Solved: Targeting exporting companies on LinkedIn Ads

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out! Happy to give you some of my initial thoughts and guidance on using LinkedIn Ads for your translation agency. You're asking some really good questions, especially for someone new to the platform. It's a powerful tool for B2B but it can be a bit of a minefield if you don't get the foundations right.

I've run a fair few campaigns for B2B services, including for software companies targeting very specific international decision-makers, so hopefully my experience can point you in the right direction. Let's get into it.

We'll need to look at your customer first...

Before we even touch the LinkedIn Ads manager, the first thing I'd do is get really, really clear on who your ideal customer is. I know you've said "exporting companies," which is a great starting point, but we need to go deeper. This is probably the most important step and one a lot of people skip over. They just jump straight into picking interests and wonder why nothing works.

So, think about your best current clients. What do they have in common?

Company Profile:

Are they a particular size? For example, are they startups that have just received funding and are looking to expand, or are they established SMEs with 50-250 employees? Or are they large enterprises? The needs and the person you need to talk to will be completly different for each. A startup founder might make the decision themselves, whereas in a large corporation, you might have to go through a procurement department, a marketing manager, and a head of legal. The size of the company is a critical targeting filter on LinkedIn.

What industry are they in? You mentioned exporting, which points towards certain sectors. Manufacturing, technology/SaaS, pharmaceuticals, engineering, high-end consumer goods, e-commerce... these are all likely candidates. Getting specific here will make your targeting a hundred times more effective. Targeting "manufacturing" is much better than targeting everyone.

The Decision Maker:

This is just as important. Who at these companies actually feels the pain that your translation service solves? Who signs the cheque? It's probably not just one person. You might have a few key personas:

• -> Marketing Manager / Head of Marketing: They're responsible for localising websites, marketing materials, and ad campaigns. They need high-quality, culturally-aware translations to drive international sales. Their pain is a bad translation ruining a campaign's ROI.
• -> Export Manager / Head of International Sales: Their job is literally to sell abroad. They need contracts, product manuals, sales presentations, and communications translated accurately and quickly. A delay or error here could cost them a major deal.
• -> Product Manager: If it's a software or tech company, they need the user interface (UI), help docs, and support materials localised for new markets.
• -> C-Level Execs (CEO, CSO): In smaller companies, the boss might be driving the international expansion strategy directly. They're less concerned with the price and more with reliability and enabling growth.

You need to know who you're talking to because the message that resonates with a Marketing Manager ("Don't let bad translations kill your global campaign ROI") will be different from the one for a Head of Sales ("Close international deals faster with accurate contract translations"). You'll create different ads for these different people. It's a bit more work, sure, but it's how you get results instead of just wasting money.

I'd suggest you sit down and write out 2-3 of these "Ideal Customer Personas" in detail. Give them a name, a job title, list their responsibilities, their goals, and what problems they have that you can solve. Every decision you make afterwards, from targeting to ad copy, should be aimed squarely at one of these personas.

I'd say you need to nail the targeting on LinkedIn...

Okay, now for your main question: how to target companies with high exports. This is a brilliant question because it shows you're already thinking about business intent, not just demographics. Tbh, LinkedIn doesn't have a simple checkbox for "exports more than £5M a year." That would be too easy! But we can get very close by being clever and using proxies. We are basically making an educated guess based on a combination of factors.

This is how I would approach it. You're building an audience layer by layer. Think of it like a recipe. You need all the right ingredients.

Ingredient 1: Geography
Start with the countries where your target companies are based. I assume you're in the UK, so you'd probably start with 'United Kingdom'. But you could also target other major European economies like Germany or France if you offer those language pairs.

Ingredient 2: Industry
This is our first big clue for exporting. As we discussed, you'd select the industries most likely to have significant international operations. For example: 'Manufacturing', 'Technology, Information and Media', 'Pharmaceutical Manufacturing', 'Software Development', 'Medical Equipment Manufacturing', 'Automotive'. Don't just chuck everything in one campaign. I'd group similar industries together so you can see which sectors respond best.

Ingredient 3: Company Size
This is another proxy. Very small companies (1-10 employees) might export, but they're less likely to have a consistent, high-volume need for translation. Larger companies (51-200, 201-500, etc.) are far more likely to have dedicated export strategies and budgets. You'd want to test different size brackets to see where the sweet spot is. My gut feeling says 50-500 employees is a good place to start.

Ingredient 4: Job Titles / Functions
Now we narrow it down to the actual people. You take your personas from the first step and target them directly. You can target by 'Job Titles'. Be specific: "Marketing Manager", "Export Manager", "Head of Sales", "International Sales Director". You can also target by 'Job Function' which is broader but still effective, e.g., 'Marketing', 'Sales', 'Business Development'.

When you combine these layers, you get something like this:

Location: United Kingdom
AND
Industry: Manufacturing OR Automotive
AND
Company Size: 51-200 employees OR 201-500 employees
AND
Job Function: Marketing OR Sales

Suddenly, you're not targeting 5 million random people. You're targeting a much smaller, much more relevant audience of a few thousand marketing and sales professionals at mid-sized manufacturing companies in the UK. The chances of them needing translation services are now dramatically higher. That's the logic.

Advanced Targeting Tip: Company Lists

Here's a more advanced method. Do your homework. Create a spreadsheet of, say, 100-500 companies in the UK that you know are major exporters. You can find these from industry reports, government lists (like the King's Awards for Enterprise), or just by researching companies in your target sectors. This is called Account-Based Marketing (ABM). You then upload this list to LinkedIn as a "Company List" audience. Then, you can overlay your job title targeting on top of that. Now you're showing ads only to the decision-makers at the exact companies you want to work with. It's the most precise targeting you can do, but it takes some upfront work. Tools like Apollo.io or ZoomInfo can help you build these lists, but you can do it manually to start.

Here’s a sample table of how you could structure your initial audience tests:

By splitting your audiences like this, you can see exactly what works and what doesn't, and then put more budget behind the winners. Don't just lump everyone into one big audience – that's a surefire way to get poor results and not know why.

You probably should consider your campaign objective...

Once you have your 'who', you need to decide 'what' you want them to do. On LinkedIn, this is your Campaign Objective. This tells the algorithm what you're trying to achieve, and it will optimise delivery to people most likely to take that action. Choosing the wrong one is a very common and costly mistake.

For a service like yours, these are the main ones to consider:

1. Lead Generation: This is probably your best bet to start with. When someone clicks your ad, a form pops up right there within LinkedIn. It's pre-filled with their profile information (name, email, company, job title). This makes it incredibly easy for them to submit their details. The advantage is a lower Cost Per Lead (CPL) because there's less friction. The disadvantage is that the leads can sometimes be lower quality because it was so easy to sign up. They might not be fully bought-in. You'll need a solid follow-up process to qualify them.

I remember one campaign we ran for a B2B software client using these forms. We achieved 4,622 registrations at a cost of $2.38 each. For a translation agency, you could offer a piece of valuable content in exchange for their details, like "The 2024 Guide to German Market Localisation" or a "Free Website Translation Audit".

2. Website Conversions: This objective sends people to a specific landing page on your website, and you aim for them to complete an action there (like filling out your contact form). The advantage here is that the leads are usually much higher quality. Anyone who takes the time to leave LinkedIn, read your landing page, and then fill out a form is genuinely interested. The CPL will almost certainly be higher than with Lead Gen forms, but the conversion rate from lead-to-customer should also be higher. Your website and landing page have to be really good for this to work, though. If your site is confusing or doesn't sell your service well, you'll just be paying for clicks that go nowhere.

3. Conversation Ads (InMail): This is basically a paid, targeted message that lands directly in your target's LinkedIn inbox. It feels more personal. You can use it to start a one-on-one conversation. For high-value services, this can be effective, but it can also be seen as a bit spammy if not done right. You need really good, non-salesy copy. It's like cold outreach, just that you pay for it. I'd probably test this later, once you have a feel for what messaging works with other ad formats.

My advice? Start with a Lead Generation campaign. It's the quickest way to get data and see if your targeting and offer are resonating, without being totally dependant on having a perfect website from day one.

You'll need the right ad formats...

So you know who you're targeting and what you want them to do. Now, what do the ads actually look like? LinkedIn gives you a few options, and you should test them against each other to see what your audience responds to. Don't just run one image ad and call it a day.

Here’s a quick rundown of the main formats for a Lead Gen or Website Conversion campaign:

• -> Single Image Ad: The bread and butter of LinkedIn ads. It's an image, a headline, and some text. They're quick to make and great for getting a clear, concise message across. You'd want to use a strong, professional image that grabs attention. Not a cheesy stock photo. Maybe a graphic that highlights a key benefit, like "Expand into 10+ Markets Seamlessly."
• -> Video Ad: Video is brilliant for telling a story and building trust. You could have a short (15-30 second) video of your founder explaining your agency's philosophy, or a case study video with a client talking about their success after using your services. People who watch a video are generally more qualified leads. It takes more effort to produce, but can often lead to a lower CPL. We've seen some of our SaaS clients have great success with simple User-Generated Content (UGC) style videos – they feel more authentic.
• -> Carousel Ad: This format lets you use multiple images (or "cards") that users can swipe through. It's fantastic for a service like yours. You could use each card to showcase a different aspect of your service: Card 1: Website Localisation, Card 2: Legal Document Translation, Card 3: Marketing Campaign Adaptation, etc. Or you could use it to walk them through a 3-step process of how you work with clients. They are very engaging.

I would always start by testing a Single Image Ad against a Video Ad within the same campaign. Put them both in the same ad set, targeting the same audience. LinkedIn will automatically start showing the better-performing one more often. It’s a simple split test that can make a huge difference to your results. For example, I remember one client in environmental controls where we managed to reduce their cost per lead by 84% simply by finding the right combination of targeting and creative on LinkedIn and Meta. Testing is everything.

I'd say you need a realistic budget and expectations...

This is the final, and often toughest, piece of the puzzle. B2B advertising, especially on a premium platform like LinkedIn, is not cheap. You are paying a premium to reach those specific, high-value decision-makers. You're not going to get leads for 50p.

Based on our experience, a reasonable Cost Per Lead (CPL) for reaching B2B decision-makers can be anywhere from £15 to £60, or even more for very senior or niche roles. I remember one campaign we ran targeting B2B software decision-makers where we got the CPL down to around $22 (£18), which was considered a great result. You should be prepared for costs in that ballpark.

So, how much should you spend? You need to work backwards. Let's say you want 20 new leads per month. If your CPL is £30, you'll need an ad spend of 20 x £30 = £600 per month. I'd say a minimum test budget to get any meaningful data would be around £500-£1000 per month. Any less than that and you'll struggle to get enough clicks and conversions for the algorithm to learn and for you to make informed decisions. It'll just take too long.

The other thing is patience. B2B sales cycles are long. Someone who downloads your e-book today might not be ready to sign a contract for six months. You're not selling a t-shirt; you're selling a complex, high-trust service. The goal of your LinkedIn ads isn't necessarily to get a sale tomorrow. It's to fill the top of your sales funnel with qualified prospects that you can then nurture over time through email, sales calls, and retargeting.

Do not expect an immediate ROI in the first month. The first month is for data collection, testing, and learning. You'll find out which audiences are working, which ad copy resonates, and what a realistic CPL is for your business. From month two onwards, you can start to optimise and scale based on that data. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

This is the main advice I have for you:

I know that was a lot of information to take in. To make it a bit easier, here is a table summarising my main recommendations for getting started.

As you can see, there's a fair bit of strategy and testing involved in getting LinkedIn Ads right. It's not just about boosting a post. It's a systematic process of defining your audience, crafting the right message, choosing the right technical setup, and then continuously optimising based on data.

Doing all of this yourself, especially when you're new to it and trying to run your business, can be a massive drain on your time and money. You can easily spend thousands of pounds figuring things out the hard way.

This is where working with a specialist can make a huge difference. We've gone through this learning curve many times for many different clients. We know the benchmarks, we know the common pitfalls to avoid, and we have proven processes for testing and optimisation that get to results faster. We handle the entire process for you – from the initial strategy and audience building to the ad creation, campaign management, and reporting – so you can focus on what you do best: running your translation agency and talking to the qualified leads we generate.

If you'd like to discuss your specific situation in more detail, I'd be happy to offer you a free, no-obligation initial consultation. We could have a proper look at your business goals and map out a potential advertising strategy together. It'd give you a much clearer picture of the opportunity and how to seize it.

Just let me know if that's something you'd be interested in.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh