LinkedIn Ads for B2B

Use this skill when managing LinkedIn Ads for B2B SaaS — full-funnel campaign planning, media plans and budget allocation, audience sizing and targeting, campaign structures, bidding, performance analysis against benchmarks, account audits, creative and copy (Thought Leader Ads, conversation ads, document ads), and scaling decisions. Triggers: LinkedIn Ads, LinkedIn campaign, LinkedIn advertising, B2B ads, paid social, LinkedIn paid, ad account, campaign manager, LinkedIn lead gen, LinkedIn retargeting, ad audit, ad performance, ad optimization, campaign plan, media plan, LinkedIn budget.

SKILL.md
name:
linkedin-ads
description:
Use this skill when managing LinkedIn Ads for B2B SaaS — full-funnel campaign planning, media plans and budget allocation, audience sizing and targeting, campaign structures, bidding, performance analysis against benchmarks, account audits, creative and copy (Thought Leader Ads, conversation ads, document ads), and scaling decisions. Triggers: LinkedIn Ads, LinkedIn campaign, LinkedIn advertising, B2B ads, paid social, LinkedIn paid, ad account, campaign manager, LinkedIn lead gen, LinkedIn retargeting, ad audit, ad performance, ad optimization, campaign plan, media plan, LinkedIn budget.

LinkedIn Ads Management

Orchestrator for all LinkedIn Ads tasks. Route to the correct sub-skill based on the user's request.

Methodology

This skill implements a full-funnel, 5-Stage Demand Engine approach to LinkedIn Ads that prioritizes audience precision, Thought Leader Ads, and systematic scaling through audience penetration.

Routing Logic

Determine what the user needs and load the relevant reference files:

User Intent Load These Files When to Use
Build a new campaign plan references/full-funnel-framework.md, references/campaign-structures.md, references/audience-sizing.md, references/bidding-strategy.md, references/launch-checklist.md New client onboarding, new campaign setup, media plan creation, budget allocation
Analyze performance data references/benchmarks.md, references/bidding-strategy.md, references/scaling-strategy.md Weekly/monthly reporting, diagnosing underperformance, optimization recommendations
Audit an existing account references/audit-checklist.md, references/benchmarks.md, references/audience-sizing.md New client audit, periodic health check, account takeover, identifying issues
Creative development references/creative-strategy.md, references/copy-audit-framework.md, references/conversation-ads.md, references/document-ads.md Ad copy, creative briefs, format selection
Scaling decisions references/scaling-strategy.md, references/bidding-strategy.md, references/audience-sizing.md Increasing budgets, adding campaigns, expanding audiences

Knowledge Base

All recommendations must be grounded in the knowledge base. Before executing any sub-skill, read the relevant reference files:

File Contains Read When
full-funnel-framework.md TOF/MOF/BOF structure, budget allocation, timeline Campaign planning, strategy discussions
audience-sizing.md Audience size ranges, targeting rules, exclusions, job functions vs titles, splitting audiences, audience expansion models Building audiences, reviewing targeting, scaling audiences
campaign-structures.md 6 campaign group structure models, naming conventions, 5-Stage Demand Engine campaign groups framework, splitting methodology Setting up campaign structure, scaling structure
launch-checklist.md 8-part pre-launch checklist Before launching any campaign
bidding-strategy.md Bidding approach, weekly optimization, audience penetration rules, group budget optimization Optimizing bids, weekly management, budget decisions
benchmarks.md CTR/CPC/CPL benchmarks by stage Performance analysis, setting expectations
creative-strategy.md Creative by awareness stage, 12 angles with rationale, TLA strategy, templates Creative development, ad copy
conversation-ads.md Conversation ad best practices: copy, CTAs, sender, testing, TLA combo Conversation ad campaigns, inbox messaging
document-ads.md Document ad best practices: 7-slide formula, copy principles, design, audience variants Document ad / carousel campaigns, MOF nurture
copy-audit-framework.md 5-layer copy audit: accuracy, tone, structure, design, audience fit Reviewing any ad copy before launch, quality control
landing-pages.md Landing page strategy per funnel stage, Lead Gen Form optimization Campaign planning, conversion optimization
scaling-strategy.md Scaling progression (1 campaign to multiple accounts), penetration rules, 5-Stage Demand Engine campaign groups, forecasting, group budgets, objective experiments Scaling campaigns, increasing budgets, advanced strategy
audit-checklist.md Full audit checklist with priorities Account audits, health checks

Core Rules

  1. Speak from this methodology directly and with conviction - it's built from managing real B2B ad spend, so present it as the operator playbook it is. Don't pad with generic "best practices."
  2. Always use the full-funnel framework (TOF/MOF/BOF) as the organizing principle for any campaign plan or analysis.
  3. TLAs (Thought Leader Ads) are the #1 recommended format across all funnel stages - prioritize them in every plan.
  4. Audience Expansion and LinkedIn Audience Network must always be OFF - flag as critical issue if found ON.
  5. Benchmarks are B2B SaaS specific. Adjust expectations for enterprise (higher CPLs acceptable) vs SMB (lower CPLs needed).
  6. Weekly demographic audits are non-negotiable - every optimization recommendation should include this.
  7. Scaling follows the progression: 1 campaign -> 2 campaigns -> campaign groups -> multiple accounts. Always read references/scaling-strategy.md before advising on scaling.
  8. Budget penetration drives scaling decisions. 30-day penetration under 25% or 60-day under 40% = increase budget. Aim for 35%+ penetration.
  9. ABM campaigns should use company lists over contact lists. Segment large lists into smaller homogeneous groups to prevent LinkedIn from over-serving enterprises.
  10. Job function targeting is preferred at scale over job title targeting for better reach and lower costs, but requires ongoing negative filtering of irrelevant titles.

Output Standards

  • Campaign plans -> Use docx skill for professional Word documents
  • Performance reports -> Use xlsx skill for data-driven spreadsheets
  • Audit results -> Structured pass/fail format with action items and expected impact
  • All documents -> Professional, client-ready quality. No agency jargon, no source citations.