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Campaign objectives

Which LinkedIn campaign objective should I pick for a cold B2B audience?

By The Tofu team ·

Pick the objective that matches the result you'll judge the campaign on, because LinkedIn optimizes delivery toward it. For most cold B2B audiences, start with Brand awareness or Video views, then retarget the people who engaged with Lead generation or Website conversions. Choose Website visits when you have content worth a click, and Engagement when you're promoting posts. Go straight to Lead generation only with an offer strangers will trade contact details for. Website conversions needs conversion tracking switched on first.

As of October 2026.

Brand awareness vs Engagement vs Video views vs Website visits vs Lead generation vs Website conversions

LinkedIn sorts its marketing objectives into three funnel tiers: brand awareness, consideration and conversions. The objective decides which ad formats, bidding strategies and optimization goals you can use, and what you're charged for. Job applicants and Talent leads are hiring objectives, so they're left out here.

Brand awarenessEngagementVideo viewsWebsite visitsLead generationWebsite conversions
LinkedIn's funnel tierBrand awarenessConsiderationConsiderationConsiderationConversionsConversions
Default optimization goalReach or Impressions (LinkedIn picks, based on format and bidding)Engagement clicksVideo viewsLanding page clicksLeads, or Qualified leads if you use the Conversions APIWebsite conversions
Other optimization goalsSends (Sponsored Messaging only)Impressions; Sends (Sponsored Messaging only)ImpressionsImpressions; Clicks (Sponsored Messaging only)Clicks, Impressions (not for Sponsored Messaging)Impressions; Conversions (Sponsored Messaging only)
Bidding strategiesMaximum delivery, Cost cap, Manual (Reach: Maximum delivery only)Maximum delivery, Cost cap, ManualMaximum delivery, Cost cap, ManualMaximum delivery, Cost cap, ManualMaximum delivery, Cost cap, Manual (Qualified leads: Maximum delivery only)Maximum delivery, Manual. No Cost cap
Charged by, manual biddingImpressionsEngagement clicksVideo viewsLanding page clicksClicksLanding page clicks
Key result in reportsReach (cost per 1,000 member accounts reached)Engagement clicksVideo viewsLanding page clicksQualified leads or LeadsConversions
What you needNothing extraNothing extraA video adA landing pageA Lead Gen FormConversion tracking turned on
Main catch with a cold audienceOptimizes for being seen, not clicked. Ad rotation is fixed at Rotate ads evenlyLikes, comments, follows and clicks to your LinkedIn Page all count as resultsVideo only. A view is 2 seconds of playback with at least half the video on screenOptimizes for the click, not what visitors do nextAsks strangers for contact details on the first touchAsks the most of people who don't know you yet. No Cost cap

Notes on the table:

  • Charges. With Maximum delivery or Cost cap, every objective above charges Sponsored Content by impressions. Manual bidding charges by the result shown in the table (Lead generation and Website conversions use LinkedIn's "Manual bidding (Enhanced)"). Message and conversation ads are charged per send on every objective.
  • Changing the goal. LinkedIn's Website visits, Video views and Lead generation pages say that if you change an ad set's default optimization goal, you can only use manual bidding.
  • Two LinkedIn pages differ on Website conversions. The objective page, updated more recently, lists Website conversions, Impressions and Conversions (Sponsored Messaging only) as optimization goals. The pricing page also lists Landing page clicks, and Sends for Sponsored Messaging until conversion optimization reaches your account. The table follows the objective page.
  • Views and clicks. A video view is "two or more continuous seconds of playback while the video is at least 50 percent on screen." On the Video views objective there are no chargeable clicks; the clicks you see in reports are engagement.

When is Brand awareness the right pick?

Use it when you want target accounts to know your name before sales reaches out, and you'll judge it on reach into those accounts. LinkedIn sets the goal to Reach or Impressions for you. Reach works only with Maximum delivery and only with Sponsored Content. You can't choose ad rotation: Brand awareness ad sets always rotate ads evenly. It accepts the widest set of formats, including thought leader, document, video, conversation, follower and text ads.

When is Engagement the right pick?

Use it to put posts in front of a cold audience: thought leader ads, articles and newsletters, documents or video. You want reactions, comments, follows and clicks, and a pool of engagers to retarget. Watch the definition: LinkedIn's engagement clicks include clicks to your landing page, your LinkedIn Page, social actions and Page follows. A low cost per result can mean cheap likes, not site visits.

When is Video views the right pick?

Use it when you have a short video that explains the problem you solve and you want a large group of people who've seen it. Video is the only format. With manual bidding you pay per view; with Maximum delivery or Cost cap you pay per impression. People who viewed your video ad can become a retargeting audience.

When is Website visits the right pick?

Use it when you have a page worth reading (a benchmark, a guide, a calculator) and you'll judge it on traffic and what visitors do next. LinkedIn shows these ad sets "to those most likely to click on your ad." That's the catch too: it optimizes for the click, so check engaged time and next steps in your own analytics.

When is Lead generation the right pick?

Use it when you have an offer a stranger would trade contact details for, such as original research or an event. Members who click see a Lead Gen Form pre-filled with their LinkedIn profile data. If you have the LinkedIn Conversions API set up, LinkedIn selects the Qualified leads goal, which uses the qualified lead data you share back with LinkedIn; that goal works only with Maximum delivery and with single image, carousel, video, event and document ads. LinkedIn says it is still rolling Qualified leads out gradually. Judge this objective on the leads that become opportunities, not on cost per lead.

When is Website conversions the right pick?

Use it when conversion tracking already works and you want LinkedIn to find people likely to take a defined action on your site, such as a demo request or sign-up. LinkedIn says conversion tracking "must be enabled to utilize this objective." Cost cap isn't available; you choose between Maximum delivery and manual bidding.

Website visits vs Website conversions: which is better?

It depends on what happens on your site. Both charge by impressions under Maximum delivery, and both charge per landing page click under manual bidding. The difference is what LinkedIn optimizes for. Website visits optimizes for landing page clicks, and LinkedIn says these ad sets are shown to the people most likely to click. Website conversions optimizes for the conversions your tracking records, so it only works if tracking captures the action you care about. Website visits also lets you use Cost cap. For a cold audience with an untested landing page, Website visits gives you traffic data to fix the page; once the page converts and tracking is in place, Website conversions is the better test.

Brand awareness vs Engagement: what's the difference?

Brand awareness optimizes for reach or impressions: getting your ads seen across the audience. Engagement optimizes for engagement clicks: reactions, comments, shares, follows and clicks. Under Maximum delivery both charge by impressions. Under manual bidding, Brand awareness still charges by impressions, while Engagement charges per engagement click. Brand awareness also takes away your choice of ad rotation.

How do I warm up a cold audience after the first campaign?

Build retargeting audiences from the people who responded, then give them a conversion objective. LinkedIn's Matched Audiences can retarget member accounts that:

  • Engaged with your single image ad
  • Viewed your video ad
  • Engaged with your document ad
  • Opened a conversation or clicked a conversation ad button
  • Opened or submitted your Lead Gen Form
  • Visited a page on your website
  • Engaged with your Company Page or responded to your LinkedIn Event

One sequence to try: Brand awareness, Video views or Engagement to the cold list, then Lead generation or Website conversions to the people who engaged.

When is Tofu Ads Agent (our product) the right pick?

Tofu Ads Agent is an AI agent that plans, builds, launches and optimizes LinkedIn programs, and Google and Meta ones too. It connects to HubSpot or Salesforce, reads your closed-won and closed-lost deals, and proposes an ICP and segments. It builds LinkedIn audiences from a HubSpot or Salesforce list or report, an existing LinkedIn audience or a plain-English description. Campaigns it builds are staged in your own ad account switched off and never launch automatically, so you can check each one, objective included, before a person turns it on. Weekly bid, budget and creative recommendations stay proposals until you approve them. It costs a flat $2,500 per month, with a recommended media budget of at least $3,000 per month. It doesn't change how LinkedIn's objectives work.

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