Since LinkedIn has become an invaluable platform for B2B lead generation, many businesses look up to it for direct contact with customers. However, to maximise results on LinkedIn, most companies need to invest in sponsored content, ads, or other forms of promotion. This may cost some money.
Understanding the LinkedIn lead generation cost is crucial for businesses planning their marketing budget. The average cost per lead generated through LinkedIn usually ranges from 110 AED to 735 AED, depending on factors like industry, target audience, and campaign optimisation. Benchmarking against industry averages can help businesses set realistic expectations around the investment needed to acquire quality leads.
Calculating LinkedIn Ad Spend
Paid LinkedIn ads are essential for pushing your content, offers, and brand presence out to a wider, relevant audience. Here are the main factors that determine your LinkedIn ad spend:
Linkedin-Based Prospect Sourcing is like looking for new friends on a website, but these friends can help you with your job or business. it’s a way to find people who might be interested in what you offer.
Targeting Options & Audience Size
- Narrower targeting = smaller audience size = lower cost per click (CPC)
- Broader targeting = larger reach = higher CPC
Most experts recommend layered targeting strategies – combining demographic, job role, and company attributes to reach your best-fit audience.
Competition
- Higher competition for keywords/audiences = higher costs
- Less competition = lower costs
Research keyword and bid estimates using LinkedIn’s campaign planner.
Engagement Goals
- Brand awareness campaigns = lower costs
- Lead generation goals = higher costs
Lead gen objectives require more targeting precision, which raises CPC.
Typical LinkedIn Ad Budget Estimate Ranges:
Now let’s look at the typical cost of running each of these ads to generate leads:
Ad Format | Monthly Budget | Leads Expected | Average Cost Per Lead |
Sponsored Content | 10,000 AED | 150 | 67 AED |
Text Ads | 7,000 AED | 100 | 70 AED |
Message Ads | 5,500 AED | 75 | 73 AED |
Spending at least AED 2000 per month is recommended for reasonable campaign performance. Monitor and optimise for conversion value, not just clicks or impressions.
Calculating Content Creation Costs
Quality and relevant content is key for attracting and engaging your target audiences on LinkedIn. Here’s an overview of content creation costs:
LinkedIn Sponsored Content
- Promote existing content to wider audiences
- The average cost per 1,000 post impressions is AED 2-5
- Minimum daily budget: AED 35
Original Text & Image Content
Cover cost of production:
- Blog articles – AED 150-500+ per piece
- Long-form posts – AED 800-2500+
- Infographics – AED 500-1500+
- Videos – AED 2000-6000+
Factor in any image licences, multimedia uses, and editing time required.
Influencer Content Partnerships
Engage LinkedIn thought leaders to author sponsored posts.
Average fees per sponsored post:
- Micro-influencers (<10k followers) – AED 1000-2000
- Mid-tier (10k – 100k followers) – AED 2500-5000
- High-tier influencers (100k+ followers) – AED 6000+
Negotiate contracts based on audience reach, engagement rates, and content licensing.
Software, Tools & Analytics Expenses
To manage large-scale LinkedIn lead gen initiatives, specialised software & tools are necessary:
- Social media management tools – AED 150-300 per month
- Email marketing software – AED 200-500 per month
- CRM platforms – AED 300-1000+ per month
- Marketing analytics – AED 1000-5000 per month
- Lead enrichment tools – AED 8000-25000 per annum
When budgeting, consider free trial periods, long-term contracts, and the number of users per account.
Outsourced LinkedIn Lead Generation Services
Handling LinkedIn lead generation internally can be demanding in terms of time and resources. To alleviate this burden, businesses often consider outsourcing these activities. Outsourced lead generation services provide comprehensive support, typically including campaign management, content creation, sales outreach, and lead qualification.
When considering such services, it’s essential to understand the costs involved. The cost per lead can vary, and businesses must request and compare estimates from different service providers.
It is also crucial to vet these providers thoroughly. The quality of outsourced lead generation services can differ significantly from one provider to another. Proper vetting ensures that a business partners with a service provider that aligns with its specific needs and quality expectations.
Total LinkedIn Lead Generation Cost
Based on the above estimates, here is a breakdown of the average total cost to generate 500 LinkedIn leads over 3 months:
Expense | 3 Month Cost |
LinkedIn Ads | 71,500 AED |
Content Creation | 16,500 AED |
Tools & Other Fees | 3,300 AED |
Total Cost | 91,300 AED |
Be prepared to refine and optimise your LinkedIn lead generation strategy over time. Continually track conversion rates, pipeline growth, and sales to guide budget allocation.
Tips to Lower LinkedIn Lead Generation Costs
Here are 12 smart ways to decrease your LinkedIn costs without compromising lead quality or volumes:
1. Analyse Your Best Performing Campaigns
Dig into campaign analytics to find your best-performing ads and content offers. Allocate more budget towards those while pausing underperformers.
2. Offer Gated Content
Stocked behind forms, reports, guides, templates, etc., to generate more leads than simple blog posts. Prioritise creating such assets.
3. Design Converting Landing Pages
Work closely with your designer/developer to create landing pages with elements like social proof, urgency, value props, etc., to boost conversions.
4. Personalise Ad Copy
Dynamic custom audiences coupled with personalised ad copy deliver higher campaign performance.
5. Retarget Website Visitors
Bring back visitors who left without converting through tailored remarketing ads.
6. Make Leads Sales-Ready
Quality over quantity. Nurture and qualify leads to ensure they align well with your ideal customer profile before passing them to sales.
7. Automate Lead Nurturing
Set up workflows to send predefined emails to leads over time. This keeps your brand top of mind while saving time and effort.
8. Offer Referral Incentives
Encourage existing happy customers to refer you to more businesses in exchange for discounts, vouchers, etc.
9. Seek Client Testimonials
Positive client testimonials, especially with company logos, boost conversions. Actively collect and showcase such social proof.
10. Negotiate Agency Discounts
Negotiate rates in exchange for long-term or bulk commitments if working with marketing freelancers or agencies.
11. Explore LinkedIn’s Partner Programs
LinkedIn offers preferential rates to select partners under programs like the Agency Partner Program (APP), Certified Professionals, etc.
12. Continually Test And Optimise
Try different targeting options, ad formats, landing pages, lead magnets, etc., to find the most cost-efficient combinations. Empowering LinkedIn Automation for Leads is a tool that helps you find new business contacts easily. It’s like a robot that does the hard work of finding potential customers for you on LinkedIn. Crafting LinkedIn Content for Lead Harvesting is about creating interesting posts on LinkedIn to attract more people to your business. It’s like planting seeds of interest so you can gather more customers later.
Lead Generation with Salesforce Linkedin is like fishing for new customers using a special tool. It helps businesses find and connect with potential clients on Linkedin. Directing LinkedIn Real Estate Prospects is about guiding potential real estate clients on LinkedIn to your services. It’s like showing people who want to buy or sell houses how you can help them on LinkedIn.
Conclusion
With careful planning and investment, LinkedIn lead generation can become a predictable, profitable customer acquisition channel for UAE companies. Understanding the typical cost per lead can help businesses shape realistic budgets and expectations around their investment.
With optimisation over time, your business can refine its approach to using LinkedIn as an efficient new customer acquisition source.
For specialised LinkedIn lead generation services tailored to your KPIs, request a quote from the experts at Lou Assist —their B2B lead gen packages for the UAE starting from AED 2500 per month.
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