If you’ve been running B2B campaigns, there’s a high chance you’ve already wondered: Is LinkedIn advertising worth the cost? According to LinkedIn, marketers see a 2x higher conversion rate from LinkedIn ads compared to other social platforms. Yet, many businesses still struggle with understanding how to plan their LinkedIn ad campaign and get actual leads from LinkedIn.
In this detailed guide to LinkedIn ads, you’ll learn how to advertise on LinkedIn, different types of LinkedIn ads, formats, campaign best practices, and tools like LinkedFusion to track and convert your leads from LinkedIn advertising campaigns.
Whether you’re new to LinkedIn or looking to scale an existing marketing strategy, this blog will cover everything you need to know.
Why Use LinkedIn Ads for Your Marketing Strategy?
LinkedIn advertising is not like other social platform ads. It targets professionals by job title, company size, industry, and more, making it ideal for B2B marketers.
- Over 1 billion LinkedIn members globally.
- LinkedIn users include 65+ million decision-makers and influencers.
- The average cost per lead on LinkedIn is higher than on platforms like Facebook, but delivers more qualified leads.
By using LinkedIn for your business, especially in B2B sectors, you access a niche audience that’s already in a professional mindset.
Types of LinkedIn Ads: Choosing the Right Ad Format for Your Campaign
When planning your LinkedIn advertising campaign, knowing the types of LinkedIn ads available is step one. LinkedIn offers various ad formats optimized for different campaign objectives:
1. Single Image Ads
What Are Single Image Ads?
Single Image Ads are most commonly used ad formats on LinkedIn. They display a static image, headline, and brief description directly in the LinkedIn feed.
Key Features:
- Appear in the home feed of your target audience.
- Support lead gen form integration.
- Great for driving traffic, engagement, and awareness.
When to Use Single Image Ads:
Ideal for promoting blog posts, product features, events, or special offers when you want a simple, direct message.
2. Carousel Ads
What Are Carousel Ads?
Carousel Ads allow you to showcase multiple images or cards that viewers can swipe through, each with its own headline and link.
Key Features:
- 2–10 cards per carousel.
- Highly interactive — ideal for storytelling.
- Supports lead gen forms.
When to Use Carousel Ads:
Use carousel ads when you want to highlight multiple products, walk users through a step-by-step process, or tell a brand story in a creative format.
Example:
A software company can use carousel ads to show different product features across each card.
3. Video Ads
What Are Video Ads?
Video Ads bring motion to your LinkedIn advertising campaign, allowing you to share product demos, customer testimonials, or company updates.
Key Features:
- Autoplay in-feed videos with sound off by default.
- Length ranges from 3 seconds to 30 minutes (best practice: 15–30 seconds).
- Supports brand awareness, engagement, and lead generation objectives.
When to Use Video Ads:
Perfect for increasing brand awareness and engagement while demonstrating products or sharing insights.
Pro Tip:
Keep video ads under 30 seconds for maximum impact on the LinkedIn platform.
4. Message Ads
What Are Message Ads?
Message Ads (previously known as Sponsored InMail) are sent directly to a LinkedIn user’s inbox. These ads are highly personalized and allow for direct one-on-one engagement.
Key Features:
- Delivers messages straight into users’ LinkedIn messaging.
- Includes clickable call-to-action (CTA) buttons.
- High click-through and open rates compared to email marketing.
When to Use Message Ads:
Best for sending offers, invitations to events, webinars, or directly promoting gated content using a lead gen form.
5. Conversation Ads
What Are Conversation Ads?
Conversation Ads expand on Message Ads by allowing multiple CTA options. They work like chatbots, guiding users through pre-set conversation paths.
Key Features:
- Multiple response buttons.
- Interactive experience.
- Supports form submission and external link clicks.
When to Use Conversation Ads:
Use conversation ads when you want to generate leads while offering a personalized, chat-like experience without relying on human agents.
6. Dynamic Ads
What Are Dynamic Ads?
Dynamic Ads automatically personalize creative content for each viewer using their LinkedIn profile data, such as their name, profile photo, company, and job title.
Types of Dynamic Ads:
- Follower Ads: Can encourage professionals to follow your LinkedIn page.
- Spotlight Ads: Can drive traffic to your website or a specific landing page.
- Content Ads: Can promote downloadable content or resources.
Key Features:
- Personalized and attention-grabbing.
- Appear in the right sidebar.
- Limited in visual size but highly effective in B2B settings.
When to Use Dynamic Ads:
Dynamic ads are ideal when building brand awareness, growing followers, or driving clicks to high-value landing pages.
7. Text Ads
What Are Text Ads?
Text Ads are the simplest and most budget-friendly LinkedIn ad format. They appear in the right sidebar of desktop screens as short headline and description combinations.
Key Features:
- Pay-per-click (PPC) or cost-per-impression (CPM) billing models.
- Minimal design effort.
- Lower cost compared to feed-based ad formats.
When to Use Text Ads:
Use text ads when the budget is limited but you still want brand visibility or lead generation in niche B2B segments.
8. Document Ads
What Are Document Ads?
Document Ads allow advertisers to share PDF, PPT, or DOC files directly in the LinkedIn feed, with the option to gate downloads using a lead gen form.
Key Features:
- Upload and promote whitepapers, case studies, eBooks, and presentations.
- Viewable inline or downloadable after submitting a form.
- Great for thought leadership and mid-funnel content.
When to Use Document Ads:
Perfect for B2B lead generation through gated content like strategy guides, reports, or product brochures.
9. Event Ads
What Are Event Ads?
Event Ads promote LinkedIn Events, webinars, live streams, or offline events directly in the LinkedIn feed.
Key Features:
- Showcase date, time, location, and host details.
- Supports registration directly via LinkedIn.
- Works with organic and paid campaigns.
When to Use Event Ads:
Use event ads when promoting industry events, company-hosted webinars, or conferences to relevant audiences based on job title, company size, and professional interests.
👉 Pro Tip:
LinkedIn recommends using a mix of single image ads, carousel ads, and message ads for a balanced, successful advertising campaign.
Recommended Budget for Different LinkedIn Ad Formats
One important part of planning your LinkedIn advertising campaign is knowing how much budget to allocate for each ad format. LinkedIn ads tend to have higher costs compared to other platforms, but with focused targeting, you can control your cost per lead (CPL) and cost per click (CPC) effectively.
Below is a breakdown of typical budget ranges by ad format:
| Ad Format | Average Cost Per Click (CPC) | Suggested Daily Budget | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Single Image Ads |
$5–$9 |
$50–$150 |
Brand Awareness, Website Traffic |
|
Carousel Ads |
$7–$12 |
$100–$200 |
Product Storytelling, Engagement |
|
Video Ads |
$6–$10 |
$150–$300 |
Brand Awareness, Thought Leadership |
|
Text Ads |
$2–$5 |
$20–$50 |
Budget-Friendly Lead Gen |
|
Message Ads |
$0.80–$1.50 per send |
$100–$300 |
Direct Offers, Event Invites |
|
Conversation Ads |
$1–$2 per send |
$150–$350 |
Interactive Lead Gen |
|
Dynamic Ads |
$5–$10 |
$75–$200 |
Personalization, Follower Growth |
|
Document Ads |
$6–$12 |
$100–$250 |
Gated Content, Lead Generation |
|
Event Ads |
$7–$15 |
$100–$250 |
Webinar or Event Registrations |
Reddit users often say that LinkedIn ads are notably pricier than other platforms, with high minimum bids and CPMs that can strain smaller budgets.
What budget to set for different types of ad formats?
- Text Ads are ideal if you have a smaller budget and are looking for LinkedIn visibility with minimal cost.
- Video Ads and Conversation Ads usually need higher budgets because they rely on richer creative formats and interactive engagement.
- Lead Gen Form Ads help reduce cost per lead by keeping users on LinkedIn, eliminating landing page drop-off.
- LinkedIn recommends a minimum daily spend of $10–$20 USD for most ad types, but real effectiveness starts around $50–$100 per day, depending on targeting.
Reddit users say opinions vary on running LinkedIn Ads with a $300–$500 budget—some feel it’s enough to test and learn, while others think it’s too limited for meaningful results.
Budget Allocation Tips for a Balanced Campaign
When running a multi-format LinkedIn advertising campaign, here’s a suggested split for a mid-range budget of around $1,000/month:
- 50% on Single Image Ads & Carousel Ads (Awareness + Traffic)
- 30% on Lead Gen Form or Message Ads (Direct Leads)
- 20% on Video Ads, Dynamic Ads, or Document Ads (Engagement + Thought Leadership)
If your budget is more limited (say under $500/month), prioritize:
- Single Image Ads
- Text Ads
- Lead Gen Form integration with tools like LeadCRM to ensure every lead is tracked and nurtured.
Reddit users commonly argue that enterprise LinkedIn ad campaigns demand significant budgets and account-based strategies, with many advocating small-scale tests before ramping up spend.
Best Practices for a Winning LinkedIn Ad Campaign
To ensure a successful ad campaign, follow these LinkedIn advertising best practices:
- Keep the copy short and clear (under 150 characters recommended).
- Use LinkedIn profile data to personalize dynamic ads.
- A/B test ad creatives and formats.
- Optimize your LinkedIn ads by regularly checking performance reports.
- LinkedIn recommends using lead gen form ads for higher conversion rates.
How to Run LinkedIn Ads Effectively?
Many users ask: How to run LinkedIn ads that actually deliver results?
Here’s the checklist:
- Use LinkedIn Campaign Manager for all setups.
- Focus on your target audience: job title, company size, industry.
- Select the ad format that matches your campaign objective.
- Track leads and other lead gen tools.
- Refine and iterate: LinkedIn allows you to pause, edit, and restart campaigns anytime.
Tools to Track Leads from LinkedIn Advertising Campaigns
Generating leads from LinkedIn is just the first step. You need tools that help track, enrich, and close those leads.
Here are the top tools to integrate with your LinkedIn campaign:
1. LeadCRM: Your LinkedIn Lead Management Assistant
LeadCRM is a LinkedIn automation and CRM integration tool developed to help businesses manage their LinkedIn lead generation process more efficiently.
- Captures leads from LinkedIn ad campaigns automatically.
- Enriches and syncs leads into CRMs like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive.
- Responds to leads using AI response assistance
- Supports follow-up automation and multi-CRM support.
If you want to capture, enrich, sync, and close leads from your LinkedIn ad campaign faster, LeadCRM is a must-have.
2. LinkedIn Campaign Manager (Native Tool)
While LinkedIn Campaign Manager is mainly for setting up ads, it also provides lead tracking insights:
- Cost per lead
- Lead form submissions
- Audience engagement metrics
3. CRM Integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce)
By connecting LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms to your CRM, you automatically capture form submissions as new contacts.
Planning Your LinkedIn Advertising Campaign: Checklist for Success
Before you launch your first or next LinkedIn ad campaign, here’s a quick checklist:
- Create a LinkedIn business page.
- Set clear campaign objectives.
- Define your LinkedIn audience.
- Choose the right ad format.
- Prepare ad creative with compelling copy and visuals.
- Use LinkedIn lead gen forms if applicable.
- Integrate with tools like LinkedFusion.
- Track, analyze, and optimize regularly.
Why Do LinkedIn Advertising Campaigns Deliver Better B2B Results?
Although LinkedIn advertising campaigns can be more expensive than Facebook or Google ads, they consistently outperform in B2B niches due to:
- High-intent LinkedIn users.
- Detailed targeting: job title, company size, skills.
- Professional environment: People are active on LinkedIn for work-related reasons.
- Advanced lead gen form integration and dynamic ads personalization.
According to LinkedIn, advertisers get up to a 13% lower cost per acquisition (CPA) compared to traditional paid ads channels in B2B industries.
Conclusion: Ready to Launch Your LinkedIn Advertising Campaign?
By now, you should have a clear roadmap to advertise on LinkedIn successfully. Whether it’s through message ads, conversation ads, dynamic ads, or video ads, LinkedIn offers a format for every campaign objective.
If you’re serious about using LinkedIn for your business, investing in LinkedIn ads and tools like LeadCRM is a smart move for long-term growth.
Now that you have the complete guide to LinkedIn ads, it’s time to set up your first LinkedIn ad campaign and turn LinkedIn leads into real business results.
