In today’s competitive digital landscape, LinkedIn stands out as a powerful platform for B2B marketing and professional networking. LinkedIn offers unparalleled access to decision-makers, executives, and business leaders across various industries. But to truly unlock the potential of LinkedIn’s advertising capabilities it’s essential to choose the right ad format tailored to your goals.
Whether you’re looking to build brand awareness, generate leads, or engage prospects, LinkedIn’s ad formats offer a variety of ways to craft engaging, targeted campaigns. In our guide, we’ll explore each LinkedIn ad format, highlighting its advantages, best use cases, and effective strategies to ensure you maximise your ROI.
Sponsored Content
Overview: Sponsored Content is the most familiar ad format on LinkedIn, appearing natively in users’ feeds across desktop and mobile devices. These ads seamlessly blend with organic content, making them less disruptive and more engaging. Sponsored Content can take the form of single image ads, carousel ads, video ads, and event ads.
Let’s dive into two of the most popular options: single image ads and carousel ads.
Single Image Ads
Single image ads feature a static image with accompanying ad copy and call-to-action (CTA). They appear as a natural part of the LinkedIn feed, giving advertisers such as yourself the opportunity to deliver simple yet impactful messages.
Pros:
- Quick, Direct Messaging: Single image ads are great for delivering a clear, concise message in a format that doesn’t overwhelm viewers.
- Lower Cost: These ads are often more affordable to produce, requiring only one visual asset.
- Broad Reach: A single image allows you to cast a wide net and focus on specific calls to action such as “Sign Up” or “Download.”
Best Use Cases:
- Lead Generation: Pairing a single image ad with LinkedIn’s Lead Gen Forms is an effective way to capture leads directly from the platform, especially for straightforward offers like ebooks, whitepapers, or event sign-ups.
- Brand Awareness: A strong image and concise message can enhance brand recognition, making single image ads ideal for top-of-funnel campaigns.
- Testing Messaging: Since these ads require minimal creative effort, they are perfect for A/B testing to find out what resonates most with your audience.
Carousel Ads
Carousel ads allow you to display multiple images or cards in a swipeable format within the LinkedIn feed. Each card can have its own headline, image, and link, making carousel ads a versatile storytelling tool.
Pros:
- Interactive Experience: Carousel ads encourage users to engage more actively by swiping through the cards, making it ideal for storytelling and showcasing a range of products or services.
- Versatility: Multiple cards allow advertisers to showcase various elements of their brand, services, or offerings, enabling deeper engagement with the audience.
- Higher Engagement: Research shows that carousel ads tend to result in higher engagement rates than single image ads due to their interactive format.
Best Use Cases:
- Product Showcase: Carousel ads are excellent for displaying multiple products or services. Each card can represent a different offering, allowing users to explore a variety of options.
- Storytelling: You can use the cards to tell a sequential story, guiding users through a narrative that builds interest and engagement over time.
- Educational Campaigns: For complex industries, carousel ads can serve as mini presentations. Each card can explain different aspects of your product or service, educating potential customers in a visually engaging way.
Single Image Ads vs. Carousel Ads: When to Choose Which?
Simplicity vs. Depth: If you need to convey a single, clear message, opt for a single image ad. If you want to tell a story or showcase multiple products, carousel ads provide the extra space to do so.
Budget: Single image ads are typically more cost-effective in terms of creative production, whereas carousel ads may require more resources (design and copy for each card).
Engagement Goals: For a more interactive and immersive experience, carousel ads can drive higher engagement. However, single image ads are more effective for quick, one-click CTAs.
Sponsored Messaging (Conversation Ads)
Overview: Conversation Ads, allows you to directly reach LinkedIn members through their inboxes. Unlike traditional display ads, these are highly personalised and feel like direct communication from a colleague.
Pros:
- High Engagement: Conversation Ads delivers content directly into the inbox, which tends to have higher open and response rates compared to email.
- Personalisation: The conversational tone makes it feel more authentic, which can drive stronger engagement.
- Real-Time Interaction: With Conversation Ads, you can create a two-way conversation, giving users choices and custom paths based on their responses.
Best Strategies:
- Event Promotion: Ideal for inviting targeted audiences to webinars, workshops, or other events.
- Lead Generation: Use personal, direct messaging to offer gated content like whitepapers or reports in exchange for contact details.
- Customer Nurturing: Use Conversation Ads to move prospects through a custom journey, offering different types of content based on their responses, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
Text Ads
Overview: Text Ads are LinkedIn’s simplest ad format, consisting of short, clickable ads displayed in the right-hand sidebar of the desktop version of LinkedIn. These ads include a headline, description, and an optional small image or company logo.
Pros:
- Simple Setup: Creating Text Ads is quick and easy, allowing you to launch campaigns without heavy creative resources.
- Targeted Reach: Although basic in design, Text Ads still benefit from LinkedIn’s precise targeting capabilities, allowing you to reach a defined audience.
Best Strategies:
- Brand Awareness: Although less visually engaging, Text Ads can still drive awareness, especially when used alongside more immersive formats like Sponsored Content.
- Retargeting: As a low-cost option, Text Ads can be used to retarget individuals who have visited your website or interacted with your brand previously.
- Testing and Experimentation: Text Ads are ideal for A/B testing, allowing you to easily tweak copy or targeting to identify what resonates most with your audience.
Dynamic Ads
Overview: Dynamic Ads are unique, personalised ads that dynamically pull LinkedIn user data such as their name, job title, and profile picture. These ads appear in the right-hand column and are designed to capture attention through personalisation. Dynamic Ads come in three types: Follower Ads, Spotlight Ads, and Content Ads.
Pros:
- Cost-Effective: Text Ads are one of the most affordable ad formats on LinkedIn, making them ideal for campaigns with tighter budgets.
- Personalisation: Dynamic Ads automatically personalise the content for each viewer, which can significantly increase engagement.
- High Visibility: Positioned prominently in the right-hand sidebar, these ads can stand out, especially with the use of profile pictures.
- Customisable CTA: Dynamic Ads allow for specific, relevant calls to action (CTA), such as following your page or downloading content.
Best Strategies:
- Building Followers: Follower Ads are particularly effective in growing your company’s follower base, keeping users engaged with your content over time.
- Content Promotion: Spotlight Ads are great for driving traffic to key landing pages or pieces of content, with a CTA tailored to your goals.
- Personalised Outreach: Dynamic Ads’ personalisation features make them effective for account-based marketing (ABM) strategies where targeted, customised communication is critical.
Video Ads
Overview: Video Ads are part of the Sponsored Content family but deserve a specific mention due to their high potential for engagement. Video is increasingly becoming the most consumed content online, and LinkedIn’s Video Ads appear natively within the feed.
Pros:
- High Engagement: Video content typically drives more interaction than static images or text, with viewers often spending more time engaging with the ad.
- Storytelling Potential: Video Ads offer the ability to convey more complex messages, ideal for product demos, testimonials, or brand stories.
- Measurable Impact: Video Ads allow you to track views, completion rates, and other key metrics, providing detailed insights into engagement.
Best Strategies:
- Brand Storytelling: Use Video Ads to share your company’s story or showcase customer success stories to build credibility.
- Product Demonstrations: If you have a product or service that needs explaining, Video Ads are perfect for offering a deeper dive into its features and benefits.
- Awareness Campaigns: Video is a powerful tool for top-of-the-funnel marketing, where the goal is to attract attention and build awareness.
Summary
Choosing the right LinkedIn ad format can significantly impact the success of your campaign. Sponsored Content offers both single image and carousel ads, giving you the flexibility to deliver quick, impactful messages or tell a more detailed, multi-faceted story. Whether you’re looking for the simplicity of single image ads or the depth of carousel ads, both are powerful tools for engaging audiences. Sponsored Messaging is ideal for personalising outreach, while Dynamic Ads and Text Ads are effective for low-cost awareness and engagement. For storytelling and higher engagement, Video Ads are a must.
Each ad format on LinkedIn is designed to cater to different objectives and target audiences, making it essential to align your campaign goals with the ad type that best suits your strategy. Whether you’re aiming to grow brand awareness, generate high-quality leads through paid media campaign, or retarget existing customers, LinkedIn provides a robust suite of tools to help you succeed.
