Growth Without Chaos
LinkedIn Ads for Agencies. Frequency Beats Reach
Chris Out
You put some budget behind LinkedIn ads and aim for as much reach as possible.
Big numbers.
Lots of impressions.
It feels like you're winning.
Yet nothing meaningful comes from it.
Here's where the mistake happens.
Reach isn't the goal.
Frequency is.
You don't want a huge audience to see you once.
You want a small, highly qualified audience to see you over and over again.
Why Reach Is Your Enemy
People don't buy from someone they saw once.
They buy from someone they know.
And familiarity comes from repetition, not reach.
First they don't know you.
Then they're tired of seeing you.
Then they buy.
That's why you should aim for a frequency of ten or more impressions per month with the same people.
That only works if your audience is small enough.
If you target too broadly, your budget gets spread across too many people.
Nobody sees you often enough to remember you.
Narrow and frequent beats broad and occasional.
Then there's summer.
Almost everyone cuts their advertising budget.
That's exactly when you should keep going.
By September, you'll be the one they still remember while everyone else has quietly disappeared from their minds.
Who You Should Target
There are two ways to build your audience.
Filter mode.
You target people based on characteristics like job title, company size, and industry. LinkedIn finds the people for you.
List mode.
You upload your own list of the exact companies or people you want to reach.
List mode is more precise because you decide exactly who's included.
Filter mode is broader, but it can easily expand to people you don't actually need.
If your agency has a clear ideal client profile, a tightly curated list is almost always the better choice.
The more focused your list, the higher your frequency among the people who actually matter, without increasing your budget.
What to Do This Week
Forget about maximizing reach.
Instead, identify the one hundred to a few hundred people who could realistically become clients.
Build a list around those people.
Focus your budget on increasing frequency within that audience.
Then keep your campaigns running throughout the summer.
If you want the full playbook for building and running these campaigns, I break it down in the free course.
Now ask yourself one question. If you opened your target list today, would it contain the people you actually want as clients, or just everyone who vaguely looks like them?
FAQ
Do LinkedIn ads work for agencies?
Yes, as long as you optimize for frequency instead of reach. A small, highly relevant audience that sees your ads ten or more times per month will outperform a large audience that only sees you once.
How often should my audience see my LinkedIn ads?
Aim for at least ten impressions per month for the same people. Familiarity comes through repetition, and people are much more likely to buy from someone they recognize.
Should I keep advertising during the summer?
Yes. Most agencies reduce their ad spend during the summer, which gives you the opportunity to remain visible. By September, you'll be the agency your audience still remembers because you never disappeared.
What's better, targeting by filters or uploading your own list?
For agencies with a clearly defined ideal client profile, uploading your own list is almost always the better option. You control exactly who's included, allowing you to increase frequency among the people who matter most without spending more.
Which is more important on LinkedIn, organic content or paid ads?
They work best together. Organic content builds trust, while paid ads make sure the right people see you often enough to remember you. If you have to optimize your ads for one metric, optimize for frequency within the right audience.
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