Loader LinkedIn Ads

The LinkedIn Ads Audience Loader enables businesses to connect with professional audiences on LinkedIn by leveraging first-party customer data. Integrated with Meiro’s Customer Data Platform (CDP), this tool streamlines the process of creating and managing audience segments for highly targeted campaigns.

The loader processes and validates data from a CSV file, hashing emails if needed, and securely uploads it to LinkedIn’s Data Management Platform (DMP). Whether creating a new audience or updating an existing one, the integration ensures your ads reach the right users at the right time.

Business Value in CDP

When connected to Meiro CDP, the LinkedIn Ads Loader empowers marketing teams to:

✅ Unify and analyze cross-channel customer data.
✅ Build custom segments based on behavior, demographics, and interactions.
✅ Sync audience segments directly to LinkedIn for activation.
✅ Run personalized ad campaigns with better targeting and ROI.

For example, businesses can retarget users who visited a product page but didn’t convert, or upsell to existing customers based on past purchases.

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How to set up the LinkedIn Ads Loader

Follow this step-by-step guide to configure and use the LinkedIn Ads Loader:

1. Set up the loader within Meiro Integration by following the instructions given in this article.

2. Add LinkedIn Ads as a destination in CDP. Read the guide here. 

3. Export segmented customer profiles from CDP to the loader. For more details, refer to this article.

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Prerequisites & Authorization

To successfully use the LinkedIn Ads Loader and send your audience segments to LinkedIn, make sure the following are in place:

1. Access to LinkedIn Ads Account

You need access to a LinkedIn Campaign Manager account, where your business runs ad campaigns.

• Role Requirement: You must have the Campaign Manager role (or higher) in your company's LinkedIn Ads (Campaign Manager) account.

• Purpose: This role allows you to create and manage audience segments and run ad campaigns.

• Sponsored Account ID: Obtain your Sponsored Account ID, a unique identifier for your LinkedIn Ads account.

2. LinkedIn Developer App (Handled by Your Technical Team)

Your technical team needs to:

• Create a LinkedIn Developer App: This app facilitates secure communication between Meiro and LinkedIn.

• Obtain API Access: Apply for access to the LinkedIn Marketing Developer Platform, specifically the Advertising API.

• Request Necessary Permissions: The app must be granted the following permissions:

• rw_ads

• r_basicprofile

• w_organization_social

• w_member_social

• rw_organization_admin

3. Authorization Tokens

Once the Developer App is set up and permissions are granted:

• Access Token: Used to authenticate API calls between Meiro and LinkedIn.

• Refresh Token: Allows Meiro to maintain access without repeated manual authentication.

For detailed guidance on setting up the LinkedIn Developer App and requesting API access, refer to LinkedIn's official documentation: Getting Access to LinkedIn APIs.

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Setting up the loader in Meiro Integration

Follow these guidelines to get your LinkedIn Ads Loader up and running smoothly:

1. CSV File Preparation and Validation
   

   • Place an input.csv file in the /data/in/tables/ directory.

   • Ensure the file contains at least one identifier column:

     • Mandatory: email, googleaid, googleuid, or both firstname and lastname.
   • You may include optional fields to enhance targeting:
     • • Optional: employeecompany, title, and country provide additional context.
         

2. Processing and Hashing Data

   • The loader validates and processes the CSV file.

   • If emails are not already hashed, they will be hashed using SHA256 (if hash_emails is set to true).
     
     

3. Uploading to LinkedIn

   • The loader uploads the processed CSV file to LinkedIn’s server.

   • It then interacts with the DMP to either:

     • Create a new segment (if ad_segment_id is empty), or

     • Update an existing segment (if ad_segment_id is provided).
       

4. Segment Creation & Activation

   • New audience segments are created and attached to the uploaded CSV.

   • Segment creation takes ~5 seconds.

   • Audience activation on LinkedIn may take up to 48 hours.

Data In/Data Out

Learn more: about folder structure in configuration here.

Parameters

Configuration Parameters

Example Configuration

The LinkedIn Ads Loader requires a structured JSON configuration for both audience creation and updates. Below are two examples:

Creating a new audience segment:

{
  "parameters": {
    "authorization_data": {
      "sponsored_account_id": "12345"
    },
    "audience_data": {
      "ad_segment_name": "Spring Campaign",
      "ad_segment_id": "",
      "hash_emails": true
    }
  },
  "authorization": {
    "oauth_api": {
      "credentials": {
        "#data": {
          "access_token": "###",
          "refresh_token": "###"
        },
        "appKey": "###"
      }
    }
  }
}

Updating an existing audience segment:

{
  "parameters": {
    "authorization_data": {
      "sponsored_account_id": "12345"
    },
    "audience_data": {
      "ad_segment_name": "Spring Campaign",
      "ad_segment_id": "67890",
      "hash_emails": true
    }
  },
  "authorization": {
    "oauth_api": {
      "credentials": {
        "#data": {
          "access_token": "###",
          "refresh_token": "###"
        },
        "appKey": "###"
      }
    }
  }
}

By automating audience uploads to LinkedIn Ads, businesses ensure their campaigns are always powered by fresh, relevant data, leading to improved reach, higher engagement, and measurable ROI.