How to Target Companies on LinkedIn

Targeting specific companies on LinkedIn isn't about luck, it's about a well-executed strategy that combines smart content, savvy engagement, and, when needed, a little bit of ad spend. Whether you're aiming for a B2B sale, a strategic partnership, or your dream job, getting on the radar of companies like HubSpot, Adobe, or your local industry leader is entirely achievable. This guide will walk you through the organic and paid methods to pinpoint specific companies and the decision-makers within them.

Before You Target: Laying the Groundwork

Before you even think about targeting a specific company, you need to make sure your own digital storefront is in order. Your personal profile and your company page are the first things people will see when they notice your content or your name pops up in a comment section. If they're empty, confusing, or unprofessional, your entire strategy falls apart.

Optimize Your Personal and Company Pages

Think of your profile as a landing page. Does your headline clearly state what you do and who you help? Does your "About" section tell a compelling story? For your Company Page, is it complete with a logo, banner, and a clear description of your services? Fill out every section and use keywords relevant to your industry. If you target SaaS companies, make sure your profile includes terms like "SaaS," "MRR," "customer retention," or other industry jargon. This not only makes you look credible but also helps people find you through search.

Understand the LinkedIn Ecosystem

LinkedIn's algorithm rewards interaction. Your goal isn't just to find employees of Target Company X, it's to create content and engage in a way that the algorithm shows your activity *to* them. Thoughtful comments, shares that add value, and posts that spark conversation will amplify your reach far beyond your immediate network. A targeting strategy without an engagement strategy is like having a great message but whispering it in an empty room.

Organic Strategies: Targeting Companies Without Spending a Dime

Believe it or not, some of the most effective targeting on LinkedIn is completely free. It requires time and consistency, but the relationships and credibility you build are invaluable. These methods are all about showing up in the right places with the right message, so the people at your target companies start to see you as a familiar, authoritative presence.

Strategy 1: Create Content for an Audience of One (Company)

The biggest mistake people make on LinkedIn is creating generic, bland content. If you want to get the attention of a specific company, create content that speaks directly to their world. Don't write about "5 Marketing Tips." Instead, write about "5 Marketing Challenges for Enterprise FinTech Companies." The more specific you are, the more your ideal audience will feel like you're reading their minds.

• Address Their Pain Points: Use your industry knowledge to talk about the real challenges companies in that sector face. If your target is in logistics, create posts about supply chain bottlenecks, last-mile delivery innovations, or warehouse automation trends.
• Use Their Language: Every industry has its own language, acronyms, and inside jokes. Use them. This signals that you're an insider and builds immediate credibility.
• Tag Industry Leaders (Carefully): If you're referencing a piece of research or an idea from a well-known person at a target company, you can tag them in the post. Don't do this just for attention, do it when you are genuinely adding to the conversation they started.
• Leverage Strategic Hashtags: Use a mix of broad hashtags (#B2BMarketing) and niche hashtags (#HealthTech) that employees at your target companies are likely following or using themselves.

Strategy 2: The Art of Strategic Commenting

Your content is just one half of the equation. Actively engaging with your target companies and their employees is where you build visibility and relationships. The key is to be insightful, not salesy.

How to Find Where to Comment:

1. Follow Your Target Companies: Start by following the official pages of your top 10-20 target companies.
2. Follow Their Leaders and Employees: Identify 5-10 key people within those companies - executives, department heads, or decision-makers you want to influence. Follow them and hit the "notification bell" on their profile to be notified when they post.
3. Provide Real Value: When a key person or company posts, your goal is to be one of the first, most thoughtful commenters. Don't just say, "Great post!" or "I agree!" Add to the conversation.
   • Ask a clarifying question: "This is a great point on data integration. How have you seen a company's culture affect the success of implementing a new system?"
   • Share a related statistic or resource: "This aligns with the latest Gartner report that found X. Great insight."
   • Offer a brief, respectful counter-perspective: "I love this approach. An alternative I've seen work well in smaller teams is Y. Both get to a great result."

Doing a little daily engagement on a handful of key profiles is more effective than dropping hundreds of generic comments. You become a recognized name in their notification feed, making you a warm connection instead of a stranger.

Strategy 3: Master LinkedIn Search and Groups

LinkedIn offers powerful search tools for free if you know how to use them. You can easily find and learn about the people who work at your target companies.

• Filter for Employees: Type a company's name into the main search bar and hit enter. On the results page, click the "People" filter. You now have a list of every employee at that company who is on LinkedIn. You can scroll through to see their job titles and even what content they're posting or engaging with publicly. This is perfect for research.
• Join Their Hubs: Find LinkedIn Groups dedicated to the industries your target companies operate in. Chances are, their employees are members. Instead of selling, become a helpful member of the community. Answer questions, participate in polls, and share useful articles. You position yourself as an expert and build organic connections over time.

Paid Strategies: Using LinkedIn Ads for Precision Targeting

When you have a budget and want to guarantee your message gets in front of the right people, LinkedIn Ads is your best friend. Its targeting capabilities are unmatched for B2B, allowing you to bypass the algorithm and place your content directly in the feeds of employees at specific companies.

Step 1: Set Up Your Campaign Audience in Campaign Manager

Once you've set a campaign objective (like brand awareness or lead generation), you'll move to the audience-building step. This is where the magic happens. Under "Audience attributes," select "Company."

Here Are Your Key Options:

• Company Names: This is the most direct approach for Account-Based Marketing (ABM). You can upload a CSV file with a list of your target companies or type them in one by one. LinkedIn will match the names to official Company Pages. Note that you'll need a list of at least 300 companies for your campaign to run effectively, a common minimum audience size.
• Company Industry: If you want to go broader, you can target companies based on industry, like "Information Technology and Services" or "E-Learning."
• Company Size: You can choose to target companies with a specific number of employees (e.g., 51-200, 1001-5000, etc.). This is great for filtering out businesses that are too large or too small for your solution.

Step 2: Layer Your Targeting for Maximum Impact

The real power of LinkedIn Ads comes from layering filters. Targeting *everyone* at a company is often too broad and expensive. You want to reach the *right people* within those companies.

Here's how you can combine criteria:

Example for a Sales Goal:
You want to reach Directors of Marketing at specific B2B software companies.

• Companies: [Upload your list of 300 target software companies]
• NARROW using AND
• Job Seniorities: Director, VP, CXO
• NARROW using AND
• Job Functions: Marketing

This ensures your ad is only shown to senior marketing leaders at the exact companies you want to work with.

Step 3: Choose the Right Ad Format

Don't just run a boring ad. Pick a format that aligns with your goal:

• Thought Leader Ads: This format allows you to promote a post directly from a person's personal profile (like your CEO or Head of Sales). These ads feel much more organic and authentic than a typical corporate ad and tend to get higher engagement.
• Video Ads: Perfect for telling a quick story, showing a product demo, or sharing a client testimonial. Video cuts through the clutter of a busy feed.
• Lead Gen Forms: These ads pre-fill a user's contact information from their LinkedIn profile, dramatically reducing friction and making it easy for interested prospects from your target companies to get in touch.

Measuring Your Success

Whether you're using organic or paid methods, you need to track what's working. For organic efforts, watch for increases in profile views after you've ramped up your commenting, connection requests from people at your target companies, and DMs that start with "I saw your post about..." For paid ads, your Campaign Manager dashboard is your source of truth. Look at your click-through rate (CTR), engagement rate, and especially your lead conversion rate to see if your targeting and creative are hitting the mark.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, targeting companies on LinkedIn is a long-term play that blends smart content creation, genuine engagement, and precise paid advertising. By focusing on providing value and understanding the tools at your disposal, you can turn LinkedIn into a powerful engine for building relationships with the exact businesses you want to reach.

While these strategies help you target the right companies, creating and scheduling the great content you need to reach them is a job in itself. At Postbase, we built our platform to solve this exact problem. Our simple visual calendar allows you to plan your LinkedIn strategy weeks at a time, and our rock-solid scheduling means your posts always go live without a hitch. It removes the friction from content execution, letting you focus more on the strategic engagement that gets you seen by the right people.