How To Use LinkedIn Lead Gen Ads For B2B

The best way to use LinkedIn lead gen ads for B2B? It’s all about targeting the right people, offering valuable lead magnets with pre-filled forms, and following up with smart retargeting.

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With over 67 million company profiles, LinkedIn is a must-use platform for anyone looking to generate B2B leads. 

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However, with endless streams of content bombarding us from every angle and a sea of pushy advertisers with sales in mind, B2B decision-makers have become far more discerning and challenging to engage with.

According to Sopro, 45% of businesses reported struggling to generate enough leads in the last year.

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The difference between those businesses that generate a mere trickle of leads and those that consistently fill their sales pipeline? 

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Their approach.

This article explains the best ways to use LinkedIn ads for B2B lead generation—from targeting your ideal customer to creating content that actually delivers value and leads to engagement.

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Why Should You Use LinkedIn For Lead Gen?

If you're in B2B marketing, LinkedIn should be one of the main platforms you advertise on. Nearly 9 out of 10 B2B marketers use it for lead generation, and a majority say it brings in some pretty solid results—more than twice as many as the next-best social platform.

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That’s because LinkedIn does a few things really well. For starters, it’s the social platform for businesses and professionals. But beyond that, it offers some interesting targeting settings that help you reach the right people, and it gives you the tools to track what’s working. 

How to Attract B2B Leads Using LinkedIn Ad

Create Target Audiences

When it comes to B2B lead generation, the quality of your audience matters more than the size. And LinkedIn offers a range of targeting capabilities that let you zero in on specific segments.

Some filtering options particularly valuable for B2B targeting include:

• Company attributes
• Job-related fields
• Member traits
• Custom audiences
• Lookalike audiences
• Exclusion Audience

However, while the targeting capabilities are powerful, they have some limitations that require strategic management. For instance, job titles aren’t standardized, and company data can be outdated. However, you can mitigate these challenges by layering your filtering settings. 

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Say you're targeting Heads of Product at enterprise tech firms; a job title search alone may not cut it. A more effective approach combines multiple parameters:

• Seniority: Senior, Director, VP
• Job function: Product
• Company size: 500+ employees
• Industry: Information Technology & Services, Computer Software

This multi-layered approach filters out irrelevant prospects and ensures your advertising reaches appropriate people within suitable organizations.

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Turning Attention Into Action With LinkedIn Lead Generation Ads

Once you’ve defined your audience, the next challenge is getting them to engage and, ultimately, convert. LinkedIn Lead Gen Ads come into play. They’re a type of ad that allows you to invite users to submit their contact information directly within the LinkedIn platform—a little exchange of information, if you will. 

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These ads typically include Lead Gen Forms, which makes this process seamless by automatically pre-filling details—like their name, email, job title, company, and more—from a user’s LinkedIn profile. This offers prospects a quick and convenient way to engage with your brand and acquire some valuable information.

Once a user submits their information and the exchange has been made, it opens the door for future and more direct interactions.

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But convenience alone won’t drive results.

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Even the most precisely targeted ads will fall flat if the messaging doesn’t resonate. It’s not just about generating leads; it’s about generating the right leads. If your offer doesn’t align with your audience’s intent, you’ll end up with a list of contacts who aren’t committed, and you’ll end up paying for unqualified leads. Your copy needs to reflect your audience’s current pain points and buying stage. 

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That’s why it’s critical to pair your Lead Gen Ads with stage-appropriate, value-driven offers (a.k.a. lead magnets). 

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What Makes a Good Lead Magnet?

Remember that “value exchange” we mentioned earlier? A lead magnet is what you’re offering your prospect. It’s a valuable resource that solves a specific problem for your audience. It’s designed to attract leads and encourage form submissions without requiring immediate purchase commitment.

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Here are a few examples:

• Educational guides or whitepapers
• Webinars and workshops
• Templates or checklists
• Benchmark reports
• ROI calculators or free tools

If you’re running ads for buyers who are earlier in the journey, you’d want to offer them a lead magnet that helps to inform them, like an educational guide or checklist. 

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P.S. If you want to learn more about upper funnel strategies and how to drive interactions with lead magnets, our blog, “4 Top-of-Funnel LinkedIn Ad Strategies For B2B,” provides a more detailed overview of this.

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Whether it's an educational guide, a webinar invite, or an industry benchmark report, your offer should feel like a natural next step for someone at that stage in their journey.

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A Few Things to Keep in Mind For LinkedIn Lead Gen Ads

• Limit form fields. Ask only for what’s essential—especially at the top of the funnel. More fields = fewer conversions.
• Ensure your messages match. The form or landing page should align perfectly with the ad copy. If the ad promises a free guide, the form should deliver a free guide—no bait and switch.
• Test everything. Small changes can make a big difference. For instance, “Download Now” vs. “Get the Guide” might shift your conversion rate more than you expect.
• Pay attention to signals. Form submissions aren’t just about convenience—they’re a sign of intent. The more targeted your offer, the stronger that signal becomes.

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LinkedIn Retargeting Strategies for B2B

B2B buyers don’t follow a straight path—the process is longer, more independent, and involves a lot more people. And we’re not just talking one or two decision-makers. For enterprise software, there can be input from three or even five departments, from IT and finance to HR and operations.

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In this kind of environment, quick wins are rare. Buyers do their homework, loop in their team, and they take their time. That means you need to show up consistently, offer value, and gradually build trust (which is exactly what retargeting is all about).

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But just like any other stage, it’s important to segment your audiences and target them accordingly.

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Segment by level of Engagement

Not all engagement means the same thing. Someone who skimmed a blog post is in a totally different headspace than someone who checked out your pricing page or watched a full demo.

So, group your audiences based on how ready they are to take the next step.

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Here’s a rough breakdown:

• Low-intent would be anyone who’s interacted with your brand on some level. This could be someone who’s read a blog or checked out your LinkedIn profile.
• High-intent visitors are people who’ve checked out pricing pages, checked demos, webinar sign-ups, or viewed a case study.

Be sure to tailor your messaging accordingly. You wouldn’t ask someone on a first date to move in. The same goes for pitching a product demo to someone just starting to explore.

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Retarget Based on Recent Activity

You can also target users based on when they last interacted with your brand. The idea is that the more recently someone visits your site, the more likely they are to be considering your solution. For instance, someone who hit your pricing page yesterday is a much warmer lead than someone who clicked a blog post six months ago.

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LinkedIn gives you the flexibility to retarget based on how recently someone engaged—think 7, 15, 30, 60, 90, 180, or even 365 days. However, the “right” window really depends on your sales cycle. For fast-moving SaaS tools, shorter windows might work best. For enterprise deals with longer decision timelines, broader ranges could be more effective.

The key is to experiment. You should be testing different recency windows to see where your conversions actually happen. That way, you’re not just reminding people you exist—you’re showing up with the right message when they’re most likely to act.

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Retargeting is a crucial strategy for lead generation. If you want to learn more, our article, “Guide to LinkedIn Retargeting for B2B SaaS,” dives way deeper into the topic. 

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Pimly Case Study: Using Lead Magnets to Stand Out in a Crowded Market

Pimly is a B2B SaaS company in the crowded PIM space. They needed a way to engage enterprise buyers, but they were having a hard time generating quality leads. Part of the reason for this was their overly aggressive or “salesy” approach.

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Working with InterTeam, they launched a series of educational lead magnets—guides like “Optimize PIM for Speed”—promoted through LinkedIn and Google Ads. Each guide was paired with a lightweight, pre-filled form and its own dedicated landing page, making it easy for buyers to engage on their terms. And it didn’t take long to see the impact.

Within just a few months, Pimly saw:

• 10x increase in qualified leads
• 54% lower cost per lead vs. Google Ads alone
• 35% higher engagement on LinkedIn

By prioritizing useful content over hard sells, Pimly stood out in a saturated market and built real traction with enterprise decision-makers.

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👉 Read the full Pimly case study here.

Google Ads For Enterprise B2B SaaS

Read Case Study

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Partner With A LinkedIn Lead Generation Agency

There’s a lot of advice out there about running LinkedIn Ads—and honestly, it is possible to figure things out on your own. But if your campaigns aren’t quite delivering the leads or momentum you hoped for, it might be worth hiring a professional.

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Small tweaks can make a BIG difference. Things like how your audience is structured, how your offer is framed, or how you handle retargeting can really impact results.

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At InterTeam, we work with B2B SaaS companies to fine-tune what’s already working—or build from the ground up when it’s not. Whether you're troubleshooting an underperforming campaign or just feeling unsure where to start, we can help you run smarter and more sustainably.

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If you think a second set of eyes would be helpful, you can book a free strategy call here.

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FAQs

Is LinkedIn good for B2B lead generation?

Yes—LinkedIn is one of the best platforms for B2B lead generation. Its targeting options and professional user base make it ideal for reaching decision-makers, especially in niche B2B industries.

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What are the best targeting options for LinkedIn Ads?

The most effective targeting options include job title, company size, industry, seniority, and custom audiences like CRM uploads or website visitors. Combining filters helps improve lead quality.

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What is a LinkedIn Lead Gen Form?

A Lead Gen Form is a pre-filled form embedded in a LinkedIn ad. It lets users submit their contact details without leaving the platform, making it easier to collect leads with less friction.

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What makes a good lead magnet for B2B?

Great B2B lead magnets solve a specific problem. Examples include whitepapers, industry benchmarks, webinars, or ROI calculators—anything that’s genuinely useful to your ideal audience.

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How does LinkedIn retargeting work?

LinkedIn retargeting lets you serve ads to users based on their past interactions with your site or content. You can segment audiences by recency or engagement level to tailor your messaging and increase conversions.

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What’s the difference between low- and high-intent leads?

Low-intent leads may have casually engaged with your brand (e.g., reading a blog), while high-intent leads show stronger buying signals (e.g., checking pricing or watching a demo). Segmenting by intent helps tailor your follow-up strategy.