, but also sponsored posts. This means that not all adverts displayed here are active.
The image on the right shows the actual LinkedIn advertising library. Here you can see that MISSION OM has not placed any adverts on LinkedIn in the last 6 months.
What can I learn from the LinkedIn advertising library?
As with all measures, the question arises as to what conclusions can be drawn from the adverts listed here. Basically, the following three questions are answered here:
Is the competition running LinkedIn Ads?
The basic answer here is quickly recognisable: if ads are listed, ads have been placed in the last 6 months and if no ads appear, the competitor company has not placed any in the last 6 months.
If the competing company is not running ads, this means that using LinkedIn Ads could give them an edge over their competitors. Of course, it is possible that the competitor tested LinkedIn some time ago and then decided against running more ads. However, placing adverts is definitely worth a try, especially as LinkedIn is constantly improving its algorithms and new ad formats and functions are being added.
If adverts are listed, it is important to note that these adverts have been active at some point in the past six months. Therefore, as mentioned above, not all adverts in this feed are active. If competitors are running adverts, the following questions arise:
Which ad formats do competitors use?
As soon as competitors place ads, it is possible to analyse which ad and media formats have been tested over the last six months. If certain ad formats have only been used rarely or only initially, this could be an indication that the formats are not performing satisfactorily. Of course, this does not mean that these formats are not working.
After all, the wrong target groups may have been addressed or the interest of potential customers may not have been aroused due to poor wording or uninteresting assets.
It is therefore more important to get an overview of recurring formats that are likely to be more effective. These should be tackled first. For the other formats – as is so often the case in marketing – trial and error applies.
If you would like an overview of the different LinkedIn ad formats, take a look at our blog post LinkedIn Ads – ad formats. For instructions on how to create your first LinkedIn Ad, we recommend our blog post Advertising on LinkedIn: How to set up your first advert.
How does the competing company structure its adverts (content, media, etc.)?
This question is then answered by analysing the advertisements in greater depth. This involves analysing the selected media formats and the texts. Exemplary questions that could help with the creation of your own adverts are
Does the competition tend to use images or rather videos?
Are the images and videos more focussed on the products or their benefits?
Are potential customers addressed as ‘you’ or ‘you’?
Are the adverts more emotional or factual?
Which USPs (Unique Selling Points) are used?
Which call-to-actions are used?
These questions are only intended to provide a little help when analysing the ads. In the end, other questions or analytical approaches are of central importance in every industry and should be taken into account.
Can I see the success of my competitors' LinkedIn adverts?
Unfortunately, this is only partially possible. While any conversions or clicks on the landing pages cannot be viewed, engagement with the adverts can be tracked to a limited extent:
By clicking on the three dots next to an advert in the ad tab and clicking on ‘Copy link to article’, the link to the advert can be copied. The advert can be accessed directly by pasting the URL into a new browser tab or window. The comments and likes on the advert can be tracked here.
Conclusion
Analysing your competitors’ ads can provide many valuable insights. This applies both to cases where the LinkedIn medium is not yet being used for your own adverts and to cases where adverts are already being placed. In both cases, competitors’ adverts can provide new ideas, well-functioning ad formats or various forms of inspiration. So all that remains for us to say is: Open LinkedIn and analyse your biggest competitors!
If you need help with LinkedIn Ads or other areas of online marketing, contact us now without obligation and arrange a free initial consultation!
