Social Signals
How to reach prospects at every funnel stage
Oct
Most B2B marketers know LinkedIn Ads for its strong prospecting capabilities. But one of its most powerful features – retargeting – is often overlooked.
Beyond website visitors, LinkedIn offers creative retargeting options to keep prospects moving through the funnel.
This article shows how to structure retargeting across every stage and what to offer audiences along the way.
Top of funnel: Awareness and trust-building
Even in the earliest stages, retargeting has a role.
Prospects who have lightly engaged with your brand need reinforcement and education before they’ll move further down the funnel.
Types of retargeting to use at this stage:
- Video view retargeting: Build audiences from users who watched 50% or more of a brand or thought leadership video.
- Company page engagement: Retarget people who liked, commented, or shared your organic or sponsored posts.
- Event RSVPs: Retarget people who registered for a LinkedIn event (even if they didn’t attend).
- Website visits to educational content: Target users who visited blog articles, ungated resources, industry insights pages, or downloaded a gated resource (that one is a bit higher intent, but still fits in the awareness category).
- Predictive audiences: This serves almost as a lookalike audience feature. You can upload contact lists, company lists, and even use other criteria like existing retargeting lists, people who have submitted lead gen forms, or completed a conversion action.
Campaign approach
Use carousel or static ads to:
- Highlight your brand’s POV.
- Share industry stats.
- Promote thought leadership content that guides prospects through the journey.
This is especially effective if you have a clear stance on a hot industry topic and want to lead the conversation.
The goal isn’t immediate conversion but visibility and trust – staying in front of your audience with educational touches over a longer window (90+ days).
This approach is ideal for warming up the pipeline in longer B2B sales cycles.
Dig deeper: LinkedIn Ads or Google Ads? A framework for smarter B2B decisions
Middle of funnel: Credibility and consideration
This is where retargeting starts to directly support pipeline.
Prospects have signaled deeper interest and are exploring how your solution might fit their needs.
Types of retargeting to use at this stage:
- Product page visits: Build website audiences from solution, feature, or pricing page visitors.
- Lead gen form opens (no submission): Target users who clicked on a form but didn’t finish.
- Document ad interactions: Retarget users who downloaded or viewed a whitepaper, case study, or checklist inside LinkedIn.
- Webinar or virtual event attendees: Create audiences from event engagement for ongoing nurture.
- CRM lists of MQLs: Upload or sync leads who are in the pipeline, but haven’t engaged fully.
Campaign approach
Lookback windows of 30 to 60 days work best for this segment.
- Focus on:
- Case studies.
- Testimonials.
- Explainer videos.
- ROI calculators.
- Use social proof to:
- Build credibility.
- Address objections.
- Give prospects confidence to move toward a demo.
Dig deeper: 5 LinkedIn Ads mistakes that could be hurting your campaigns
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Bottom of funnel: Conversion and in-market capture
High-intent behaviors call for precise retargeting.
These users are closest to purchase but not yet committed.
They may be comparing solutions or just need additional nudging to keep your brand top of mind as sales works the deal.
Types of retargeting to use at this stage:
- Pricing or demo page visits: Build website audiences for URLs like /pricing or /demo.
- Lead gen form submitters who haven’t closed: Re-engage users who completed an initial conversion but haven’t fully converted to customers. For this, you’ll target people who have submitted the lead gen form for whatever CTA or resource you’re offering and exclude “closed won” contact list(s).
- SQLs or open opportunities that stalled: Upload or sync CRM lists of deals that went dark.
- Repeated visits from the same account: Layer website visits with company matching to identify persistent buying signals.
Campaign approach
- Share specific customer success stories and proof points backed by stats or results.
- Use direct CTAs (“get started” over “book a demo”) and address objections head-on – reinforcing your product’s value and how it solves customer problems.
Note: This segment is smaller, so rotate creative more often to avoid ad fatigue.
Dig deeper: 5 LinkedIn Ads tests to run to drive growth
Post-funnel: Re-engagement
Not every prospect moves forward right away.
Retargeting can bring back old leads or prospects who have gone quiet by reminding them of your value in fresh ways.
Types of retargeting to use at this stage:
- Closed-lost opportunities: Upload CRM lists of leads that previously showed interest but didn’t convert.
- Past event attendees: Retarget users from webinars or virtual events that didn’t progress further.
- Longer-lookback website visitors: Build audiences of visitors from 90+ days ago who haven’t returned.
- Old content engagers: Retarget video viewers or document downloaders from earlier campaigns.
Campaign approach
- Highlight what’s new – updated features, fresh case studies, or timely thought leadership.
- Focus less on hard CTAs and more on re-establishing credibility and interest with content that feels fresh, useful, and engaging.
Dig deeper: How to combine Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads for comprehensive B2B campaigns
Mapping retargeting to the buyer journey
Here’s a general overview of how to think about retargeting and campaigns for each funnel stage:
| Funnel stage | Retargeting types | Campaign goals |
| Awareness | Video viewers, blog readers, event RSVPs, predictive audiences, other cold audience members | Educate and introduce the brand + differentiators |
| Consideration | Product page visitors, form openers, webinar attendees | Build credibility, deepen engagement |
| Conversion | Demo/pricing page visitors, SQLs, stalled opportunities | Encourage action and close |
| Re-engagement | Closed-lost leads, past event attendees, long-lookback visitors | Reconnect and offer fresh value |
Most advertisers use PPC for prospecting, but don’t overlook people who’ve already engaged with your brand.
Invest time, effort, and ad dollars to guide them through the funnel.
The key to strong retargeting is matching tactics and CTAs to each stage.
Done well, it can be one of the best ways to grow PPC revenue.
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