#103: How to create great ads that convert on LinkedIn & Meta

In this episode, Ryan sits down with Jamie, Rocket SaaS's paid media and strategy lead, for a deep dive into what actually makes a great ad on LinkedIn and Meta. This is not about targeting or budgets (listen back to episodes 63 to 65 for that). This is about the creative: how to research what your buyers are really thinking, how to build ads across the full funnel, which ad formats are worth your time, and what needs to happen after the click. Jamie also ranks every major LinkedIn ad format out of ten in a quickfire round. If you run ads and you are not getting the results you want, this episode will show you where you are going wrong.

Takeaways:

• Great ads start with research, not design. Find the real scenarios and language your buyers use when they talk about the problem
• Use AI to analyse 100 recorded sales calls and surface the most common pain points, then build ads around exactly what your customers said
• Most B2B SaaS brands waste budget by only running bottom-of-funnel ads when they have no brand awareness to support them
• Top-of-funnel ads are about getting on the radar and building the right associations, not chasing conversions
• Middle-of-funnel ads (case studies, testimonials, comparison content) can work even to cold enterprise audiences
• At the bottom of the funnel, the offer is everything. A free strategy call or audit often beats a straight demo request
• Keep creative simple: ten words or less on the header, minimal graphics, and use dark backgrounds to fight the white LinkedIn feed
• A great ad is useless if the landing page or asset behind it does not convert. Sometimes the problem is the offer, not the ad