LinkedIn offers far more advertising options than the familiar single-image sponsored post. In 2026, advertisers can choose from LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads, Video Ads, Document Ads, Carousel Ads, Conversation Ads, Message Ads, Event Ads, Single Image Ads, Text Ads, Dynamic Ads, Article and Newsletter Ads, and Connected TV Ads, among other placements.
But choosing a LinkedIn ad format should not start with which creative looks the most interesting. It should start with the job the ad needs to do. A founder-led Thought Leader Ad can build credibility. A Document Ad can turn research or a guide into an in-feed lead-generation asset. A Single Image Ad may be better for a direct offer. Conversation Ads can create an interactive path for a tightly defined audience.
This guide explains the main LinkedIn ad types, where each format fits, and how B2B teams should decide which ones to test. If you are still configuring Campaign Manager, start with our LinkedIn Ads setup guide before choosing formats.
What are the different types of LinkedIn ads?
LinkedIn’s advertising ecosystem can broadly be divided into Sponsored Content, Sponsored Messaging, Dynamic Ads and Text Ads. Within those groups are multiple individual LinkedIn ad formats designed for different campaign objectives, placements and creative experiences.
LinkedIn’s official Ads Guide is the single external reference used in this article for the platform’s current format inventory and specifications.
| LinkedIn ad format | Best use | Funnel stage | OneMetrik view |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thought Leader Ads | Founder and expert content | Awareness / Consideration | High priority for B2B |
| Video Ads | Education and storytelling | Awareness / Consideration | Strong creative-testing format |
| Document Ads | Guides, research and lead magnets | Consideration / Lead Gen | Excellent for B2B |
| Carousel Ads | Multi-part stories and product education | Awareness / Consideration | Useful selectively |
| Conversation Ads | Guided offers and qualification | Consideration / Conversion | Best with narrow audiences |
| Message Ads | Direct offers and invitations | Consideration / Conversion | Use selectively |
| Event Ads | Webinars and LinkedIn Events | Consideration | Event-specific |
| Single Image Ads | Offers, product proof and retargeting | All stages | Core format |
| Text Ads | Low-friction visibility | Awareness | Secondary format |
| Spotlight Ads | Personalized website traffic | Consideration | Selective |
| Follower Ads | LinkedIn Page growth | Awareness | Brand objective |
| Article & Newsletter Ads | Long-form thought leadership | Awareness / Consideration | Good content amplification |
| Connected TV Ads | Large-screen awareness | Awareness | Specialized use |
1. LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads
LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads let companies sponsor eligible organic LinkedIn posts created by people such as founders, executives, employees or subject-matter experts. Instead of rebuilding the message as a conventional company ad, the person’s original post becomes the sponsored creative.
That makes the format useful when the person delivering the message is part of the reason the audience should pay attention. A founder explaining a market shift, an executive sharing a point of view or an expert breaking down new research can feel more credible than a standard company banner making the same claim.
- Founder-led marketing and executive thought leadership
- Category education and industry commentary
- Original research and strong point-of-view content
- Product insights that benefit from a human voice
- Building engaged audiences before a lower-funnel retargeting campaign
When should you use LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads?
Use Thought Leader Ads when trust and credibility matter more than an immediate hard sell. For B2B, we would normally use them above a direct-response layer rather than expect every sponsored founder post to generate demos on its own.
A practical sequence could be Thought Leader Ad → engaged audience → product proof → demo or lead-generation campaign. Your keyword research also shows strong demand around this format, which makes Thought Leader Ads a natural supporting topic for the wider LinkedIn advertising cluster.
2. LinkedIn Video Ads
LinkedIn Video Ads use native video to explain an idea, demonstrate a product or build awareness inside the LinkedIn feed. Video is most useful when the product or buying problem becomes easier to understand when it is shown rather than described.
- Product demonstrations and walkthroughs
- Customer stories and proof
- Founder or executive videos
- Short educational clips
- Product launches and event promotion
- Problem-awareness campaigns
- Retargeting for users who already know the brand
Do LinkedIn video ads autoplay?
LinkedIn Video Ads can begin playing automatically depending on the user’s settings and environment, so the opening frames need to work even without sound. Use captions, communicate value quickly and avoid spending the first several seconds on a logo animation.
For B2B advertising, the real question is not whether video is generally more engaging. It is whether the video makes the buying problem, product or proof easier to understand. A short product walkthrough can outperform a beautifully produced corporate video when it communicates value faster.
3. LinkedIn Document Ads
LinkedIn Document Ads allow advertisers to promote documents directly inside the LinkedIn feed. They are particularly relevant to B2B because many high-value assets already exist as reports, guides, playbooks, research, checklists, presentations and whitepapers.
Users can preview the document inside LinkedIn, which makes the format useful for educational content that needs more depth than a single image but does not necessarily need a full landing-page experience before the prospect sees value.
When do LinkedIn Document Ads work best?
Document Ads work best when the document itself is worth consuming. Putting a weak PDF into a Document Ad does not make the offer stronger. The asset needs a specific promise, useful information and enough preview value to make the next action feel justified.
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Document Ads can also sit naturally inside lead-generation programs, especially when the advertiser wants to combine content consumption with a native LinkedIn conversion path.
4. LinkedIn Carousel Ads
LinkedIn Carousel Ads use multiple swipeable cards inside one ad. This makes the format useful when the story benefits from a sequence rather than a single visual.
- Explaining several product features
- Breaking down a process step by step
- Showing multiple use cases
- Turning research findings into a visual sequence
- Comparing problems and solutions
- Building a narrative that rewards continued swiping
Are LinkedIn Carousel Ads effective?
They can be, but we would not choose carousel simply because it gives you more space. Every additional card creates another interaction requirement. If one strong visual can communicate the message, a Single Image Ad may be simpler and easier to test.
Carousel works best when the sequence itself creates value. For example: problem → why it happens → what changes → proof → CTA. In that structure, swiping helps the prospect understand the argument rather than merely adding more creative.
5. LinkedIn Conversation Ads
LinkedIn Conversation Ads are a Sponsored Messaging format that lets prospects choose between different response paths inside the message. Instead of presenting only one action, the advertiser can guide the recipient toward different content, offers or next steps.
A Conversation Ad could allow a prospect to choose between viewing a benchmark report, watching a product demo, seeing pricing, registering for an event or talking to the team. This makes the format more interactive than a standard message.
When should you use LinkedIn Conversation Ads?
Conversation Ads are most useful when the audience is tightly defined, the expected value of a qualified prospect is high and there are several genuinely relevant paths the buyer might want to take. They are less suitable as a broad awareness format.
For account-based or high-value B2B programs, Conversation Ads can also help reveal which topics or offers attract engagement from specific audience groups.
6. LinkedIn Message Ads
LinkedIn Message Ads deliver a sponsored message through LinkedIn Messaging and are designed around a more focused communication and primary action than Conversation Ads.
- Webinar or event invitations
- Demo invitations
- High-value report promotion
- Focused account-based campaigns
- Offers where the audience and timing are tightly controlled
LinkedIn Message Ads vs Conversation Ads
| Message Ads | Conversation Ads | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Focused message | Interactive flow |
| Primary action | One main path | Multiple possible paths |
| Best for | One clear offer | Several relevant options |
| Complexity | Lower | Higher |
| Typical B2B use | Invitations and focused conversions | Guided qualification and content discovery |
Older guides may refer to sponsored inbox advertising as Sponsored InMail or LinkedIn InMail Ads. Search demand for that terminology still exists, but the article uses LinkedIn’s current Message Ads language.
7. LinkedIn Event Ads
LinkedIn Event Ads are built to promote LinkedIn Events and help advertisers increase awareness and attendance for webinars, virtual events, product launches, industry discussions and other scheduled experiences.
The format makes the most sense when the event is part of a wider demand-generation sequence rather than the final conversion. A practical flow might be Event Ad → registration → attendance → retargeting → demo or sales conversation.
8. LinkedIn Single Image Ads
LinkedIn Single Image Ads are the standard Sponsored Content format most advertisers recognize. One image, one core message and one primary action make them straightforward to understand and easy to test systematically.
- Demo campaigns
- Product announcements
- Customer proof and case-study promotion
- Research or report promotion
- Webinar campaigns
- Retargeting
- Competitor or category comparison creative
- Lead-generation campaigns
- Account-based marketing
Their simplicity is also useful for experimentation. You can hold the audience and offer constant while testing the visual, hook, headline, proof, CTA, product screenshot or customer result. For many B2B programs, Single Image Ads remain one of the first formats worth testing.
9. LinkedIn Text Ads
LinkedIn Text Ads are compact ads commonly used in desktop placements. They are simpler than feed-based Sponsored Content and can support brand awareness, simple offers, concise-message testing and complementary campaign coverage.
We would generally treat Text Ads as a supporting format rather than the center of a modern B2B creative strategy. They can provide additional visibility, but they are not the best place to explain a complex product or build a detailed narrative.
10. LinkedIn Dynamic Ads
LinkedIn Dynamic Ads personalize parts of the ad experience using information associated with the member’s LinkedIn profile. The main formats include Spotlight Ads, Follower Ads and Job Ads.
LinkedIn Spotlight Ads
Spotlight Ads are personalized ads designed to encourage an action such as visiting a website, discovering a product or engaging with an offer. They are a selective format rather than one we would automatically include in every B2B campaign.
LinkedIn Follower Ads
Follower Ads are primarily designed to grow a LinkedIn Page or Showcase Page audience. They make sense when building an owned LinkedIn following is itself a strategic objective, but follower growth should not automatically be treated as a pipeline KPI.
LinkedIn Job Ads
Dynamic Job Ads are focused on recruitment and talent acquisition. They are part of LinkedIn’s Dynamic Ad family, but they usually sit outside the B2B demand-generation programs covered in this guide.
11. LinkedIn Article and Newsletter Ads
Article and Newsletter Ads let companies amplify native long-form LinkedIn content. They are useful for brands already investing in newsletters, executive articles, research, category education and long-form thought leadership.
Instead of forcing the prospect onto an external landing page immediately, the content experience can stay inside LinkedIn. For B2B companies building authority around a category, this format can sit between organic thought leadership and direct-response advertising.
12. LinkedIn Connected TV Ads
LinkedIn Connected TV Ads extend campaigns into streaming television environments and are primarily an awareness format. This is a very different use case from a Document Ad or a lead-generation campaign.
Connected TV is more relevant to organizations with larger media budgets, suitable video creative and a need for broad category awareness beyond the LinkedIn feed. For most early-stage B2B advertisers, we would prioritize feed formats before adding CTV complexity.
Where do LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms fit?
Searchers often use phrases such as “LinkedIn lead ads,” but LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms are better understood as a conversion asset rather than a standalone creative format. They can be attached to eligible LinkedIn campaigns so prospects can submit information inside LinkedIn instead of always completing an external website form.
For example, a marketer might use a Document Ad + Lead Gen Form or a Single Image Ad + Lead Gen Form. The real decision is therefore not “Document Ads or Lead Ads?” It may be “Should this Document Ad send users to our site or capture the lead natively?”
For the economics behind that decision, see our LinkedIn Ads pricing guide.
Which LinkedIn ad format should you use?
There is no universal best LinkedIn ad format. Choose the format according to the job it needs to do, the audience you are targeting and the stage of the buying process.
| Campaign goal | Formats we would consider first |
|---|---|
| Build founder authority | Thought Leader Ads |
| Explain a complex product | Video Ads |
| Promote research or a guide | Document Ads |
| Generate demo requests | Single Image Ads + Lead Gen Form or landing page |
| Promote a webinar | Event Ads + Single Image Ads |
| Retarget engaged prospects | Single Image Ads + Video Ads |
| Reach named accounts | Single Image Ads + Thought Leader Ads + Sponsored Messaging |
| Offer several content paths | Conversation Ads |
| Send one high-value invitation | Message Ads |
| Increase Page followers | Follower Ads |
| Grow newsletter readership | Article & Newsletter Ads |
| Tell a multi-step story | Carousel Ads |
| Run broad premium awareness | Video Ads + Connected TV Ads |
The important principle is simple: format should follow audience, objective and offer, not the other way around.
The LinkedIn ad formats we would start with for B2B
If we were launching a typical B2B program, we would rarely activate every available LinkedIn ad type at once. A smaller format mix usually creates clearer learning and makes budget allocation easier to understand.
1. Thought Leader Ads for trust
Promote strong founder, executive or subject-matter expert content to the ICP. Use the format to establish credibility and create engagement before asking for a harder conversion.
2. Video or Document Ads for education
Help buyers understand the problem, category or solution before asking for a sales conversation. Choose video when demonstration matters and documents when the idea benefits from deeper, structured information.
3. Single Image Ads for direct offers
Use clear, conversion-focused creative for buyers who already understand the problem or have shown enough intent to justify a stronger CTA.
4. Retarget engaged audiences
Create separate campaigns for people who have visited the site or engaged with content rather than mixing warm prospects into the same campaign as cold acquisition.
5. Sponsored Messaging only where it adds something
Do not use someone’s LinkedIn inbox simply because the placement exists. The audience should be narrow enough and the offer valuable enough to justify the interruption.
For a broader campaign structure, see our guide to running high-performing B2B LinkedIn Ads.
LinkedIn ad formats for account-based marketing
LinkedIn becomes particularly useful when the campaign starts from a known set of companies. In an ABM program, different formats can play different roles across the buying journey.
| ABM stage | Possible format mix |
|---|---|
| Awareness | Thought Leader Ads + Video Ads |
| Education | Document Ads + Single Image Ads |
| Consideration | Customer proof + product-focused Single Image or Video |
| Conversion | Single Image, Message Ads or Conversation Ads for relevant audiences |
| Retargeting | Stronger proof and lower-funnel offers for accounts that already engaged |
Our LinkedIn Ads ABM guide covers the targeting and account structure in more detail.
Do not test every LinkedIn format at the same time
Having more formats available does not mean you should use all of them. If you launch four audiences, six formats, five offers and several bidding approaches with a modest budget, you create too many underfunded combinations and learn very little from each one.
Instead, define what each test is trying to isolate. You could test Document vs Single Image with the same audience and offer, Founder Thought Leader vs company Sponsored Content with similar messaging, or Lead Gen Form vs landing page while keeping the format and audience constant.
For teams managing a larger volume of campaigns, LinkedIn Ads automation can remove repetitive operational work without automating away the strategic decisions that determine performance.
How to measure LinkedIn ad formats
Do not compare every LinkedIn ad type on CTR alone. Different formats are designed to create different behaviors. A Thought Leader Ad may build useful trust without producing direct demos. A Document Ad may generate leads but still need to be evaluated against lead quality. A Video Ad may create engagement that becomes valuable later in retargeting.
| Measurement layer | Metrics to review |
|---|---|
| Attention | Reach, impressions, frequency, video views, document engagement |
| Engagement | CTR, engagement rate, content interactions, landing-page visits |
| Conversion | Leads, demo requests, conversion rate, CPL |
| Revenue quality | Qualified leads, opportunities, pipeline, customers and revenue where attribution is reliable |
For B2B, the last layer matters most. Media metrics diagnose what happened in the advertising platform. CRM outcomes tell you whether the format is helping create commercially useful demand.
How LinkedIn ad formats fit into competitor research
When reviewing competitors, do not only record what they are saying. Look at which LinkedIn ad formats they repeatedly use, how the creative changes by offer, whether founders are being amplified and whether the brand appears to rely on product proof, documents, video or direct-response creative.
Our guide to analyzing competitor LinkedIn Ads explains how to inspect active creative and turn competitor observations into a structured testing backlog.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the different types of LinkedIn ads?
The main LinkedIn ad types include Single Image Ads, Video Ads, Document Ads, Carousel Ads, Thought Leader Ads, Event Ads, Article and Newsletter Ads, Message Ads, Conversation Ads, Text Ads and Dynamic Ads such as Spotlight and Follower Ads. LinkedIn also supports specialized options such as Connected TV Ads.
What are LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads?
LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads allow advertisers to sponsor eligible organic posts created by people such as founders, executives or subject-matter experts. The person’s original post becomes the sponsored creative rather than being recreated as a conventional company ad.
What are LinkedIn Document Ads?
LinkedIn Document Ads let advertisers promote documents such as reports, guides, presentations and whitepapers directly in the LinkedIn feed. They are particularly useful for B2B content promotion and can be combined with lead-generation workflows.
Do LinkedIn video ads autoplay?
LinkedIn Video Ads can begin playing automatically depending on the user’s settings and environment. Advertisers should design videos to communicate the message visually from the opening frames and use captions rather than relying on audio.
Are LinkedIn Carousel Ads effective?
LinkedIn Carousel Ads can be effective when the message genuinely benefits from several cards, such as explaining a process, showcasing multiple use cases or telling a sequential story. If one strong visual can communicate the idea, a Single Image Ad may be simpler.
What are LinkedIn Conversation Ads?
Conversation Ads are Sponsored Messaging ads that let prospects choose between multiple CTAs or content paths within the message. They can be useful for event promotion, content discovery and guided qualification.
What is the difference between LinkedIn Message Ads and Conversation Ads?
Message Ads are designed around a focused sponsored message and primary action. Conversation Ads provide multiple possible CTAs or paths, allowing the recipient to choose which content or action is most relevant.
How do LinkedIn Dynamic Ads work?
LinkedIn Dynamic Ads personalize parts of the advertising experience using information associated with the member’s LinkedIn profile. Dynamic formats include Spotlight Ads, Follower Ads and Job Ads.
Are LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms an ad format?
Not exactly. Lead Gen Forms are a conversion asset that can be attached to eligible LinkedIn campaigns and ad formats. They reduce friction by allowing prospects to submit information inside LinkedIn instead of always visiting an external landing page.
Final takeaway
There are many LinkedIn ad types, but you do not need all of them to build a strong campaign. For most B2B advertisers, the better approach is to understand the audience and offer first, then select a small number of formats that match the buying stage.
Thought Leader Ads can build trust. Video Ads can explain. Document Ads can educate and capture demand. Single Image Ads can drive clear offers. Conversation and Message Ads can reach selected prospects more directly. Dynamic, Text, Event, Newsletter and Connected TV formats can be added when the campaign objective genuinely calls for them.
The strongest LinkedIn strategy is not the one using the most ad formats. It is the one where each format has a clear job in moving the right buyer toward the next step.
If you want that system managed end to end, see OneMetrik’s LinkedIn Ads agency services.