RIP Lookalikes? LinkedIn’s Latest Targeting Shift: What Marketers Need to Do Now

⚠️ LinkedIn Changes: Lookalike Audiences Discontinued
– Starting February 29, 2024, LinkedIn will discontinue its lookalike audiences feature.
🚫 No new creation or editing of lookalike audiences after this date.

🔄 Static Lookalike Audiences
– Existing lookalike audiences will become “static” post-February 2024.
– They won’t refresh with new data, impacting targeting precision.

📊 Active Campaigns and Archiving
– Active ad campaigns using lookalike audiences will persist but target the static audience pool.
– Unused lookalike audiences inactive for 30 days will be automatically archived.

🔄 Alternatives: Predictive Audiences & Audience Expansion
🎯 Predictive Audiences:
– Utilizes LinkedIn’s AI for custom audiences likely to convert.
– Need at least 300 people in the data source; max 30 per ad account.
– Cannot expand audience size during campaigns.
📈 Audience Expansion:
– Broadens target demographics using LinkedIn’s professional data.
– Can be combined with Matched Audience segments.

🎯 Implications for Current Campaigns
– 🔄 Transition Period:
– Current ad campaigns using lookalike audiences must switch to Predictive Audiences or enable Audience Expansion.
– 30-day grace period to access unused lookalike audiences before archiving.
🚫 API Changes:
– LinkedIn’s API for creating lookalike audiences through third-party platforms will be discontinued.

🚀 Looking Ahead
– Existing lookalike audiences function normally until February 2024.
– Advertisers urged to adopt Predictive Audiences and Audience Expansion for future dynamic targeting.
– Detailed information available in LinkedIn’s announcement and help documentation.

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