The advertising feature of LinkedIn is similar to Google AdWords or Bing Ads, but the clear differentiator - and the reason why it's so brilliant - is the ability to select LinkedIn members based on some very specific options. In other words, LinkedIn enables you to place your message in front of your chosen target audience. With LinkedIn, you can be more confidant that your audience will actually want to hear what you have to say.

LinkedIn enables you to deliver your message to clearly identified groups of people. Unlike Google, it allows you to use search fields to identify the people from the LinkedIn community whom you wish to reach. A number of audience targeting options are available. You can search for members by region, job title, job category, whether they are a decision maker, whether they belong to particular LinkedIn groups (and therefore have specific interests), and so on.

Google's PPC platform takes a keyword approach to gauging the 'interest' of searchers whereas LinkedIn uses groups. This enables you to search for LinkedIn members who have already declared an interest in a particular topic. A quick browse of the LinkedIn groups relevant to what you want to offer will tell you the membership size.

Because of the nature of LinkedIn's audience targeting method you can reach people that may be more difficult or expensive to find by using other paid advertising. To set up an ad (or 'campaign', as they call it) all you need is some content on a landing page, which could be your website; some ad text, to set your audience targeting options; and to choose your spending preferences. For example, you can start with as little as $10 per day (or 8 GBP), which gives you the freedom to test run a campaign or two and ensures you don't break the bank.

LinkedIn's solution is rich in some of the best features adopted by other PPC text and multimedia advertising platforms. You can reach your audience with ads that feature text, images, or video. It's entirely up to you which option works best. To begin with, try a simple text ad.

When your message is placed in front of the right people, the chances of them taking action increase dramatically. LinkedIn is very much a part, albeit currently undervalued, of the social media revolution that companies have been experiencing during the past few years. Its advertising service delivers quantifiable value in a very short space of time, making it an important asset in marketing. It’s become a key tool that helps us implement marketing programmes for our customers. If you haven’t already discovered how it can benefit you, then get in touch with us and see how we can help.