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Module 1: Targeting

The precision toolkit — job titles, companies, industries, skills — and the Precision Stack method for layering them into sniper-accurate audiences.

3
Layers in the Precision Stack
50k–300k
Sweet-spot audience size
300
Minimum matched audience to run
Module 1: Targeting illustration

The targeting toolkit

LinkedIn’s targeting menu is the deepest in B2B advertising. The core dimensions: job title (the single most powerful filter — “CFO,” “VP of Sales”), job function and seniority (broader nets: “Marketing” function at “Director” level and up), company (name specific companies, or filter by size, industry, growth rate, revenue), skills (what people list on their profiles — great for niche expertise), groups (members of specific LinkedIn groups), and education (schools, degrees, fields of study).

Job title targeting is where most campaigns should start, because it’s the closest thing to naming your buyer. But titles are messy — “Head of Growth,” “Growth Lead,” and “VP Growth” might be the same person at three companies. Always add the title variations your buyer actually uses. Search LinkedIn for your best customers’ profiles and write down their exact titles — that list is worth more than any targeting guide.

Company filters are the second power tool. Target by company size (1–10, 11–50, 51–200, 201–500, and up), industry (there are hundreds, from “Computer Software” to “Hospital & Health Care”), and even company growth rate or revenue range. Title tells you who decides. Company tells you who can pay. The magic, as you’ll see next, is in stacking them.

Build brief

List every job title your ideal buyer might use — check your best customers’ LinkedIn profiles for the exact wording. Aim for 10–20 title variations.

The Precision Stack

The Precision Stack is the layering method that turns LinkedIn’s broad filters into a sniper audience. One filter alone is a blunt instrument — “CFO” includes CFOs at nonprofits, startups with no budget, and companies on other continents. Stack three filters and the audience sharpens dramatically.

Here’s a stack for a consultant selling financial systems to growing SaaS companies: Layer 1 (who) — job titles: CFO, VP Finance, Head of Finance, Controller. Layer 2 (where) — company size 51–200, industries Computer Software and Financial Services. Layer 3 (context) — United States, seniority Director and above. That stack might produce an audience of 8,000 people. Every one of them can buy what you sell.

Audience size is the guardrail. LinkedIn needs at least 300 people to run most campaigns, but tiny audiences exhaust fast and drive up costs. The sweet spot for sponsored content is 50,000 to 300,000 — big enough to learn from, small enough to stay relevant. For message ads, smaller is fine: 5,000 to 20,000 highly-targeted people will outperform a giant list every time. If your audience is over a million, you’re not targeting — you’re broadcasting. Add another layer.

Build brief

Build your Precision Stack: write out your three layers (who / where / context) with the specific filters you’d use. Estimate — is your audience in the thousands or the millions?

Matched audiences and ABM lists

The most powerful targeting on LinkedIn isn’t built from filters — it’s uploaded. Matched Audiences lets you upload lists of companies or contacts and target exactly those people. Have a dream list of 200 companies you want as clients? Upload the company names and LinkedIn matches them to company pages. Have 1,000 emails from your newsletter? Upload them and target those exact people.

This is the engine of account-based marketing (ABM) on LinkedIn: instead of fishing with a net, you spear-fish. Build a list of 50 to 500 target accounts, upload them as a company list, layer job titles on top (“show this only to VPs and above at these companies”), and every dollar goes toward someone you’ve already decided is worth winning. ABM campaigns routinely see the highest conversion rates on the platform — because the audience was hand-picked before the first ad ran.

Website retargeting works the same way once you install the Insight Tag (Module 5 covers this fully): anyone who visits your pricing page but doesn’t book a call goes into an audience automatically. Your best audience is the one you already earned — upload it, retarget it, and stop paying full price for strangers.

Build brief

Start your ABM list: name 20 companies you’d love as clients. Could you get to 100? Where would you find the rest — your CRM, your network, industry lists?

David sells cybersecurity audits to regional banks. His campaign targets job function “Finance,” all seniorities, United States — audience size 2.4 million. Clicks cost $11 and nothing converts. What’s the fix?

Your turn: Draft your full Precision Stack on paper: Layer 1 (10–20 job titles), Layer 2 (company size + 2–3 industries), Layer 3 (geography + seniority floor). Then write your ABM starter list of 20 dream companies.

Your next 24 hours

Open Campaign Manager, create one campaign (don’t launch it), and build your Precision Stack audience. Check the audience size — if it’s over 300,000, add a layer; if it’s under 1,000, loosen one.

Steal this template

THE PRECISION STACK PLANNER

Layer 1 — WHO (job titles, 10–20 variations): ___

Layer 2 — WHERE (company size: ___ | industries: ___)

Layer 3 — CONTEXT (geography: ___ | seniority floor: ___)

Estimated audience size: ___ (target: 3,000–50,000)

☐ Audience expansion: OFF

ABM list (20 dream companies): ___

Cheat sheet

  • Job title is the sharpest filter — always include every title variation your buyer uses.
  • The Precision Stack: who (titles) + where (company size, industry) + context (geo, seniority).
  • Sweet spot audience: 50,000–300,000 for sponsored content; 5,000–20,000 for message ads.
  • Turn audience expansion OFF — it spends your budget on people you didn’t choose.
  • Matched Audiences: upload company or contact lists to target hand-picked accounts (ABM).
  • Upload lists of 1,000+ — match rates run 30–70%, and you need 300 matched to run.