Brighton's LinkedIn Ads Agency Vetting Guide

If you're a founder or marketer in Brighton, you've probably been told you *have* to be on LinkedIn. You’ve likely boosted a few posts, maybe even run a campaign, and seen your budget evaporate with little to show for it but a handful of vague impressions and a few clicks from the wrong people. Now you're searching for an agency, thinking a local expert might have the magic wand.

The truth is, there's no magic. Most agencies will sell you the same tired playbook. The reason your ads aren't working isn't because you're not in London; it's because your entire approach to B2B advertising is probably flawed from the ground up. Before you spend a single pound with an agency, you need to understand what 'good' actually looks like. This is the no-nonsense guide to finding a LinkedIn ads partner in Brighton that won't just burn your cash.

So, why are my LinkedIn ads failing?

Let's be brutally honest. Brighton has a unique business ecosystem. It’s packed with creative agencies, ambitious tech startups around the New England Quarter, and established professional services firms. The competition for attention is fierce. But the biggest mistake I see Brighton businesses make is running what I call 'hopeful' campaigns. They target broad job titles like "Marketing Manager," write generic copy about their "innovative solutions," and point it all at a homepage with a "Contact Us" form.

This fails because it ignores the fundamental rule of B2B marketing: you are not selling a service; you are solving a very specific, often career-threatening, problem. The Head of Sales at a SaaS company isn't waking up thinking, "I need a new CRM integration." She's waking up terrified that her team will miss their quarterly target again and she'll have an awful conversation with the board. Your advertising must speak directly to that terror, not your software's features.

Furthermore, many advertisers fall into the trap of using "Brand Awareness" or "Reach" campaigns, thinking they're building a brand. What you are actually doing is telling the platform's algorithm to find the cheapest possible eyeballs within your audience. These are, by definition, the people least likely to engage or buy. It's an expensive way to talk to people who will never be your customers. Success comes from running conversion-focused campaigns from day one, even if the goal is generating high-quality leads rather than direct sales.

How do I vet an agency without getting ripped off?

When you start talking to agencies, they'll show you glossy presentations and talk about their "proprietary process." You need to cut through the fluff and ask the right questions. Your goal isn't just to hire a local agency; it's to hire the *right* strategic partner.

1. Demand Relevant Case Studies

Don't accept a case study from a B2C eCommerce brand if you're a B2B software company. It's irrelevant. Ask for proof that they've successfully run campaigns for businesses similar to yours—ideally B2B tech or high-value services. One campaign we worked on for a B2B software client on LinkedIn Ads, for instance, generated leads from senior decision-makers at an average cost of $22 per lead. That's the kind of specific, relevant result you should be looking for. Ask them to walk you through the strategy, the targeting, the ad creative, and the results (in £). If they can't, they don't have the expertise you need.

2. The "Free Audit" Litmus Test

A confident, expert agency should be willing to give you value *before* you sign a contract. The best ones offer a free initial consultation or a brief audit of your existing ad account. This is their opportunity to demonstrate their expertise. They should be able to look at your setup and provide immediate, actionable insights. If their first step is to push you into a long-term contract without proving their worth, it's a massive red flag. For startups especially, this initial value exchange is a critical part of vetting a potential partner.

3. Do They Understand the Math?

Ask them about Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Lifetime Value (LTV). If you get blank stares, run. A top-tier agency understands that the goal isn't just cheap leads; it's profitable customer acquisition. They should be able to have a strategic conversation with you about what you can afford to pay for a customer, which dictates what you can afford to pay for a lead. They should be a business partner, not just a campaign manager. If you're serious about this, you'll need a solid framework for assessing an agency's strategic capabilities.

How should an agency define my target audience?

This is where most campaigns live or die. Forget broad demographics. "Companies in Brighton with 50-100 employees" is a useless starting point. You need to define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) by their nightmare.

Your ICP is not a person; it's a problem state. What is the specific, urgent, and expensive problem that your service or product solves? Who inside a company feels that pain most acutely?

For example, let's say you're a Brighton-based agency that builds custom software for logistics companies.

• Bad Targeting: Job Title = "Operations Manager", Industry = "Logistics", Location = "UK"
• Good Targeting: Focus on the nightmare. The nightmare isn't 'needing software'; it's 'a key client threatening to leave because of late deliveries caused by inefficient routing'. The person feeling this pain is the Operations Manager who is getting furious calls from the client and pressure from their CEO.

A great agency will work with you to build a targeting strategy around this pain. They'll ask about the niche software these managers already use, the industry publications they read, or the influencers they follow on LinkedIn. This intelligence is the foundation of a campaign that actually works.

How much will I really pay for a lead?

This is the million-dollar—or rather, the hundred-pound—question. The cost of a lead on LinkedIn varies wildly based on your industry, targeting, and offer. Anyone who gives you a fixed number without knowing these details is guessing. However, based on our experience running numerous UK B2B campaigns, we can provide some realistic benchmarks.

In developed markets like the UK, a click (CPC) on LinkedIn can range from £2 to £8, sometimes more for highly competitive audiences like C-level executives. The next variable is your landing page conversion rate. A decent B2B landing page might convert at 5-10%. A really well-optimised one might hit 15%.

So, let's do the maths:

• Scenario 1 (Average): £5 CPC / 5% Conversion Rate = £100 Cost Per Lead (CPL)
• Scenario 2 (Optimised): £3 CPC / 15% Conversion Rate = £20 Cost Per Lead (CPL)

As you can see, small improvments in your click cost and landing page can have a dramatic impact on your lead cost. An expert agency focuses on optimising both sides of this equation. Use the calculator below to get a feel for how these metrics impact your potential CPL.

What is a good offer and why does it matter?

Even with perfect targeting and brilliant ad copy, your campaigns will fail if your offer is weak. The single most common failure point in B2B advertising is the "Request a Demo" button. It's a high-friction, low-value Call to Action. It asks a busy, important person to commit their time to be sold to. It's arrogant, and it doesn't work nearly as well as it used to.

Your offer's only job is to provide a moment of undeniable value. It must solve a small part of their problem for free, earning you the right to solve the whole thing for a price. What does this look like in practice?

• For a SaaS company: A free, no-credit-card-required trial or a genuinely useful freemium plan. Let the product do the selling.
• For a consultancy: A free, automated diagnostic tool. For example, a marketing agency could offer a free SEO audit that reveals a prospect's top 3 keyword opportunities.
• For a high-touch service business: A free 20-minute strategy session where you provide actionable advice, not a sales pitch. This is exactly what we do. We audit failing ad campaigns completely free to demonstrate our value upfront.

If the agency you're talking to is only focused on driving traffic to a "Request a Demo" page, they lack strategic depth. The best agencies are offer-obsessed, because they know it's the most powerful lever for campaign success.

So, what's the next step?

Finding the right LinkedIn ads management agency in Brighton isn't about finding someone down the road; it's about finding a strategic partner who understands the deep mechanics of B2B lead generation. They must be able to move beyond vanity metrics and focus on what truly matters: acquiring high-value customers profitably.

You need a partner who will challenge your assumptions, help you define your customer's true pain point, craft a message they can't ignore, and build a high-value offer that makes saying 'yes' easy. Anything less is just a waste of your ad spend.

This is the main advice I have for you when vetting an agency:

If this strategic, results-driven approach is what your Brighton business has been missing, you might benefit from a conversation. We offer a complimentary, no-obligation 20-minute LinkedIn Ads strategy session. We'll review your current activity (or plans), identify your biggest opportunities, and give you actionable advice you can implement immediately. There's no hard sell, ever. Just expert guidance to help you stop wasting money and start generating real results.