When Microsoft first announced they were acquiring LinkedIn, I wondered why they brokered such a large deal and how it was going to impact digital marketing.

This is Microsoft’s largest acquisition to date at $26.2 billion. However, if you consider each company’s mission, they’re pretty similar.

Microsoft: At Microsoft, our mission is to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential.

LinkedIn: To connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.

Both companies want to empower people and businesses to become more with assistance from other like-minded people. The acquisition presentation included in the image below depicts how the two networks can take their strengths and create a better experience for users and advertisers.

Casting a Wider Net

Prior to the acquisition, Microsoft didn’t have a social network. Now that they’ve gained access to LinkedIn’s 433 million members and two million paid subscribers, they have an entirely new audience with which they can connect like never before.

More Refined Targeting

Integrating LinkedIn and Bing should greatly improve search and audience targeting. Being able to layer job title, industry, skills and years of experience will help refine results and ensure hyper-relevant impressions.

Additionally, this will expand the inventory available to those already using LinkedIn for marketing. Think of the potential expansion of inventory with Microsoft Outlook and Calendar, Skype and Bing.

Outlook Ads

Gmail ads target users based on the sites they’re browsing by delivering ads inspired by their Gmail account activity. By expanding LinkedIn and social media demographics to Bing, we could be looking at a new channel in Outlook email.

Lower CPC and Higher CTR

I’m also considering how this might decrease LinkedIn’s cost-per-click and increase click-through-rates. LinkedIn is already the most expensive social channel, and they push out impressions frequently. By implementing the additional user base and targeting capabilities, it’s possible that clicks won’t cost as much and refined targeting will narrow the impression and click gap.

Have questions on Bing or LinkedIn advertising? Reach out to the Converge Digital Advertising Team!