The State of LinkedIn Ads in 2026/2027

LinkedIn and Meta take very different approaches to B2B advertising. Your company is looking to up their ad spend in 2026, and become more omni-channel. So, which one is worth your money?

We sit down with Moby Hayat, founder of FireShow Media and a B2B advertising expert who’s helped clients add $1M-$5M in revenue multiple times through paid ads, to understand what 2026/2027 looks like for LinkedIn paid ads. Eventshark CEO and The Sales Rapper have Moby break down what you should know to maximize your ads/spend, Meta ads and how they fit in the ad market, why LinkedIn can get so expensive when you get the targeting wrong, and how to think about paid ads beyond just generating leads.

They get into:

- Why nobody really knows how LinkedIn ads work right now
- LinkedIn targeting vs. Meta’s algorithm
- Why the Boost button can limit your options
- The $30K LinkedIn campaign that generated two leads and zero meetings
- Why Meta is underrated for B2B
- Named account targeting: The one thing LinkedIn does that Meta can't
- Turning ad engagement into outbound opportunities
- Speed-to-lead and why follow-up matters
- A $10K ad budget, planned live on the show

If you’re trying to figure out where to put your B2B ad budget, give this episode a listen!

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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro Trailer
00:51 - Welcome to the show
01:05 - Guest introduction
02:20 - Why LinkedIn ads are suddenly top of mind
02:47 - NEVER press the boost button
03:45 - LinkedIn has no algorithm, so targeting is everything
04:43 - How to actually dial in your targeting
05:59 - The cost of not knowing who you're selling to…
06:40 - How big should your audience be?
07:42 - The state of LinkedIn paid ads in 2026
08:00 - $30,000 spent, two leads, zero meetings
08:40 - The 50/50 split for ad spend
09:40 - How do you measure success on LinkedIn ads?
11:55 - Building our $10K campaign LIVE
12:49 - Splitting the budget: thought leadership vs. direct offer
13:28 - Lead magnet or go straight to the offer?
15:20 - What every creative ad needs
16:38 - Speed to lead: call them within 15 minutes
17:22 - Why you hold back half the budget
20:34 - Why almost nobody gets results on LinkedIn ads
22:30 - The client who missed every target and made 8x
23:12 - Outbound isn't dead, it's just more difficult
25:13 - The ads-to-outbound play
26:55 - Enriching the list with Clay, Apollo and Instantly
28:26 - AI, MCP and the future of everyone running their own ads
29:12 - Meta ads for B2B are underrated
31:20 - A $100K a month campaign with zero targeting
31:37 - So why are we using LinkedIn at all?
32:38 - Guard up on LinkedIn, guard down on meta
36:10 - Meta's ads manager and unchecking all the boxes
37:04 - Rapid Fire: LinkedIn ads or meta ads for B2B?
37:47 - Rapid Fire: Most overrated way to target people
38:29 - Rapid Fire: Smallest budget worth using on LinkedIn
39:04 - Rapid Fire: Most used app on your phone
39:25 - Rapid Fire: Overall thoughts on LinkedIn ads in 2026
39:56 - Moby's newsletter strategy
40:54 - You rent your LinkedIn audience, you own your list
42:09 - Why Moby's newsletter is invite only
42:38 - The newsletter gold rush
46:10 - YouTube, TikTok and why omnichannel is important
47:42 - Moby's origin story
48:15 - The moment at Spryng that changed everything
49:03 - How Ding and Moby actually met
49:49 - Spryng, Drive and the Exit Five marketing community
52:09 - Where to find Moby
52:33 - Outro