It’s easy to get lost in the jungle of recruitment marketing. Many people ask themselves the question: “Are we paying twice if we use both Premium in Recruit and use an agency?” Here, we’ll break down the concepts so you can invest your budget where it’s most beneficial!
What is the difference?
It's easy to think everything on LinkedIn is "the same," but you are actually using two different reach engines:
LinkedIn Premium via Recruit
This is a recruitment product built into your workflow. When you select this in the Ad creator, the following happens:
The ad gets increased visibility within LinkedIn's own ecosystem.
It appears in the Jobs tab and via push notifications to relevant candidates.
LinkedIn's algorithm handles distribution automatically based on matching.
Cost: Usually a fixed fee per advertising period.
Sponsored Feed Ads (LinkedIn Ads via Agency)
This is pure Ad marketing managed through an ad account (Campaign Manager):
You create a specific post with an image or video that appears directly in users' feeds.
You have full control over the target audience (e.g., specific titles or experience).
Cost: You pay per click (CPC) or impressions (CPM), plus any agency fees.
⚖️ Quick Comparison
Feature | LinkedIn Premium (Recruit) | Sponsoring (LinkedIn Ads) |
Show jobs in the Jobs tab | ✅ Yes
| ❌ No
|
Automatic algorithm-based distribution | ✅ Yes
| ❌ No
|
Exact audience & budget control | ❌ No
| ✅ Yes
|
Sponsored content in feed (campaign) | ❌ No
| ✅ Yes
|
🛠 When should you choose what?
To work smarter (and cheaper), follow this simple rule of thumb:
Use only LinkedIn Premium when: The role is broad (e.g., administrator or communicator), you already have a good flow of applications, or you have a limited budget.
Invest in Sponsored Feed Ads when: You are looking for a very specific or hard-to-recruit profile (e.g., IT Architect), or when you want to build your Employer Branding while recruiting.
A little tip: Before calling the agency, check the Statistics module in Recruit. If the Premium publication is already delivering relevant candidates at a low cost, you can save those extra dollars for the office coffee fund instead!