The big tech news of the day concerns Microsoft’s historic $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn. In recent years, Microsoft has begun to shift their focus towards becoming the premier cloud-computing service for the business world. LinkedIn, as a social media platform geared toward professionals and businesses, will assist Microsoft in integrating a new outlet for marketing and utilization of their software and other professional services. LinkedIn advertising will also allow Microsoft to exponentially expand their global reach and online presence with a new set of users.
What LinkedIn Advertising Could Mean for Microsoft
LinkedIn’s Ad Network
On its own, LinkedIn serves as the world’s largest conglomerate of business-to-business (B2B)-based information amassing over 433 million users. Microsoft had already been spending a great amount on LinkedIn’s services and advertising. This deal saves them money in the long run and brings about a relationship of exclusivity. Taking into account Microsoft’s recent emphasis on business integration, the merger could signal the beginning of an even larger network of business professionals, social media marketing, and B2B advertising.
For both parties, the unification expands their audience reach by combining their pool of users into a singular collection. LinkedIn customer data can hypothetically be used to adapt specific Microsoft products geared towards different types of businesses and professionals. It would also allow Microsoft to target and direct ads to a particular network of individuals who are associated with a certain field or who habitually research a certain issue on LinkedIn. Furthermore, those who advertise through LinkedIn will now be able to create and distribute sponsored content across all Microsoft products and services.
Microsoft’s Other Avenues
The merger also enables advertisers to operate and control ad campaigns on Bing Ads now with both Bing Ads Manager and LinkedIn targeting functionality. The union results in the long-awaited combination of intent and identity in advertising- the highly speculated missing piece of B2B marketing.
Another one of Microsoft’s ideas is for an Intelligent Newsfeed that would collect and gather data in order for all professionals to be up-to-date and current with all the news concerning their profession or given industry. This feed could serve as another outlet for LinkedIn advertising and extending the newly unified Microsoft brand.
