Meta Ads or LinkedIn Ads: Where to Invest for Better ROI?
When selecting marketing channels, business owners often find themselves overwhelmed by the options. Advertising platforms keep popping up, and trying them all sounds tempting. But time and budget are limited, so the decision has to be intentional. So, how do you choose correctly?
In this article, we take a closer look at two popular platforms, Meta and LinkedIn, to offer a simple approach and help you decide which one makes more sense for your business.
Who Are You Trying to Reach?
Before you dive into paid promotion, get clear on your audience. Are you targeting businesses (B2B) or individual consumers (B2C)? LinkedIn primarily caters to B2B. You’ll find managers, decision-makers, sales reps, HR teams, and tech specialists there. Meta (including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads) leans toward B2C. Some B2B audiences are there, too, but they’re usually browsing casually, reading content, and looking for inspiration.
Also, consider the intent of your audience. On LinkedIn, people come for professional content, networking, and business growth. Meta users are usually in a relaxed mindset. They’re more likely to act on emotion, buy spontaneously, and engage with entertaining content.
What’s Your Budget and What Are You Aiming For?
It’s also important to look at your ad budget. Advertising on LinkedIn costs more. Both clicks and impressions are pricier, but you get accurate targeting by job title, company, and industry. Meta offers lower cost per click and cost per thousand impressions, which means better reach and more traffic. However, without a strong funnel in place, you could end up wasting your ad spend.
Now, let’s talk about your business goals. If you aim to generate leads in the B2B space — collecting applications, promoting eBooks, or offering demo calls — LinkedIn can deliver way more quality contacts. If you want to build awareness, grow traffic, or trigger emotional purchases, Meta is a solid option.
The best results often come from using both:
LinkedIn helps with initial outreach or retargeting valuable lists. Meta is great for warming up your audience, running remarketing campaigns, and sharing stories.
Do You Have the Right Content for Each?
Next, review your content. What kind of materials are you creating? Are they suitable for these platforms?
LinkedIn works well when you highlight your expertise, so think of case studies, research findings, expert content, or webinar invites. Meta is all about the emotional hook. You’ll want videos, lifestyle photos, reviews, and user-generated content that feels relatable.
How to Know Which Platform Will Work Better for You
- Look at your sales funnel
Long decision-making processes, large deal sizes, and targeting executives point to LinkedIn. Quick decisions, emotional triggers, and a broad audience? That sounds more like Meta.
- Test both
Run a small campaign on each platform for a couple of weeks. Measure results like cost per lead, cost per action, conversion rate, and the quality of leads during follow-up calls or sales. Real numbers will show you where the better fit is.
There’s no one answer that works for everyone. Your decision should reflect your audience, your offer, and your marketing plan. Rather than choosing one platform over the other, think about how Meta and LinkedIn can work together. When used the right way, they can support different stages of the customer journey and strengthen each other’s impact.
If you’d like help figuring out what’s right in your specific case, just send a request through our website and tell us about your business. The PPC team at Livepage will be glad to assist you in finding the proper setup.