4 Top-of-Funnel LinkedIn Ad Strategies For B2B

B2B SaaS buyers don’t make decisions overnight. They research, compare, and evaluate before committing to a solution. That’s why a strong top-of-funnel (ToF) strategy isn’t optional—it’s essential.

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But you have to execute ToFu correctly for it to work. Executing a strong ToFu strategy is tricky.

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If you’re too eager (so not sexy), that is to say, if your ads jump straight to the hard sell, there’s a good chance they’ll be ignored.

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Instead of pushing for things like demos or calls right away, top-of-funnel ads introduce your brand in a way that feels natural. They build awareness, establish credibility, and create demand—all before you ever ask for a meeting.

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And when done right they lay the foundation for smoother conversions down the line.

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In this guide, we break down four effective top-of-funnel ad strategies for LinkedIn to attract more qualified leads, nurture interest, and turn cold prospects into future customers. 

Let’s dive in.

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Understanding Marketing Funnels

In case you need a refresher—a marketing funnel is a roadmap that breaks down the customer’s journey, narrowing a broad pool of potential leads into a smaller group of paying customers. 

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A typical marketing funnel is a three-stage path: Top of Funnel (ToF), Middle of Funnel (MoF), and Bottom of Funnel (BoF).

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Why a Full-Funnel Strategy Is Essential

Having a sales funnel is the foundation of your marketing strategy. Without one, you’re basically throwing content on the web and hoping the right person somehow stumbles on it.

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Building a sales funnel allows you to put together a marketing strategy that is cohesive and targeted. It provides you with a framework that allows you to craft a sales journey that gradually guides your lead to your solution. The key is to not only have new visitors engage with the site but also ensure that the other parts of the funnel (MoF and BoF or re-engagement part of the funnel) are part of your strategy as well—so you have a high conversion rate with all visitors that come to the website. 

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So what ends up happening is that you’re, in essence, providing them support throughout their journey of solving a particular challenge their business is facing. From the top of the funnel to the bottom, you build trust and credibility—so that by the time they’re ready to make a decision, they know who to go to. 

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What Is the Top of the Marketing Funnel & Its Role?

You can think of Top of Funnel (ToFu) as the first conversation between your brand and a potential customer. At this point, you’re just getting to know each other, and they might not even realize they have a problem or that you have the solution.

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So, in this conversation, you’re aiming to…

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Grab their attention.

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Show them you get their industry, and get them curious enough to learn more.

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Pro Tip: To achieve this, you need to know how to communicate effectively and align with what your audience is searching for—basically, you need to speak your audience’s (and Google’s) language. Our blog, “How to Write the Best B2B Ad Copy - 10 Tips,” is a good place to start.

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Essentially at the top of the funnel, your customer is in the “awareness” stage. So the objective when you’re creating content or running ads includes things like:

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• Increasing brand awareness: Help new audiences discover and learn about who you are and what you do.
• Capturing early-stage leads: Gather contact information (i.e., emails) with low-friction offers, setting the stage for deeper engagement later.
• Educating potential customers: Provide content that highlights industry challenges and possible solutions. 
  
  • Note: Educational content is also important for MoFu. For ToFu, you want to address broader issues while getting more specific as you make your way down the funnel.
     

Why LinkedIn Is Ideal For Top-of-Funnel B2B Advertising

When it comes to B2B, LinkedIn is one of the best platforms at your disposal. 

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It’s where a lot of your target audience is already networking and likely searching for critical business solutions that will improve business operations.

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Because many of your leads are in one place, the LinkedIn advertising platform allows you to run ads with even more precision with their segmentation and targeting settings—which synergizes perfectly with the funnel strategy.

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However, advertising on a social/professional networking site does come with some challenges. Users on LinkedIn are constantly seeing ads or being approached with offers, so they’re naturally more on their guard. So, you really need to make sure you’re putting out content that stands out.

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And that’s where having a solid strategy comes into play…

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Top-of-Funnel Ad Strategies For LinkedIn

When it comes to top-of-funnel marketing tactics, less is often more.

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SaaS solutions tend to be large, sophisticated, and expensive. So, the buying process tends to be more elaborate. Companies are looking for a solution that will help them improve their processes. Therefore, more decision-makers need to sign off on a given decision. If you have competitors, you’ll need to demonstrate that your solution is in some way superior and will deliver on its promises. 

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So, who you target and the way you qualify yourself has to work around their needs.

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1. Promote less aggressive CTAs

It’s really hard to promote high-friction calls to action (CTAs) on LinkedIn, like “Get a free demo” or “Book a call”. Everybody on LinkedIn is going for high-friction CTAs, which makes it very competitive.

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At the top of the funnel, you want something that feels low-pressure and provides value. 

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People in the awareness stage just aren’t ready to jump on a call with you. A lot of advertisers do this, and it often leads to High CPCs and low conversion rates. 

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We’ve found that the key in this stage is to take things slow with some lower-friction CTAs. Instead of asking for a call, offer something valuable with no strings attached—like a free resource. If a free trial makes sense for your product, that could work, but don’t assume it’s the right fit. High-friction actions can scare people off if they’re just getting to know you.

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A lead magnet (i.e., an ebook, whitepaper, webinar, demo video, or guide) is a great alternative. It’s a piece of valuable content that you give away in exchange for an email. It’s a win-win: they get useful insights, and you get a lead you can nurture through email.

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Once they’re in your ecosystem, you can gradually educate them about your brand and solution—without pushing too hard.

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Pro tip: If your product does lend itself to a slightly higher-friction offer (like a free trial), position it in a way that helps the user at the awareness stage. A demo video or interactive walkthrough that clarifies your solution is much more effective than a “Start your free trial” button when they’re not ready.

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High-friction actions (like booking a demo or starting a trial) can scare people off if they’re just getting to know you. Those are great offers—later. 

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People are going to be more likely to book a call with you later if you’re able to win their trust by providing value and exhibiting expertise.

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2. Use LinkedIn’s Member Group Targeting

LinkedIn’s Member Group Targeting allows you to target your B2B audience with exceptional precision.

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Think of it this way: Instead of trying to find your ideal audience, why not go where they’re already gathered?

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LinkedIn groups bring professionals together around shared interests, challenges, and industries. If a group is dedicated to your niche, its members are already invested in the topic—which means they’re far more likely to care about what you have to say.

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How Pimly Made It Work

Pimly, a B2B SaaS company offering a Salesforce-native Product Information Management (PIM) system for small to midsize manufacturing companies, faced challenges in a competitive market. To overcome this, they partnered with InterTeam.

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We implemented a strategic approach by targeting LinkedIn groups where professionals in manufacturing and product information management actively engaged. This ensured that Pimly's content reached an audience already interested in their solutions.

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To further refine their targeting, InterTeam applied additional filters like:

• Company size: Engaging organizations large enough to benefit from a structured product information system.
• Annual revenue: Focusing on businesses with the budget to invest in Pimly's solution.

This precise targeting led to impressive results. Within two months, Pimly closed a $100,000 deal and generated over 60 leads in five months. By positioning their message directly in front of the right audience, they achieved a positive return on investment and significantly boosted their lead generation efforts. If you want to learn how we did this, check out our case study, Targeting Enterprise With Google & LinkedIn Ads, for the full scoop.

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The takeaway: Instead of relying solely on broad industry targeting, find existing communities where your ideal customers are already engaged. When your message meets the right audience, everything about your ad strategy works better.

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3. Competitor targeting

Some of your best prospects aren’t discovering the problem—they already know it exists and are actively evaluating solutions. If they’re engaging with a competitor, they’re in the market. Your goal? Show them why your B2B SaaS is the better choice.

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Two Ways to Target Competitor Audiences on LinkedIn

There are two main approaches, depending on how precise or broad you want to go:

1. Competitor User Group Targeting (Best for Precision & Intent)
   If your competitor has an active LinkedIn user group, that’s a prime audience. These members are already invested in your competitor’s solution, meaning they understand the problem and may be open to switching—if given the right reason.
2. Interest-Based Targeting (Best for Reach, but Less Precision)
   LinkedIn also allows you to target people who follow or engage with your competitor’s brand. This can significantly expand your audience size, but it comes with a tradeoff—some people might be less qualified, as casual followers aren’t necessarily decision-makers or active buyers.

Before you dive in, be sure to exclude your competitors themselves from these campaigns. You don’t want them clicking on your ads, inflating your costs, or—worse—gaining insight into your strategy.

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Align Your Offer to the Audience

Not every prospect at this stage should have the same message. What you offer should match their level of intent.

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• For competitor user groups: the best approach is to use comparison guides or switch case studies. These highlight why businesses have moved from a competitor to your solution, using real examples to make a compelling case.
• For broader, interest-based audiences: A direct comparison might be too aggressive. Instead, try an ebook, whitepaper, or webinar that speaks to common industry pain points—positioning your solution as the answer without explicitly calling out a competitor.

Competitor targeting is all about timing. These prospects already know they need a solution. The key is to make sure that when they’re ready to make a move, you’re the obvious next step.

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4. Retarget Your ToFu Leads

B2B advertising is rarely a linear process. 

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A big reason why is that the decision-making process is elaborate. Deals are expensive, often require customization, and usually involve multiple stakeholders. That means more research, longer timelines, and a higher likelihood that potential buyers will engage with your content several times before taking action.

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However, the real reason you should be retargeting ads on LinkedIn is that they tend to outperform standard campaigns. That’s because you’re reaching people who’ve already shown interest in your content—whether by visiting your site or engaging with your top-of-funnel content. 

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Retargeting plays a huge role in virtually all of our campaigns. If you want to learn more about it, check out our Guide to LinkedIn Retargeting for B2B SaaS.

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Optimize Your LinkedIn Ads for Better B2B Results

The top of the funnel is where strong campaigns start, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Getting in front of the right people with the right message sets the stage for trust, engagement, and—eventually—conversions. 

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But here’s the thing: every campaign is different. What works for one B2B SaaS company may not work for another, and without a tailored strategy that’s designed based on your business, services/products, and target audience, it’s easy to waste ad spend.

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We’ve helped many B2B brands build and fine-tune their LinkedIn ad strategy, leading to higher-quality leads, lower costs, and better conversions—often with just a few key adjustments.

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Want to see if there’s untapped potential in your LinkedIn campaigns? Book a call for a free ad account audit.