Linkedin Matched Audiences

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B2B Ad Targeting - Upload Contacts & Companies for LinkedIn Ads

Create and manage LinkedIn Matched Audiences for B2B advertising via the LinkedIn Marketing API. Upload contact lists, company lists, and create lookalike audiences.

Features

Audience Management

• create_audience - Create a new matched audience
• get_audience - Get details of a specific audience
• list_audiences - List all matched audiences
• update_audience - Update audience name/description
• delete_audience - Delete a matched audience

Data Upload

• upload_contacts - Upload email contacts (auto-hashes)
• upload_companies - Upload company targeting list
• get_audience_count - Get matched audience size

Advanced Features

• create_lookalike - Create lookalike from source audience

Authentication

Requires LinkedIn Marketing API access token with:

• r_ads - Read ad account data
• rw_ads - Create/manage audiences
• r_organization_social - Read company data (for company matching)

Getting an Access Token

1. Create LinkedIn App at developers.linkedin.com
2. Add Marketing API product
3. Complete OAuth 2.0 flow for access token
4. Token must have advertising permissions

Audience Types

Contact Targeting (Email)

Upload email addresses to match against LinkedIn members.

[
  {
    "email": "john@company.com",
    "firstName": "John",
    "lastName": "Doe",
    "title": "VP Marketing",
    "company": "Acme Corp"
  }
]

Company Targeting

Target employees of specific companies.

[
  {
    "companyName": "Acme Corporation",
    "domain": "acme.com",
    "linkedinUrl": "https://linkedin.com/company/acme",
    "companyId": "12345"
  }
]

Automatic Hashing

The actor automatically:

1. Normalizes emails (lowercase, trim)
2. SHA256 hashes email addresses
3. Formats for LinkedIn API

If your data is already hashed, set isAlreadyHashed: true.

Use Cases

ABM Campaign

1. Create list of target account companies
2. Use upload_companies to create audience
3. Run ads to employees at target accounts

Lead Nurturing

1. Export leads from CRM/marketing automation
2. Use upload_contacts with email list
3. Retarget leads with LinkedIn ads

Expand Reach

1. Build audience of best customers
2. Use create_lookalike
3. Reach similar professionals

Minimum Audience Sizes

Audience Type	Minimum Size
Contact Targeting	300 matched members
Company Targeting	300 matched companies
Lookalike	Source must have 300+

Audiences below minimum won't be targetable.

Output Format

Audience Object

{
  "id": "urn:li:dmpSegment:123456",
  "name": "High Value Prospects",
  "description": "Decision makers at target accounts",
  "type": "CONTACT_TARGETING",
  "status": "READY",
  "matchedCount": 4520,
  "uploadStatus": "COMPLETE",
  "createdAt": "2024-01-20T14:30:00Z",
  "lastModifiedAt": "2024-01-21T10:15:00Z"
}

Upload Response

{
  "audienceId": "urn:li:dmpSegment:123456",
  "recordsUploaded": 5000,
  "recordsMatched": 4520,
  "recordsFailed": 12,
  "status": "PROCESSING"
}

Rate Limits

• 100 API calls per day per app
• 500,000 records per upload
• Processing time: 24-48 hours for large uploads

B2B Targeting Best Practices

1. Use business emails - Personal emails match poorly on LinkedIn
2. Include company context - Helps improve match rates
3. Upload regularly - Keep audiences fresh
4. Combine with targeting - Layer with job function, seniority
5. Minimum quality - Remove bounced/invalid emails first

Pricing

$0.01 per query (all tasks)

Compliance Notes

• LinkedIn only matches business professionals
• Obtain consent before uploading contact data
• Email data is hashed before transmission
• LinkedIn matches hashes against member profiles
• Match rates vary (typically 30-60% for B2B emails)