A Marketer’s Guide to Targeting Audiences on Connected TV

Traditional TV advertising is like casting a wide net and hoping you’ll catch the right fish. True, you might reach some decision-makers, but you’ll also reach a lot of people who have no interest in your product.

Connected TV changes that. Unlike traditional TV, CTV allows for more targeted and efficient advertising, improving the odds that your message reaches the right audience at the right time.

As B2B marketers continue to invest in CTV, refining your audience targeting strategies is essential for maximizing campaign impact. In this guide, we’ll break down CTV targeting strategies using demographic, behavioral, and geographic data. Plus, we’ll explore how LinkedIn audience insights can enhance your campaigns, helping you reach high-intent decision-makers with precision.

Linear TV vs. Connected TV

Before diving into advanced targeting strategies, it’s important to understand how Connected TV (CTV) differs from traditional linear TV:

• Linear TV follows a scheduled programming format where ads are broadcasted to a wide audience without advanced targeting options. Marketers buy ad slots based on generalized demographic data, such as age and gender.
• CTV delivers streaming content via internet-connected devices, allowing for more precise targeting. 
  

This shift toward digital streaming presents a massive opportunity for advertisers. In fact, 89% of U.S. internet households now have a streaming video service, according to Parks Associates.

Read more: The Rise of B2B TV Advertising

What sets CTV targeting apart?

For B2B marketers, CTV provides a unique opportunity to reach decision-makers in premium, high-attention environments—especially when combined with LinkedIn’s professional insights.

Unlike traditional TV, CTV offers advanced audience targeting by leveraging both first-party and third-party data. This enables addressable advertising, allowing brands to deliver personalized messages to high-intent viewers.

Read more: What Is Connected TV Advertising? A Guide for Marketers and Brands 

Key CTV Targeting Strategies for B2B Marketers

Demographic targeting: Reaching the right people

One of the biggest advantages of CTV advertising is the ability to target audiences based on key professional attributes. Unlike traditional TV, which relies on broad demographic estimates, CTV allows B2B marketers to refine their reach using detailed criteria such as:

• Job title: Engage decision-makers, influencers, or practitioners in relevant roles.
• Industry and company size: Tailor campaigns to businesses within specific sectors or scale levels, whether targeting enterprise organizations or small businesses.
• Decision-making power: Focus on executives, managers, or other key stakeholders who have purchasing authority.
  

Pro tip: Leverage LinkedIn’s first-party data to refine audience segmentation with verified professional attributes. Unlike third-party data, LinkedIn’s insights are based on real user profiles, ensuring greater accuracy in reaching your ideal customer.

Example of demographic targeting

A cybersecurity company launching a CTV campaign to promote a new enterprise security solution might target:

• Job title: IT Directors, CISOs, and Security Analysts
• Industry: Financial Services, Healthcare, and Technology
• Company size: Fortune 500 companies
• Seniority: Senior Managers and Executives
  

By applying these filters, the company ensures its ads are seen by decision-makers who are most likely to be interested in cybersecurity solutions for maximum campaign impact.

Read more: Reach Engaged B2B Decision-Makers With LinkedIn CTV and Live Event Ads 

Behavioral targeting: Engaging audiences based on interests and actions

With behavioral targeting, marketers can reach professionals based on their online activity, content consumption, and engagement patterns. Insight into what topics, products, or services a viewer has interacted with allows brands to deliver ads that align with their interests and intent.

Key behavioral targeting strategies include:

• Browsing behaviors: Serve ads to professionals who have engaged with industry-related articles, webinars, or whitepapers.
• Past engagement history: Retarget users who have previously interacted with your brand, attended events, or downloaded content.
• Cross-platform engagement: Use LinkedIn insights to identify high-intent audiences who have engaged with your brand’s organic content, then reinforce the message through CTV ads.
  

Pro tip: Combine behavioral insights from LinkedIn and CTV to create a multi-touch engagement strategy. For example, if a professional recently engaged with your LinkedIn video ad, retargeting them with a CTV ad can reinforce the message and drive them further down the funnel.

Example of behavioral targeting

A marketing software company looking to promote its demand generation platform could target:

• Behavior: Professionals who recently attended a LinkedIn Live event on B2B demand generation.
• Content engagement: Users who have interacted with LinkedIn articles or reports on lead nurturing.
• Retargeting strategy: Serve CTV ads to reinforce the value of the platform after an initial LinkedIn ad view.
  

Layering behavioral signals helps this company serve ads to professionals actively seeking demand-generation solutions.

Geographic targeting: Localizing for relevance

Relevance drives engagement. For B2B marketers, geographic targeting is essential when campaigns need to align with specific regions, market demands, or localized business initiatives. CTV allows advertisers to go beyond broad national targeting and refine their reach based on geography.

Key geographic targeting strategies include:

• Country, region, or city-based targeting: Align campaigns with regional business trends, economic hubs or major industry centers.
• Localized product launches: Focus ads on areas where a new service or product is rolling out.
• Event-specific targeting: Reach professionals in cities hosting relevant conferences or industry gatherings.
• Regional hiring initiatives: Serve CTV ads in key locations where your company is looking to attract top talent.
  

Pro tip: Use LinkedIn’s first-party data to tailor creative messaging based on location. With LinkedIn’s professional insights, you can refine your CTV campaigns to align with regional priorities.

Example of geographic targeting

A cloud services provider looking to expand its presence in financial markets could tailor its CTV ads by region:

• London: Messaging focuses on compliance with UK financial regulations.
• New York: Ads emphasize scalability for fast-paced investment firms.
• Singapore: Highlight security and data privacy compliance for APAC markets.
  

Aligning creative and targeting ensures that the provider’s messaging is relevant to the specific needs of financial decision-makers in each market.

Best Practices for Optimizing CTV Targeting

To maximize the impact of your campaigns, keep the following CTV targeting best practices in mind:

1. Align targeting with campaign objectives

Not all CTV campaigns serve the same purpose, so your targeting strategy should align with your marketing goals:

• Awareness: Use broad targeting parameters to introduce your brand to new audiences and build recognition.
• Consideration: Focus on more refined audience segments, such as roles you’ve associated with your buyer group structure.
• Conversion: Leverage first-party data and retarget high-intent users who have interacted with your brand across LinkedIn and other channels.
  

Tailoring your approach ensures that your messaging is relevant at every stage of the buyer’s journey.

2. Test and refine for better campaign performance

CTV targeting isn’t one-size-fits-all, and continuous testing is key to improving results.

• A/B testing allows you to compare different audience segments, messaging, and creative formats to identify what works best. 
• Data-driven optimization helps you adjust targeting criteria based on real-time insights, improving efficiency over time.
  

Experimenting and iterating allows you to refine your campaign and achieve better ROI.

3. Balance precision and scale

While precise targeting is valuable, overly restrictive parameters can limit reach and reduce campaign effectiveness.

• Broaden targeting when launching a new campaign to gather performance insights.
• Use LinkedIn’s first-party professional data to strike the right balance, ensuring relevance while maintaining sufficient reach.
• Consider expanding lookalike audiences to find new potential customers with similar attributes to existing high-value prospects.
  

Finding the right mix of precision and scale means your campaign remains impactful without narrowing your audience too much.

4. Use frequency capping to prevent ad fatigue

We’ve all experienced ad fatigue — and none of us want our brand seen in that light. Repeating your message too often can lead to diminishing returns.

• Set frequency caps to control how often an individual sees your ad within a given timeframe.
• Adjust frequency settings based on campaign goals — higher for awareness campaigns, lower for conversion-driven campaigns.
• Monitor engagement metrics like click-through rates and completion rates to identify when frequency fatigue sets in.
  

With a thoughtful frequency strategy in place, your ads can stay top-of-mind without becoming intrusive.

5. Track cross-channel performance 

CTV should be part of an integrated marketing strategy rather than a siloed effort.

• Use cross-channel attribution to measure how CTV campaigns influence engagement on LinkedIn and other platforms.
• Analyze key metrics like view-through rates, site visits, and conversion rates to gauge impact.
• Optimize your media mix by identifying which touchpoints contribute most to pipeline growth.
  

By tracking cross-channel performance, you can be confident your budget is allocated effectively and refine your strategies based on real engagement data.

Looking for more CTV best practices? Check out: Creative Best Practices for Producing B2B Video on Connected TV 

Take Your CTV Targeting to the Next Level

CTV offers a powerful way to reach B2B decision-makers, and LinkedIn audience insights can help you refine your targeting strategy even further. By combining demographic, behavioral, and geographic data, marketers can build highly relevant, impactful campaigns that drive real business results. 

Ready to refine your CTV strategy? Read our case study, TD Bank Extends Reach with LinkedIn CTV and QuickFrame, or explore LinkedIn Connected TV Ads and start reaching engaged professionals today.