LinkedIn Ads Campaign Planner
Plan campaign structure, audiences, budgets, bidding, and tracking for LinkedIn Ads. Produces actionable campaign plans with audience definitions, budget allocation, and tracking checklists.
Note: For ad copy and creative briefs, use
/linkedin-ads-creative.
The Job
- •Check existing context in
context/business/for ICP, regions, product info - •Ask routing questions (one at a time)
- •Gather missing inputs through targeted questions
- •Generate campaign plan and tracking setup
- •Save to
/work/linkedin-ads/
Output files (account-level):
- •
campaign-plan.md— Structure, audiences, budgets, bidding - •
tracking-setup.md— UTM templates, conversion events, QA checklist
Step 1: Check Existing Context
Before asking questions, scan:
- •
context/business/— ICP, regions, product info - •
context/learning/linkedin-ads/— research and learnings
Use found context to pre-fill inputs. Only ask about what's missing.
Step 2: Routing Questions (Ask One at a Time)
Question 1: What do you need?
What do you need help with? A. Full campaign setup (structure + audiences + budget + tracking) B. Campaign structure and audiences only C. Budget planning and allocation only D. Tracking and attribution setup only
Question 2: Current state
What's your current LinkedIn Ads state? A. Starting from scratch (no campaigns yet) B. Have campaigns but need restructuring C. Have campaigns, adding new funnel stage or audience
Question 3: Budget range
What's your monthly LinkedIn Ads budget? A. < €3,000 (focused approach needed) B. €3,000 - €15,000 (standard full funnel) C. > €15,000 (full funnel + ABM + testing)
Step 3: Gather Missing Inputs
Ask only for inputs not found in existing context. One question at a time.
Required inputs:
- •Regions: Target countries/regions
- •ICP: Industries + company sizes
- •Personas: Job functions + seniority levels (1-3 personas)
- •Primary conversion goal: Demo, trial, assessment, content download
- •Key site pages: Pricing URL, demo URL, content hub URL
Technical inputs (for tracking setup):
- •GTM installed? Yes/No
- •GA4 set up? Yes/No
- •CRM: HubSpot/Salesforce/Other/None
- •Insight Tag status: Active/Not installed/Unknown
Step 4: Generate Campaign Plan
Campaign Architecture
Use hierarchy: Account → Campaign Group → Campaign → Ads
Standard campaign groups:
- •TOFU – Awareness
- •MOFU – Consideration
- •BOFU – Conversion
- •(Optional) ABM – Target Accounts
Campaign Structure Rules
- •1 objective per campaign
- •1 audience per campaign
- •2-5 ads per campaign
- •Never mix cold + retargeting
- •Never mix different personas
Naming Convention
[Stage]_[Objective]_[Persona]_[Region]_[Offer]_[Format]_[MMYY]
Example: MOFU_LeadGen_MktOps_EU_CaseStudy_Carousel_0126
Audience Definitions
See references/audience-targeting.md for:
- •Cold audience stacks
- •ABM setup (account + contact lists)
- •Retargeting segments
- •Required exclusions
Budget Allocation
See references/budget-bidding.md for:
- •Budget allocation by funnel stage
- •Minimum viability thresholds
- •Format recommendations by budget
- •Bidding strategy selection
Step 5: Generate Tracking Setup
See references/tracking-attribution.md for:
- •UTM standard
- •Conversion event setup
- •QA checklist
- •Attribution window recommendations
Step 6: Save Output
Save files to the root linkedin-ads folder (account-level documents):
/work/linkedin-ads/ ├── campaign-plan.md # Account structure ├── tracking-setup.md # Tracking config └── [topic]-[funnel]/ # Creative work (from /linkedin-ads-creative)
Campaign Plan Output Format
# LinkedIn Campaign Plan **Last Updated:** [Date] **Monthly Budget:** €[amount] **Regions:** [regions] --- ## Campaign Groups ### 1. TOFU – Awareness [Objective, KPIs, role] ### 2. MOFU – Consideration [Objective, KPIs, role] ### 3. BOFU – Conversion [Objective, KPIs, role] --- ## Campaigns ### Campaign 1: [Name] - **Group:** [TOFU/MOFU/BOFU] - **Objective:** [LinkedIn objective] - **Audience:** [Definition] - **Exclusions:** [List] - **Budget:** €[amount]/month - **Bidding:** [Manual CPC / Automated] - **Formats:** [Recommended] [Repeat for each campaign] --- ## Audience Definitions ### Cold Audiences [Targeting stack for each persona] ### Retargeting Audiences - All site visitors (90d) - High-intent pages (30d): [URLs] - Video viewers (25%+) - Ad engagers ### Exclusions (Apply to All) - Employees - Existing customers - Recent converters (thank-you page visitors) --- ## Budget Allocation | Stage | % of Budget | €/Month | |-------|-------------|---------| | TOFU | X% | €X | | MOFU | X% | €X | | BOFU | X% | €X | | Retargeting | X% | €X | [Budget warnings if applicable] --- ## Bidding Strategy - **Starting approach:** [Manual CPC / Automated] - **When to switch:** [Conditions] - **Optimization cadence:** Weekly --- ## Next Steps 1. [ ] Set up Insight Tag (if needed) 2. [ ] Create conversion events 3. [ ] Build audiences in Campaign Manager 4. [ ] Create campaigns 5. [ ] Use `/linkedin-ads-creative` for copy and creative
Tracking Setup Output Format
# LinkedIn Tracking Setup **Last Updated:** [Date] --- ## UTM Standard | Parameter | Value | |-----------|-------| | utm_source | linkedin | | utm_medium | paid_social | | utm_campaign | [campaign_name] | | utm_content | [ad_name_or_variant] | | utm_term | [audience_or_persona] (optional) | ### UTM Templates **TOFU:** `?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=tofu_[offer]&utm_content=[ad_variant]` **MOFU:** `?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=mofu_[offer]&utm_content=[ad_variant]` **BOFU:** `?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=bofu_[offer]&utm_content=[ad_variant]` --- ## Conversion Events | Event Name | Type | Trigger | |------------|------|---------| | Demo Request | URL | /demo-thank-you | | Trial Signup | URL | /trial-thank-you | | [Other] | [URL/Event] | [Trigger] | **Attribution Window:** 30-day click, 7-day view (adjust for sales cycle) --- ## QA Checklist ### Before Launch - [ ] Insight Tag status: Active - [ ] Conversion events firing correctly - [ ] UTMs on all destination URLs - [ ] GA4 receiving events - [ ] CRM capturing source/campaign - [ ] Thank-you pages unique per conversion - [ ] Exclusion audiences created ### Weekly Check - [ ] Spend pacing on track - [ ] CTR within benchmarks - [ ] Landing page view rate healthy - [ ] Conversions firing - [ ] CPA within target --- ## Reporting Notes - **LinkedIn:** Reports last-touch within window (includes view-through) - **GA4:** Reports last non-direct click (no view-through) - **CRM:** Ultimate judge of lead quality These won't match 1:1. Use CRM pipeline as source of truth for quality.