Following in the footsteps of Twitter and Facebook, LinkedIn is testing advertising outside its platform.

LinkedIn has kicked off a pilot project that lets marketers to post ads over the web using its data repository. The participants of this pilot program include GroupM’s programmatic focused agency Xaxis and marketing technology and data specialist company Dstillery.

LinkedIn is also opening up its own ad inventory through programmatic channels. Marketers can now target specific audience groups on LinkedIn through a ‘private exchange’.

LinkedIn’s entry into the programmatic ad buying market is new and will take some time to strengthen its hold in the domain.

The digital marketing industry is leaning heavily towards programmatic buying lately. Being a social platform better suited for business professionals, if launched as a full time capability, LinkedIn’s expanding ad network can prove to be a blessing for marketers, B2B in particular. When targeting business professionals, LinkedIn is a top platform and if this pilot project is launched, targeting will become more precise and effective.

Will this move help LinkedIn gain reputation as a top targeting platform and lead to increased revenues?