How Campaign Manager, Business Manager and Agencies Relate on LinkedIn
Three different tools share one job: deciding who can touch your ads and Pages.
Is this your situation?
You manage LinkedIn ads or Pages and keep running into three names: Campaign Manager, Business Manager, and agency partnerships. You want to know what each one controls before you decide who gets access to what.
What it is
Campaign Manager is LinkedIn's online tool for creating and managing ad accounts and advertising campaigns. Business Manager is a platform that allows organizations to centrally manage their ad accounts, LinkedIn Pages, and the people and businesses that work on them. Business Manager uses a two-tiered permissions model that helps each user get the access they need across Business Manager, ad accounts, and Pages. Business Manager partnerships let different organizations share ad accounts and LinkedIn Pages with each other at scale. An agency may need business-wide access to a client's ad accounts and Pages when using Business Manager partnerships.
How LinkedIn handles this
- People added to an ad account in Business Manager can access it through Business Manager or Campaign Manager.
- Once an ad account is claimed or added to Business Manager, user access must be managed there instead of in Campaign Manager.
- Adding a partner's Business Manager ID does not automatically share any ad accounts or Pages.
- An agency can use a partnership to receive business-wide access to a client's ad accounts and Pages.
- A Business Manager admin can request access to ad accounts owned by other organizations to manage employee access.
Side by side
| Tool | What it handles | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign Manager | Creating and managing ad accounts and advertising campaigns. | Anyone added to an ad account to view, edit, or create campaigns and ads. |
| Business Manager | Central management of ad accounts, Pages, and the people and businesses on them. | Users who want to link all their ad accounts and Pages to a single dashboard. |
| Agency partnership | Sharing ad accounts and Pages between separate organizations at scale. | Agencies needing business-wide access to a client's ad accounts and Pages. |
| Billing | Can be managed across multiple ad accounts using Ads Billing Center. | Not stated by LinkedIn |
| Shared assets | Matched Audiences, allow lists, and block lists can be shared across ad accounts and partners. | Not stated by LinkedIn |
Common mistakes
- Assuming a partner ID shares everything No ad accounts or Pages are automatically shared when a partner is added.Why it happens: You expect the Business Manager ID alone to open up access.
- Managing access in the wrong place If an ad account is added to Business Manager, access must be managed there, not Campaign Manager.Why it happens: Old habits point back to Campaign Manager settings.Already happened: If changes aren't showing, see admin access change not working.
- Forgetting Page permissions for ad creation Creating new ads or sponsoring posts needs permissions on both the ad account and a Page.Why it happens: Ad account access alone looks sufficient.
Quick reference
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Campaign Manager | LinkedIn's online tool for creating and managing ad accounts and advertising campaigns. |
| Business Manager | Centrally manages ad accounts, LinkedIn Pages, and the people and businesses that work on them. |
| Partnership | Lets different organizations share ad accounts and LinkedIn Pages with each other at scale. |
| Shared by default? | No ad accounts or Pages are automatically shared when a partner is added. |
| Access through Campaign Manager | People added in Business Manager can access the ad account through Business Manager or Campaign Manager. |
| Claimed account access | User access must be managed in Business Manager, not Campaign Manager, once claimed. |
| Billing admin | Every ad account must have a billing admin. |
| Agency access | An agency may need business-wide access to a client's ad accounts and Pages. |
Frequently asked questions
Is Business Manager a replacement for Campaign Manager?
No, Campaign Manager is LinkedIn's tool for creating and managing ad accounts and campaigns.
Can I view a person's access from both tools?
If a company uses Business Manager, a person's access can be seen from both Business Manager and Campaign Manager.
Why would a brand set up a partnership with an agency?
A brand may need to share business-wide access to its ad accounts and Pages with agencies.
Keeping track of who has access
Confusion about who holds access builds as ad accounts, Pages, and partnerships multiply across tools. Delvia keeps a clear record of who holds access to each account and Page, so the picture stays clear as it grows.
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