Xing’s B2B Advertising Solutions:
Unlocking Programmatic Success in Professional Networks
Table of Contents
As professional networks become critical hubs for both career advancement and audience engagement, advertisers are seeking smarter ways to leverage these platforms.
At IndieAd, we had the chance to sit down with Sandy Ukat – who was, at the time of this conversation, Senior Business Development Manager from XING Marketing Solutions – who shared insights into Xing’s B2B advertising solutions and how its unique deterministic data positions it as a key player in B2B and B2C programmatic advertising. Originally presented in our podcast, this article dives into how advertisers can take advantage of Xing’s evolving ecosystem.
Xing: A Trusted Professional Network in the DACH Region
Xing, a leading professional network in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (DACH region), boasts over 20 million active users. These users actively maintain their profiles, updating skills, career milestones, and professional interests, which ensures the platform’s data remains fresh and highly reliable.
Unlike some networks that rely heavily on behavioral data, Xing uses deterministic data – information directly provided by users. This makes the platform a goldmine for advertisers targeting specific professional audiences with precision.
Sandy highlighted, “Our users’ profiles are meticulously updated, which creates a reliable pool of data for advertisers to tap into. This deterministic data allows us to connect brands with highly relevant audiences while respecting user privacy.”
Xing’s Self-Serve Ad Manager: Tailored for Targeted Campaigns
For advertisers looking to manage their campaigns independently, Xing offers its proprietary Ad Manager. This self-serve platform mirrors other major players like LinkedIn or Meta but with a focus on professional audiences.
Key features of the Ad Manager include:
- Native Ads Only:
Unlike standard display ads, Xing’s native ads are seamlessly integrated into the platform’s environment, providing a more authentic and less intrusive experience - Targeting Capabilities:
Advertisers can target audiences by job title, industry, skills, and even career stage - Flexible Budgeting and Bidding:
Campaigns are auction-based, giving advertisers control over their budgets and bidding strategies
Sandy emphasized the importance of targeting, noting, “Nearly all our campaigns are targeted—untargeted campaigns are practically nonexistent on Xing. This speaks to the quality and relevance of our data for advertisers.”
The Xing Audience Network: Extending Reach Beyond the Platform
While the Ad Manager enables advertisers to engage users directly on the Xing platform, the Xing Audience Network takes this further. This solution allows advertisers to reach Xing’s professional audiences across premium external websites and apps.
Why this matters:
- Extended Reach:
Access users outside of Xing’s ecosystem while maintaining the exact high-quality targeting - Brand Safety:
Unlike some audience networks with black-box placements, Xing ensures transparency, allowing advertisers to know where their ads are being served - Flexible Options:
Available both as a managed service and programmatically via DSPs like Adform
“The Audience Network bridges the gap between targeting precision and scale,” Sandy explained. “It lets advertisers extend their campaigns to the open web while maintaining control over the environment and audience.”
Xing’s advertising solutions are like Jack Sparrow’s compass - it doesn’t point north but leads you directly to what you desire: key professional decision-makers and valuable leads.
Preparing for a Cookie-Less Future
As the advertising industry transitions away from third-party cookies, Sandy discussed how Xing is preparing for a cookie-less future with innovative solutions like first-party data and identity-based targeting.
Here’s what sets Xing apart in this changing landscape:
- First-Party Data:
Xing’s deterministic data is cookie-independent, ensuring its value remains unaffected by browser or policy changes - Identity Solutions:
The platform is exploring hashed identifiers based on email addresses to enable privacy-compliant, cross-platform targeting - Programmatic Strength:
By integrating these solutions with DSPs, Xing ensures advertisers can continue effectively reaching their target audiences
Sandy noted, “We see the cookie phase-out as an opportunity to enhance our data currency. Testing and adapting to new identity solutions will be key for success in this evolving ecosystem.”
Key Recommendations for Advertisers
Sandy offered practical advice for advertisers looking to make the most of Xing’s advertising solutions:
- Leverage Native Ads:
Use Xing’s Ad Manager to create authentic, targeted campaigns that align with professional user experiences - Expand with the Audience Network:
Test Xing’s data segments on the open web for branding and awareness campaigns, especially for hard-to-reach B2B audiences - Optimize for the Funnel:
Understand your campaign goals – whether awareness, consideration, or conversion – and choose the right product accordingly - Experiment and Measure:
Take advantage of Xing’s deterministic data to test and refine targeting strategies
Conclusion: Why Xing’s B2B Advertising Solutions are a Must-Try for B2B Advertisers
With its rich deterministic data, user-first approach, and innovative solutions like the Audience Network, Xing is uniquely positioned to deliver success for advertisers navigating today’s complex programmatic landscape. Whether you’re focused on B2B or tapping into Xing’s high-value B2C potential, this platform offers a blend of precision, transparency, and scalability.
If you’re ready to elevate your campaigns with professional audiences, start exploring Xing’s Ad Manager or Audience Network today.
>> PERSONAL COMMENT OF INDIEAD'S CEO <<
Xing is really only relevant for companies operating in the German-speaking region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland). Nevertheless, whether you’re looking for B2B lead generation solutions or employer branding, this is an untapped source of high-quality targeting data.
Whether you’re running on-platform targeting or tapping into Xing’s audience network using programmatic buying using your DSP of choice, always keep in mind that everything that’s presented in the article is only correct on paper; The actual power and impact of Xing (or any media source like LinkedIn Ads for example) can only be evaluated by running test campaigns.
Get your MarTech infrastructure upgraded, normalize, and align your media data with your CRM (or your source of truth of choice). Then, you’ll be able to evaluate the actual impact of each media source on your company’s bottom line.
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