LinkedIn Connector - Narrative I/O Knowledge Base

The LinkedIn Connector delivers audience data to LinkedIn Campaign Manager as Matched Audiences, either lists of people or lists of companies, for targeting in LinkedIn ad campaigns.

Overview

The connector delivers two kinds of LinkedIn audience. A people audience matches on email addresses and Android advertising IDs. A company audience matches on company names, domains, and LinkedIn company pages, for account-based targeting. For either kind you can create a new audience in one of your ad accounts or deliver into one that already exists. An opt-out removes people or companies from every audience of its kind that your connections deliver to.

Guides

Setting Up the LinkedIn Connector

Install the connector, connect a profile, and reconnect it before the grant expires

Connecting an Opt-Out Dataset

Remove opted-out people and companies from LinkedIn audiences

Requirements

Account access

A LinkedIn Campaign Manager ad account that isn’t a test account and hasn’t been closed
A LinkedIn account with a role other than Viewer on that ad account. Connecting a profile asks LinkedIn for the r_ads and rw_dmp_segments permissions

Supported identifiers for people audiences

Your data must include at least one of these identifier types, mapped to the corresponding Rosetta Stone attribute:

Identifier Type	Rosetta Stone Attribute
SHA256 hashed email	`sha256_hashed_email`
Hashed email (SHA256)	`hashed_email` (type `sha256_email`)
Email	`raw_email` (automatically normalized and hashed)
Android Advertising ID (GAID)	`android_advertising_id`
Narrative ID	`narrative_id`

The connector removes whitespace from a raw email and lowercases it before hashing it. Dots and + tags stay as they are.

Hashed emails must use SHA256. A hashed_email value of another type, such as SHA-1 or MD5, is skipped during delivery. See Hashing PII for Upload for formatting requirements.

The connector doesn’t match people on name, phone number, or Apple IDFA. A row that carries none of the identifiers above delivers nothing.

Supported identifiers for company audiences

Your data must include at least one of these identifier types. Each one can identify a company by itself:

Identifier Type	Rosetta Stone Attribute
Company name	`company_name`
Company website domain	`company_website_domain`
Company email domain	`company_email_domain`
LinkedIn company page URL	`linkedin_company_page_url`
LinkedIn organization URN	`linkedin_organization_urn`

A mapped postal_address narrows the match with its city, region, postal code, and country. An address can’t identify a company by itself, so a row with only an address delivers nothing. Company identifiers reach LinkedIn as plain text, not hashed. The connector trims each value, and sends only the first value of each identifier type in a row and the row’s first address.

Managing profiles

Each profile carries its own LinkedIn grant. The Profiles tab lists every profile with its Status, and a profile’s page shows the rest:

Status: Connected, Expiring, Expired, or Not Connected. Only Connected and Expiring profiles deliver audiences, list them on the Audiences tab, and make opt-outs available. Setting Up the LinkedIn Connector explains each status and how to reconnect.
Profile status: whether the profile is Enabled or Disabled.
LinkedIn grant expires: the date the grant expires. It reads LinkedIn grant expired once the date has passed.
Ad accounts: the ad accounts the grant reaches, with Refresh to read them from LinkedIn again. Shown while the profile is Connected or Expiring.
Delete profile: removes the profile.

Delivering audiences

When you connect a dataset to the LinkedIn Connector, you pick a Profile and, when the dataset fits more than one, a Connection type. A dataset mapped to people identifiers is offered the people types, and one mapped to company identifiers is offered the company types. To connect a dataset of opted-out people or companies instead, see Opt-outs.

Connection type	What it does
New People Audience	Creates a people audience in one of the profile’s ad accounts
Existing People Audience	Delivers into a people audience already in one of the profile’s ad accounts
New Company Audience	Creates a company audience in one of the profile’s ad accounts
Existing Company Audience	Delivers into a company audience already in one of the profile’s ad accounts

New People Audience

Setting	Description
Audience name	Name for the audience created in LinkedIn, pre-filled from the dataset name. Required
Description	Description for the audience in LinkedIn, pre-filled from the dataset description. Optional
Ad account	The ad account the audience is created under. Selected for you when the profile reaches only one. Required
Dataset write mode	Append or Overwrite, pre-filled from the source dataset’s write mode. See Write modes
Member TTL (days)	Append only. Removes a member this many days after the dataset last delivered it (1–28). Leave empty to keep members until an opt-out removes them
Deliver all data	Whether to also deliver data written to the dataset in the 30 days before the connection is created. Unchecked, only data written after the connection is configured is delivered

Existing People Audience

Setting	Description
Ad account	The ad account that holds the audience. Required
Audience	The existing people audience to deliver into. Required
Dataset write mode	Append only. Overwrite needs an audience that Narrative created
Deliver all data	Whether to also deliver data written to the dataset in the 30 days before the connection is created. Unchecked, only data written after the connection is configured is delivered

New Company Audience

Setting	Description
Audience name	Name for the audience created in LinkedIn, pre-filled from the dataset name. Required
Description	Description for the audience in LinkedIn, pre-filled from the dataset description. Optional
Ad account	The ad account the audience is created under. Selected for you when the profile reaches only one. Required
Deliver all data	Whether to also deliver data written to the dataset in the 30 days before the connection is created. Unchecked, only data written after the connection is configured is delivered

Existing Company Audience

Setting	Description
Ad account	The ad account that holds the audience. Required
Audience	The existing company audience to deliver into. Required
Deliver all data	Whether to also deliver data written to the dataset in the 30 days before the connection is created. Unchecked, only data written after the connection is configured is delivered

The Audience list offers audiences of the matching kind that were built through LinkedIn’s API, such as the ones Narrative creates. An audience uploaded to Campaign Manager as a CSV file isn’t offered, because LinkedIn accepts only CSV uploads into it.

Write modes

The dataset write mode decides what happens to an audience’s existing members when a new delivery arrives. Company audiences and existing people audiences always append.

Mode	Available on	What each delivery does	Members leave the audience when
Append	Every connection type	Adds the delivered identifiers to the audience	An opt-out removes them
Append with a member TTL	New People Audience	Adds the delivered identifiers and restarts each one’s TTL clock	They have not appeared in a delivery for the TTL’s number of days, or an opt-out removes them
Overwrite	New People Audience	Replaces the audience’s members with the rows in the delivery: identifiers missing from it are removed, then new ones are added	A delivery arrives without them, or an opt-out removes them

Use Overwrite with an overwrite dataset, where each delivery is the complete, current audience. Each delivery carries one new dataset snapshot. On an overwrite dataset, every snapshot is the full dataset, so an Overwrite connection keeps the audience matching the dataset. On an append dataset, every snapshot holds only the newly added rows, so an Overwrite connection shrinks the audience to the latest batch at each delivery.

Creating a new audience fails when the ad account already holds LinkedIn’s maximum of 1,000 audiences built through its API. The connection’s error says so.

Audience status in LinkedIn

A successful delivery in Narrative means the identifiers reached LinkedIn. LinkedIn then matches them to its members or companies, and the Audiences tab on the connector page shows how far each audience has got. Pick a Profile, an Ad account, and an Audience type (People or Companies). Only Connected and Expiring profiles are offered. The tab lists the audiences in that ad account that were built through LinkedIn’s API, so an audience uploaded as a CSV file doesn’t appear.

Column	What it shows
Name	The audience’s name in LinkedIn
Status	LinkedIn’s status for the audience, described below
Matched	LinkedIn’s matched count for the audience. Shows ”—” until LinkedIn has matched it
Audience size	The audience’s size in LinkedIn. Shows ”—” until LinkedIn has matched it
Audience ID	LinkedIn’s ID for the audience, the one an Existing People Audience or Existing Company Audience connection takes. Campaign Manager shows a different ID for the same audience

Status	Meaning
Ready	LinkedIn has finished processing the audience
Building	LinkedIn is still processing the audience
Unknown	LinkedIn reported no status for the audience
Unavailable	Narrative couldn’t read the status from LinkedIn. Hover over it for LinkedIn’s error message

LinkedIn can report other statuses, which the tab shows in LinkedIn’s own words. Click Refresh statuses to read every status from LinkedIn again.

API connection settings

A connection’s quick_settings pick the interface and set how the connection delivers. The fields depend on the interface. The interface’s JSON Schema is authoritative; retrieve it with List app interfaces.

New people audience (`user_audience_new`)

The connector creates the audience in LinkedIn when you create the connection.

Field	What it does	Allowed values	Default
`ad_account_id`	The ad account the audience is created in	An ad account the profile reaches	None. Required
`audience_name`	The audience’s name in LinkedIn	Any string	None. Required
`audience_description`	The audience’s description in LinkedIn	Any string	None
`dataset_write_mode`	How each delivery changes the audience: `append` adds members, `overwrite` replaces them	`append`, `overwrite`	`append`
`ttl_days`	With `append`, removes a member this many days after the last delivery that included it	1 to 28	None. Members stay until an opt-out removes them
`historical_data_enabled`	Whether the connection also delivers data already in the dataset	`true`, `false`	`true`

Existing people audience (`user_audience_existing`)

Field	What it does	Allowed values	Default
`ad_account_id`	The ad account that holds the audience	An ad account the profile reaches	None. Required
`audience_id`	The audience to deliver to	The Audience ID of a people audience in that ad account, built through LinkedIn’s API	None. Required
`dataset_write_mode`	How each delivery changes the audience	`append`. A connection with `overwrite` is rejected	`append`
`historical_data_enabled`	Whether the connection also delivers data already in the dataset	`true`, `false`	`true`

New company audience (`company_audience_new`)

The connector creates the audience in LinkedIn when you create the connection. Company audiences take no write mode or member TTL, because every delivery appends.

Field	What it does	Allowed values	Default
`ad_account_id`	The ad account the audience is created in	An ad account the profile reaches	None. Required
`audience_name`	The audience’s name in LinkedIn	Any string	None. Required
`audience_description`	The audience’s description in LinkedIn	Any string	None
`historical_data_enabled`	Whether the connection also delivers data already in the dataset	`true`, `false`	`true`

Existing company audience (`company_audience_existing`)

Field	What it does	Allowed values	Default
`ad_account_id`	The ad account that holds the audience	An ad account the profile reaches	None. Required
`audience_id`	The audience to deliver to	The Audience ID of a company audience in that ad account, built through LinkedIn’s API	None. Required
`historical_data_enabled`	Whether the connection also delivers data already in the dataset	`true`, `false`	`true`

People and company opt-outs (`user_opt_out`, `company_opt_out`)

Field	What it does	Allowed values	Default
`historical_data_enabled`	Whether the connection also delivers data already in the dataset	`true`, `false`	`true`

A connection created over the API without dataset_write_mode uses append. The connection form in Narrative pre-fills the source dataset’s write mode instead.

Existing and new rows

A connection delivers every snapshot written to the dataset after the connection is created. The historical_data_enabled quick setting decides whether the connection also delivers data that was already in the dataset when you created it:

With historical_data_enabled set to true, the connection first delivers data already in the dataset, then keeps delivering new snapshots as they land.
With historical_data_enabled set to false, the connection delivers only snapshots written after it was created.

How far back the first delivery reaches depends on the connector, and each connector’s guide states it. For LinkedIn, historical_data_enabled delivers the dataset’s data from the 30 days before the connection was created. After that, each new snapshot is delivered as it lands.

Audience membership duration

Membership duration is how long a delivered identifier remains active in the destination audience before the destination platform expires it. It is distinct from the dataset’s retention policy (which governs data stored in Narrative) and the interface’s refresh window (which governs how stale the source dataset may get).

Field	Value
Configurable	Yes, on new people audiences with the Append write mode
Setting	Member TTL (days)
Range	1–28 days, or leave blank for no expiration
Default	No expiration. Members stay until an opt-out removes them
Applies	Per member. Each delivery that includes an identifier restarts its clock

Narrative enforces the TTL itself. A daily job removes the members the dataset has not delivered within the TTL, so a member can stay up to one day longer than the TTL. Company audiences, existing audiences, and Overwrite connections have no TTL. See Write modes.

Opt-outs

The Opt Out Configuration tab on the connector page connects a dataset of opted-out people or companies to LinkedIn. Set Opt out to People or Companies before you connect the dataset:

People: removes the dataset’s people from every LinkedIn people audience your company’s connections deliver to, across all of your LinkedIn profiles. The dataset needs at least one of the people identifiers.
Companies: removes the dataset’s companies from every LinkedIn company audience your company’s connections deliver to. The dataset needs at least one of the company identifiers.

The opt-out connection itself names no ad account and no audience. To connect an opt-out dataset, follow Connecting an Opt-Out Dataset.

You need at least one connected profile before Connect opt out dataset becomes available. Each removal is sent with the grant of the profile that owns the audience, so a removal from the audiences of a profile whose grant has expired fails. Keep every profile that delivers audiences connected.

Data Activation Overview

Understand how connectors deliver data

Hashing PII

Prepare identifiers for LinkedIn

Structuring Audiences

Organize datasets for delivery

Schema Incompatibility Errors

Resolve errors when a dataset schema doesn’t match a connector

LinkedIn Connector API

Profiles, ad accounts, audiences, and connection settings forms on the connector host

​Overview

​Guides

Setting Up the LinkedIn Connector

Connecting an Opt-Out Dataset

​Requirements

​Account access

​Supported identifiers for people audiences

​Supported identifiers for company audiences

​Managing profiles

​Delivering audiences

​New People Audience

​Existing People Audience

​New Company Audience

​Existing Company Audience

​Write modes

​Audience status in LinkedIn

​API connection settings

​New people audience (user_audience_new)

​Existing people audience (user_audience_existing)

​New company audience (company_audience_new)

​Existing company audience (company_audience_existing)

​People and company opt-outs (user_opt_out, company_opt_out)

​Existing and new rows

​Audience membership duration

​Opt-outs

​Related content

Data Activation Overview

Hashing PII

Structuring Audiences

Schema Incompatibility Errors

LinkedIn Connector API

Overview

Guides

Requirements

Account access

Supported identifiers for people audiences

Supported identifiers for company audiences

Managing profiles

Delivering audiences

New People Audience

Existing People Audience

New Company Audience

Existing Company Audience

Write modes

Audience status in LinkedIn

API connection settings

New people audience (`user_audience_new`)

Existing people audience (`user_audience_existing`)

New company audience (`company_audience_new`)

Existing company audience (`company_audience_existing`)

People and company opt-outs (`user_opt_out`, `company_opt_out`)

Existing and new rows

Audience membership duration

Opt-outs

Related content