LinkedIn video advertising: The power of visual in B2B marketing

Does your company already use video ads on LinkedIn? Video offers significantly more stopping power than photos or text and can communicate a complex message in a very short time. Videos are remarkably powerful, offering a unique opportunity to share your message effectively via LinkedIn—and, of course, you can boost that reach further with advertising. But what exactly makes video advertising on LinkedIn so interesting? What are the benefits for your business? In this article, you’ll discover what LinkedIn video advertising can do for your brand and how you can deploy this type of ad immediately.

What are LinkedIn video ads?

LinkedIn video ads are short videos used by companies to promote their products, services, or brand stories in an engaging way. These videos appear directly in users’ news feeds, just like posts from friends and other connections. The content can range from informative corporate updates and inspiring customer testimonials to educational videos about new product launches. But do you know what the most important feature likely is? LinkedIn plays your video ads automatically as soon as someone scrolls past. That’s real stopping power.

Why LinkedIn video advertising is essential for your business

Why should your company focus specifically on video advertising via LinkedIn? What makes this a better opportunity than, for example, ads with a photo or plain text? We’ve identified five key reasons:

  • Building relationships

LinkedIn video advertising allows you to build an authentic connection with your target audience. Videos enable you to tell stories and showcase your brand personality, which helps create an emotional bond. This personal approach fosters trust and loyalty.

  • Competitive advantage

Not all companies fully utilize the possibilities of video advertising. By using video effectively, your company stands out and grabs attention amidst a sea of other ads. This unique positioning allows you to present your brand as innovative and engaged.

  • Clear explanations

Video is a powerful way to clearly explain complex information and product demonstrations. Visual elements allow you to easily showcase processes, features, and benefits, making it much easier for your audience to digest the content.

  • Increased brand awareness

Having a strong and recognizable brand is vital for businesses. Video advertising on LinkedIn is a fantastic way to share your brand story and communicate your organization’s values in a visually appealing way. Videos have the power to convey information quickly and effectively, making them easier to remember than text or static images.

  • Measurable results

LinkedIn provides valuable insights and statistics for video ads, such as view counts, engagement levels, and user demographics. This makes LinkedIn video advertising an excellent choice for businesses, as it allows them to measure campaign results with precision. When an ad aligns well with the viewer’s needs, engagement increases, resulting in a higher return on investment (ROI).

Objectives of LinkedIn video advertising

LinkedIn video advertising is a versatile tool that enables companies to achieve various marketing goals effectively. Whether you want to boost brand visibility or inform potential clients, videos offer the chance to convey your message in an attractive and dynamic way. Several goals can be achieved via LinkedIn video ads:

  • Increased brand awareness
  • Higher conversion rates
  • Improved customer engagement
  • Efficient lead generation
  • Attracting job applicants
  • Successful event promotion
  • Building an active community

The difference between LinkedIn video advertising and video marketing

While LinkedIn video advertising and video marketing both utilize video, they differ in their approach and objectives. LinkedIn video advertising focuses specifically on paid ads that appear in users’ news feeds, with the goal of driving immediate engagement, lead generation, or brand awareness. These ads are often tailored to specific demographics and interests. Video marketing, on the other hand, encompasses a broader strategy that uses organic video content across various platforms, such as websites and social media. Instead of promoting immediate action, video marketing focuses on building long-term trust and loyalty, whereas video advertising targets immediate interaction.

The two often reinforce each other, and a version of a video is frequently used for both purposes. However, a top-performing organic video often looks quite different from a top-performing LinkedIn video ad.

Types of LinkedIn video ads

LinkedIn offers several video ad formats designed to help you reach your audience effectively. Understanding these different types of ads can help you choose the right format for your campaign goals. Which types of LinkedIn video ads can you deploy, and for what specific purpose?

  1. Sponsored Content

This type of video appears directly in the LinkedIn feed. These ads are perfect for increasing brand awareness, driving engagement, and generating leads. They blend seamlessly into the feed and play automatically without sound, grabbing users’ attention. Ensure you use compelling visuals and captions so your message is clear even without audio.

  1. LinkedIn Stories

These videos disappear after 24 hours and are ideal for conveying time-sensitive messages. They are designed for mobile devices and require striking visuals and text to deliver your message quickly. Interactive elements, such as polls or questions, help increase engagement with your users.

  1. LinkedIn Audience Network video ads

With the LinkedIn Audience Network, you can extend your video ad campaign to third-party apps and websites. They can appear as outstream or in-stream ads.

  • Outstream video ads: These ads play automatically when the user has them in view, making them effective for conveying your message to a wider audience. They are displayed on external webpages, meaning they aren’t limited to the LinkedIn feed. This gives you the chance to reach your target group wherever they are, even outside the LinkedIn platform.
  • In-stream video ads: These ads play within longer videos on external websites. They appear at three points: before (pre-roll), during (mid-roll), or after (post-roll) the video. In-stream ads generally have higher view rates than outstream videos because they are part of a video the viewer has already chosen to watch.

Getting started with LinkedIn video ads

When you want to start with LinkedIn video ads, it’s important to follow several steps for successful advertising. First, you need a company page and an ad account. Ensure your ad account is linked to a payment method—this is easily managed via LinkedIn itself. Once you have an ad account, you can begin setting up your first campaign. This involves creating your account, selecting the right ad format, and defining your campaign goal and message. It is also essential to carefully define your target audience and set an appropriate budget.

  • Create a LinkedIn ad account
  • Determine ad format, campaign goal, and message
  • Build your target audience
  • Set a budget
  • LinkedIn Campaign Manager
  • LinkedIn Insight Tag
  • Launch campaign
  • Optimize LinkedIn campaign

In the full article “Advertising on LinkedIn,” we break down every step in detail.

Measuring results

After placing your video ads, you naturally want to know how they are performing. To analyze and optimize your results, you can consult the advertising dashboard. Here you will find various categories of data on the performance of your campaigns and ads, including specific information per ad type. Furthermore, the demographic report offers valuable insights into your audience: who viewed your campaign? This overview shows which companies these users work for and which roles they fulfill. The performance report provides a clear graph with key KPIs, such as impressions, reach, CPM, and CTR.

The future of LinkedIn video advertising

With the growth of digital media and the shift toward visual content, the future of video advertising on LinkedIn is very promising. Companies that position themselves with effective video campaigns benefit from strong brand recognition and better customer relationships in the future. By capitalizing on trends, companies can further improve and expand their strategies. It is important to regularly evaluate your video advertising strategy and adapt to new possibilities.