Use Active Intelligence to explore your LinkedIn Ads account, build a campaign with an existing Company Page post, and review its results. This guide also explains when to create Direct Sponsored Content in LinkedIn Campaign Manager.
Before You Start
- Make sure you have a LinkedIn Ads account in Campaign Manager and permission to manage campaigns.
- If you plan to promote an existing Linkedin post, you also need access to the Company Page associated with the ad account.
- The LinkedIn Ads connector in Active Intelligence is different from ActiveCampaign's LinkedIn Ads integration for lead forms and audience syncing. This guide covers the connector.
- The connector only supports Sponsored Content ads which require referencing an existing, published post from your LinkedIn Company Page via its post URN or full URL.
- LinkedIn Sponsored Content ads work by amplifying existing posts from your Company Page. The connector does not create ad copy from scratch.
- For Direct Sponsored Content (ad-only content that doesn't appear on your Company Page), you'll need to create it manually in LinkedIn Campaign Manager directly.
- If a LinkedIn error message appears in your Active Intelligence conversation, ask Active Intelligence to explain the error and why it happened before you try again. ○ Example prompt: “Explain the LinkedIn Ads error above in plain language. Why did it happen, and what should I check or change before trying again?”
Step 1: Connect Your LinkedIn Ads Account
Before anything else, connect the right LinkedIn Ads account to Active Intelligence.
- Open Active Intelligence in your ActiveCampaign account and click “Tools” in the prompt bar.
- Select LinkedIn Ads and follow the connection steps.
- Sign in with a LinkedIn profile that has access to your ad account.
- After you authorize access, you’ll return to Active Intelligence. A confirmation above the prompt bar will show that the LinkedIn Ads connector is on. Once connected, ask: “Show me my LinkedIn Ads accounts, including each account name and ID.” If you manage more than one account, note the ID of the one you want to use. If the account is missing, check your Campaign Manager access and reconnect.
Step 2: Prepare Your LinkedIn Company Page
If you plan to use an existing Company Page post as your ad creative, complete this step before moving on to campaign creation. This is the most commonly missed prerequisite. Skipping it means your campaign will be built but unable to run ads.
- Publish or Select an Eligible Post from That Page Not every post can be used as a Sponsored Content ad. To be eligible, the post must:
- Be published (not a draft) on the Company Page
- Be a text post, image post, or video post.
- Document posts and polls may not be eligible depending on your campaign format.
- Be posted by an account that has ad permission on the Company Page If you don't have a suitable post yet:
- Write and publish a post on your Company Page before returning to this guide
- Give the post a few minutes to fully publish before attempting to reference it as an ad creative
- Copy the Full LinkedIn Post URL When you're ready to attach the post as a creative, you'll need its full URL. How to get the full post URL:
- Open the post on your LinkedIn Company Page
- Click the three-dot menu (...) in the top-right corner of the post
- Select "Copy link to post"
- The URL should look like: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/[company-name]-[post-id]/
- Save this URL. You'll paste it into Active Intelligence in Step 6 when adding the creative to your campaign.
Step 3: Create a Campaign Group
Campaign groups organize your campaigns under a shared goal and time period. Before creating a new one, check whether an existing group already fits.
Prompts:
To check for existing groups first:
"Show me all campaign groups in LinkedIn Ads account [account ID]."
If none exist or none fit, create a new one:
"In LinkedIn Ads account [account ID], create a campaign group called [name] for [start date] through [end date]."
Tips:
- Name it by goal and time period — for example, "Paid Acquisition – Q4 2026"
- After creation, confirm the group ID and status that Active Intelligence returns before moving on
Step 4: Create a Campaign
Once your campaign group is ready, ask Active Intelligence to create a campaign. It will ask questions in the conversation and use your answers to set up the campaign for you, including:
- What is the main objective of your campaign?
- Who do you want to reach, and where are they located?
- What action do you want people to take?
- What daily budget would you like to set?
- When should the campaign start and end?
Prepare the details below so you can answer each question.
What to Prepare:
Objective: The goal you want your campaign to achieve. This determines how LinkedIn optimizes delivery and what outcomes are tracked.
Audience : Who you want to reach. LinkedIn targeting is based on professional attributes, not browsing behavior. Common options:
- Interests — e.g. Tourism, Hospitality and Tourism, Business Travel
- Job function or seniority — e.g. senior-level professionals, directors and above
- Industry — e.g. Financial Services, Technology, Healthcare
- Location — Where your audience is located.
Budget: How much you're willing to spend per day. LinkedIn campaigns use a daily budget model through the connector.
- The minimum recommended starting budget is $10/day, though $50/day is a common test amount
- Your actual daily spend may vary slightly above or below the set amount
- The cost model (CPM or CPC) is applied automatically based on your objective
Schedule: The start and end dates for your campaign.
- Campaigns are created in Draft status — they don't start spending until activated.
- If your campaign group has a future start date, the campaign will show a "Campaign Group Start Date Hold" status after activation; this is expected and will resolve when the group's start date is reached
- Always set an end date to avoid unintended spend
Step 5: Refine Your Audience
Before activating your campaign, confirm that your targeting is specific enough to reach the right people and broad enough to actually deliver. Use Active Intelligence to explore what's available and estimate your audience size.
Prompts to try:
- Show me targeting options for [industry, job function, seniority, or location].
- Estimate the audience size for campaign [campaign ID] and tell me if it is too narrow.
- LinkedIn requires at least 300 members for a campaign to run. That is a minimum, not a recommended audience size.
Step 6: Add Ad Creatives
Sponsored Content (Existing Company Page Post)
Share the full post URL with Active Intelligence: "Add this existing Company Page post as a creative for campaign [campaign ID]: [full LinkedIn post URL]. Show me the creative ID and status."
Important notes:
- Use a full linkedin.com/posts/ or linkedin.com/feed/update/ URL.
- The full URL allows the connector to extract the post URN needed to reference the creative.
- If you add multiple posts as creative variations, review each one individually before launch.
- The post must already be published on your LinkedIn Company Page. Drafts and scheduled posts are not eligible.
Direct Sponsored Content (Ad-Only Creative)
- The Active Intelligence connector does not support creating or attaching Direct Sponsored Content. This type of creative (ad copy that appears in the LinkedIn feed but not on your Company Page) must be built manually in LinkedIn Campaign Manager.
Step 7: Review and Activate
Before going live, do a final check.
Review the Campaign First
Ask Active Intelligence:
"Show me the full details of campaign [campaign ID], including creatives and current status. Highlight anything missing. Do not activate it."
Confirm each of the following before proceeding:
✓ Correct ad account, objective, format, and destination or Lead Gen Form
✓ Targeting, location, and audience estimate
✓ Budget, currency, expected total spend, and start and end dates
✓ Correct creative attached and eligible to run
Note on creatives: A campaign can be activated without a creative attached, but LinkedIn will not serve ads until at least one eligible creative is in place. If you created your creative in LinkedIn Campaign Manager (for Direct Sponsored Content), verify it is attached to the correct campaign before activating.
Activate the Campaign
After activating through Active Intelligence, confirm the campaign and ad status directly in LinkedIn Campaign Manager.
Step 8: Monitor Performance
Once your campaign has been running and has accumulated data, pull a performance report for a specific time period. Campaigns need to serve impressions before any metrics are available.
Note: A paused or newly created campaign will return no data.
Pull a Performance Report with Active Intelligence:
"Show me impressions, clicks, click-through rate, spend, and results for campaign [campaign ID] over the last 30 days. Include cost per result and a demographic breakdown if available."
You can adjust the time period to match how long your campaign has been running — for example, "last 7 days," "last 14 days," or a specific date range.
Quick Reference: Prompts to Ask Active Intelligence
- See your accounts: “Show me my LinkedIn Ads accounts.”
- Check campaigns: “What campaigns do I have in account [account ID]?”
- Build an audience: “Show me targeting options for [industry or job function].”
- Estimate reach: “Estimate the audience size for campaign [campaign ID].”
- Check performance: “Show analytics for campaign [campaign ID] over the last 30 days.”
- Make a change: “Pause campaign [campaign ID] and confirm its new status.”
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Account missing? Check that you authorized the LinkedIn profile with access to the ad account.
- Post not accepted? Check the Company Page, permissions, post eligibility, and full post URL.
- Audience too narrow? Request an estimate and broaden overly specific criteria.
- Active but not delivering? Check ad review, dates, budget, creative, audience, and account or billing alerts in Campaign Manager.
LinkedIn Ad Types: Sponsored Content vs. Direct
Sponsored Content
Overview There are two ways to create Sponsored Content ads on LinkedIn. The choice depends on whether you want to promote an existing Company Page post or create an ad that appears only in paid placements.
Sponsored Content (Standard)
What it is: An ad that promotes an existing post from your LinkedIn Company Page. The post appears on your Page feed and as a paid ad in the LinkedIn feed.
Requirements:
- A LinkedIn Company Page and at least one eligible published post.
- The post's full URL or URN to reference when setting up the creative.
Best for:
- Amplifying content that is already performing well organically.
- Keeping your organic and paid messages consistent.
- Promoting journey announcements, travel stories, or blog content already shared on your Page.
How to set it up:
- Publish or select a post on your LinkedIn Company Page.
- Copy the full post URL, not a shortened link.
- Share the URL when adding creative to your campaign, then confirm the correct post is attached.
Direct Sponsored Content:
What it is: An ad created for paid distribution. It appears in the LinkedIn feed under your Page's identity, but it does not appear as an organic post on your Company Page.
Requirements:
- A LinkedIn Company Page associated with the ad account. No previously published post is needed.
- Ad copy, a headline, an image or video asset, a CTA, and a destination URL.
Best for:
- Testing multiple ad variations without adding each one to your Page feed.
- Running a promotion or offer you do not want displayed as an organic Page post.
- Getting started when your Company Page has little published content.
How to set it up:
- Prepare your ad copy, headline, image or video, CTA, and destination URL.
- Create the Direct Sponsored Content ad in LinkedIn Campaign Manager. The Active Intelligence connector cannot create ad-only content.
- Review the ad in Campaign Manager. It can run in the LinkedIn feed without appearing on your Page feed.
Which Should You Use?
- You have active, published content: Promote an existing post that is already resonating with your audience.
- You are just getting started or want to test: Use Direct Sponsored Content without first publishing a post.
- You want multiple creative variations: Direct Sponsored Content keeps those tests off your Page feed. Linkedin Ads Connector note: The LinkedIn Ads connector in Active Intelligence does not support creating Direct Sponsored Content. It creates creatives from referenced published Company Page post URNs. Create ad-only content in LinkedIn Campaign Manager, then use Active Intelligence for supported campaign and reporting tasks.