LinkedIn Ads Performance — Paper Tube Co

Overview

LinkedIn Ads were launched for ^[1] as part of a broader multi-channel growth strategy. As of the strategy call on 2026-04-05, the campaigns are in early stages — approximately two weeks in — with results described as promising but not yet statistically conclusive.

Three campaigns are running simultaneously. The current strategic objective is brand awareness (CPM), not direct response (CPC). The team is in the algorithm learning phase and expects clearer signal within another week or two.

Campaign Results (Early Snapshot)

• The 0.38% CTR is within normal range for LinkedIn video ads, particularly at this stage.
• The Food & Beverage campaign is pulling slightly ahead of the other two, but the margin is not yet large enough to justify pausing the others.
• A prior ad set was swapped out after a day or two; the new ad set with updated video creative is performing meaningfully better.

Strategic Context: CPM vs. CPC

The team is deliberately optimizing for CPM (cost per thousand impressions) rather than CPC (cost per click). This is a top-of-funnel brand awareness play — analogous to how Coca-Cola buys impressions to build brand salience, not to drive immediate purchases.

"We're focusing on maximum delivery, which means getting it in front of as many people as possible. We're not really focused on clicks per se at this point." — Mark Hope

When to shift to CPC: Once brand awareness is established and the team moves into middle- or bottom-of-funnel messaging, the optimization goal should shift toward CPC to drive traffic and conversions.

Campaign Structure

• Three active campaigns targeting different verticals or audience segments
• Food & Beverage is the lead performer
• All three campaigns are being kept active while the algorithm continues to learn
• The team plans to reassess in approximately one week with more data

Key Observations

• LinkedIn's algorithm needs time. Two weeks is not enough data to draw firm conclusions or make major structural changes.
• Video creative matters. The swap to a new video ad set produced noticeably better results than the original.
• Engagement exists. Despite low CTR (expected for video/awareness campaigns), there is meaningful engagement activity being recorded.
• Apple privacy limitations also apply here, as they do in email — some engagement data may be underreported.

Next Steps

• Monitor results for another week before making structural changes
• Evaluate whether Food & Beverage warrants increased budget allocation
• Consider when to introduce a CPC-optimized campaign for middle-funnel audiences (e.g., remarketing to site visitors)

Related

• ^[2]
• ^[3]
• ^[4]