Hupspot Guide to LinkedIn Sponsored Updates
In this guide you will learn, in true Hubspot fashion, how to plan, launch, and optimize LinkedIn Sponsored Updates that consistently generate qualified B2B leads and customers. We will walk through each step of the campaign process, from setting goals to reporting on results, based on proven practices used by top-performing marketing teams.
This article distills the key lessons from a real-world Sponsored Update campaign documented on the LinkedIn platform and explained in detail on HubSpot’s agency-focused blog, so you can replicate the same structure inside your own strategy.
Why LinkedIn Sponsored Updates Matter for Hubspot-Style Marketing
LinkedIn Sponsored Updates are native ads that appear directly in a user’s feed. For B2B marketers following a Hubspot-style inbound approach, they are powerful because they:
- Put your content in front of very specific professional audiences.
- Support lead generation with forms, offers, and webinars.
- Promote blog posts, ebooks, or case studies without looking like traditional display ads.
- Allow precise firmographic and role-based targeting.
When planned correctly, these campaigns amplify your content distribution and fill the top of your funnel, complementing the nurturing, email, and CRM workflows you already manage.
Pre-Campaign Planning with a Hubspot Mindset
Before you build any ads, define the foundation of your campaign. A structured approach similar to that used in classic Hubspot playbooks includes four key elements:
1. Set a Clear LinkedIn Campaign Goal
Decide what success looks like. Typical goals for Sponsored Updates include:
- Generating net-new leads for a specific offer or webinar.
- Driving qualified traffic to a key blog post or pillar page.
- Promoting a downloadable guide or report.
- Reaching targeted decision makers with a new product message.
Choose one primary goal per campaign so you can measure performance accurately.
2. Define Your Ideal Audience
A refined audience is central to inbound and to any Hubspot-style paid strategy. On LinkedIn you can segment by:
- Job title, seniority, and function.
- Industry and company size.
- Skills and groups.
- Geographic region.
Start with a persona: role, problems, and motivations. Then translate that persona into LinkedIn’s available filters so only the right prospects see your Sponsored Updates.
3. Choose the Right Content Offer
Sponsored Updates should highlight content that is useful and relevant, not purely promotional. Good examples include:
- Educational blog posts or how-to articles.
- Webinar registrations.
- Ebooks, templates, or checklists.
- Case studies and success stories.
Make sure your landing page and offer match the promise of the ad copy, just as you would ensure message match between a Hubspot landing page and its call-to-action.
4. Plan Budget and Schedule
Decide on:
- Daily or total budget for the campaign.
- Bidding model (CPC or CPM) based on your objective.
- Start and end dates, or always-on schedules for evergreen content.
LinkedIn typically recommends a starting bid range; begin near the middle, monitor performance, and adjust once you have data.
Step-by-Step: Building Your LinkedIn Sponsored Update
The original walkthrough of this process can be found on HubSpot’s blog at this LinkedIn Sponsored Update campaign tutorial. The steps below summarize how to set up your own campaign.
Step 1: Create a New Campaign
- Log into LinkedIn Campaign Manager.
- Click to create a new campaign and choose the Sponsored Content objective that best fits your goal (traffic, leads, or awareness).
- Select the LinkedIn Page that will sponsor the content.
Using a consistent naming convention, similar to what Hubspot users do for campaigns, will help you track performance across channels.
Step 2: Select or Create Your Sponsored Content
You can either sponsor an existing post from your LinkedIn Page or create a new direct Sponsored Update that will not appear on your public page. For most B2B lead generation plays, direct-only Sponsored Updates allow more focused, test-friendly messaging.
When crafting the update:
- Use a clear, benefit-focused headline.
- Write concise copy that highlights value first.
- Add a strong call-to-action, such as “Download the guide” or “Save your seat.”
- Include an eye-catching image that aligns with your brand.
Step 3: Set Up Targeting
Now translate your persona into specific targeting rules:
- Start with location, which is required.
- Layer in job title, seniority, and function.
- Add industry and company size filters.
- Exclude irrelevant roles to keep the audience tight.
Hubspot-inspired segmentation best practices suggest avoiding huge, unfocused audiences. A narrower, well-defined group usually converts better and wastes less budget.
Step 4: Choose Bidding and Budget
Next, choose CPC if your goal is clicks or leads, or CPM for broad awareness. Then:
- Set a daily budget that allows you to generate statistically useful results.
- Pick a bid within the range LinkedIn recommends, leaning toward the middle to start.
- Schedule your campaign to run continuously or between specific dates that align with your promotion calendar.
As with any Hubspot-centric campaign, plan to monitor performance during the first days and adjust bids once you see trends.
Step 5: Launch and Monitor Your Campaign
Once all settings look correct, launch your Sponsored Update. Then log back into Campaign Manager regularly to watch:
- Impressions, clicks, and click-through-rate (CTR).
- Cost per click and total spend.
- Lead form submissions or conversions on your landing page.
Combine LinkedIn’s data with analytics or CRM tracking so you can see not only clicks, but also the quality and lifecycle of the leads you generate.
Optimizing Performance Like a Hubspot Power User
Ongoing optimization is where LinkedIn Sponsored Updates start to deliver compounding returns. Adapt the same iterative mindset that underpins Hubspot-style inbound programs.
Test Multiple Variations
Run A/B tests on:
- Headlines that emphasize different benefits.
- Images, colors, or creative styles.
- Calls-to-action and value propositions.
- Audience segments and exclusions.
Pause underperforming ads and shift budget to high-converting versions, then create new variants to keep improving results.
Refine Your Targeting
Use early performance data to adjust:
- Remove job titles or industries with low engagement.
- Expand to similar roles once you find a winning segment.
- Test separate campaigns for different personas rather than one blended audience.
This approach mirrors how Hubspot users often clone and tailor campaigns for each persona and lifecycle stage.
Align with Nurturing and CRM
Sponsored Updates work best when leads are nurtured after the click. Ensure that:
- Your landing page form captures the right fields for segmentation.
- New leads are added to appropriate email sequences or workflows.
- Sales teams have context on which content or offer the lead engaged with.
When your paid, organic, and CRM efforts are synchronized, each new contact from LinkedIn becomes more valuable.
Bringing It All Together
By following the structured approach outlined above and modeled after the detailed tutorial on the HubSpot blog, you can turn LinkedIn Sponsored Updates into a repeatable channel for high-intent B2B leads. Start with a clear goal, choose a strong content offer, build precise targeting, and keep improving your campaigns with consistent testing and analysis.
If you want help integrating this type of strategy into a broader digital marketing plan, you can explore additional resources at Consultevo, where performance-focused frameworks are applied across channels.
Use these steps as a template, refine them for your audience, and you will have a sustainable system for promoting content and generating leads with Sponsored Updates, fully aligned with a modern inbound methodology.
Need Help With Hubspot?
If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your Hubspot , work with ConsultEvo, a team who has a decade of Hubspot experience.
“`
