Campaign audience definition

Define an outbound audience at the level where the campaign decision is made. Start with qualifying accounts, then choose the roles and buying situations that make contact relevant. Account qualification and person selection can rely on different evidence. An account-level audience can combine account traits, traits of associated users, and user events.¹ It can target all users associated with matching accounts,² while some campaigns need a subset selected from the traits of those accounts.³ Write these rules before the message so the list shows why each person belongs.

Start with the campaign unit

Choose the campaign's entry unit before choosing recipients. This keeps an account-led motion from turning into an unstructured contact list.

In sequence setup, choose whether the campaign runs on Contacts or Accounts, then choose how records will be added.⁴ Campaigns typically target existing Contacts and prospective Leads.⁵ When company fit drives the campaign, account linking can help build a segment around companies relevant to it.⁶

First settle whether accounts are qualified first or people are selected directly. The entry unit should match how campaign fit will be judged.

Define account fit

Set a boundary that another person can apply without guessing. Fit should show whether a company belongs before anyone decides what to say.

For demand generation prospecting, build the fit rule around ideal customer profile factors such as job title, industry, and company size, with behavioral signals kept out of that definition.⁷ Add geographical territories and any demographics that should be included or excluded.⁸ Targeting determines whether the company belongs in the audience before the message is prepared.⁹

State which companies and locations qualify, which roles matter, and what would disqualify an account even if someone there looks active. The rule is ready when account and profile information answers those questions.

Add the buying situation

Fit identifies who belongs. The buying situation identifies when the account should enter this campaign and what event gives the outreach a reason to exist.

Computed and SQL traits can act as account-level audience conditions, using events triggered by all users associated with an account.¹⁰ Account-level audience membership can also be used as a condition.¹¹ Use this layer to capture the situation that changes the timing of contact while keeping the underlying account fit stable.

Specify which account condition, user trait, or event must be true before the campaign is appropriate. The situation should be checkable without rewriting the account definition.

Select the people inside the account

An eligible account still leaves a recipient decision. Keep the person rule separate so account fit does not automatically decide who receives every message.

Account-based marketing targets specific accounts and economic buyers.¹² When each role needs its own treatment, stakeholder-specific LinkedIn job-title targeting against named accounts is a supported campaign pattern.¹³ Use the role rule to decide who receives the campaign, and keep the account rule attached so the reason for inclusion remains visible.

Specify which role should receive this campaign and which role should be handled through a separate audience. A person qualifies only when both the account rule and the recipient rule are satisfied.

Turn the definition into entry and exclusion rules

Convert the audience description into conditions that a system can apply. Keep inclusion, exclusion, and entry timing separate so a record can fail for a visible reason.

Audience filters determine who qualifies to receive a workflow.¹⁴ The criteria or conditions set when records are added to a segment.¹⁵ Negative audience rules let you target or exclude specific groups when configuring workflow triggers.¹⁶ To open account-level audience conditions, navigate to Engage > Audiences and click Create.¹⁷

The operating rule has four parts: account fit, buying situation, recipient role, and exclusions. Add exclusions for territory, demographics, existing audience membership, or any other boundary that the campaign cannot serve. For a record entering tomorrow, a named condition should explain its entry, and every inclusion and exclusion should have a named reason.

Review the audience before launch

Review the audience for usability and make sure later comparisons will be fair. Do this before copy and channel decisions hide problems in the definition.

Data on potential audience reach and targeting cost can inform decisions and help refine the target account list.¹⁸ When audience options compete, score them on pain, willingness to pay, alternatives, and reach, then run the highest-scoring audience for a fixed period.¹⁹ Keep the audience filters stable when comparing messaging channels. If a channel appears to perform differently, inspect the filtering for a problem before changing the message.

Before launch, you should be able to explain why the account qualifies, why the person receives the campaign, and what situation makes the contact timely. If the answer changes from record to record without a rule behind it, return to the definition.

What not to do

These mistakes can make the audience look larger or more precise than it is.

• Do not let a broad audience swallow a specific campaign; marketing efforts should ideally focus on a specific target audience.²⁰
• Do not edit the wrong audience when more than one exists; select the intended audience before working in it.²¹
• Do not compare channels after applying different audience filters, because incorrect filtering can create apparent differences based on the channel.²²

Use the rule to build the list and reject any record that cannot pass all four checks: account, situation, recipient, and exclusion. Then hand the campaign to message and channel work with the audience definition attached, so every later change has a clear boundary.