LinkedIn offers a robust suite of advertising tools and features to help brands reach the exact right audience in the exact right way. By nature, that means marketers on the platform have a wide array of options at their fingertips. We know it can be a lot to keep straight, so we’re making it easy.
Our new LinkedIn Ads Guide is a one-stop resource for LinkedIn ad specs, formatting recommendations, and general information. You’ll find all the pertinent details around four different categories of LinkedIn Ads: Sponsored Content, Sponsored Messaging, Lead Gen Forms, and Text and Dynamic Ads, as well as the various ad formats available within each.
We invite you to click on over (and bookmark or otherwise keep handy) the guide, where you’ll find recommendations, requirements, and call-to-action options for every LinkedIn ad format. First, to get you up to speed, here’s a high-level overview of those formats and the purpose of each.
Sponsored Content
Reach a highly engaged audience right in the LinkedIn news feed. There are three options nesting under Sponsored Content:
- Single Image Ads: Run native ads in the LinkedIn feed, both desktop and mobile versions. Show a dynamic image that gets your audience interested, then provide a call to action, prompting them to sign up, apply, download, register, join, and more.
- Video Ads: Use a native video to captivate a professional audience. Drop your short, engaging video right into the news feed and then prompt your audience to join, attend, view a quote, sign up, and more.
- Carousel Ads: Use a series of images in succession to tell an interactive story, inspiring your target audience to take action. You can include two to 10 images, and prompt viewers to learn more, sign up, join, download, and more.
With Sponsored Content, you can harness the relevance and engagement of the LinkedIn news feed to reach your audience. But you can also use LinkedIn Messaging as a more direct method of communication.
Sponsored Messaging
Engage your audience through LinkedIn Messaging, where professional conversations happen. Here, brands have two options:
- Conversation Ads: Engage your prospects via a quick, conversational message that provides branching pathways and several different CTA options. Tell a prospect you’re glad they signed up, then prompt them to download an asset or sign up for a newsletter, for example.
- Message Ads: Send direct messages to spark immediate action. For instance, you can send prospects a message explaining your value proposition and inviting them to learn more about your products and services, or invite specific members to your virtual event.
Looking to generate leads and fill your pipeline with valuable contacts? Sponsored Messaging can be great for that. Especially when coupled with this next ad product.
Lead Gen Forms
Lead Gen Forms provide pre-filled forms for your LinkedIn ads, allowing you to more easily collect quality leads while removing the hassle for users. LinkedIn provides you with a number of field options so you can tailor the form to get the information you need. You can choose up to 12 fields, generating high-quality leads at scale. Lead Gen Forms can be used in conjunction with both Message Ads and Sponsored Content.
The final option that LinkedIn offers allows you to run ads alongside the member’s newsfeed.
Text and Dynamic Ads
Run ads in the right rail, catching someone’s attention as they scroll their feed. Here you’ll find three different choices:
- Text Ads: A good option for almost any budget. You can drive new customers to your business using a pay-per-click option.
- Spotlight Ads: Spotlight a product, service, or event, helping you drive more traffic to your website or landing page.
- Follower Ads: Promote your LinkedIn Page, building brand awareness and growing the audience you can reach organically on the platform.
Find the Format to Fit Your Needs
No matter your advertising objective, LinkedIn's versatile ad products can help you achieve them. Equipped with an understanding of the ideal specs for formatting recs for each ad type will put you ahead of the curve.
It's all waiting for you in the LinkedIn Ads Guide.
