How to get the most out of LinkedIn Sponsored Content

For reaching business professionals, LinkedIn is one of the premier advertising networks. They offer several different types of sponsored content. This variety allows the advertiser to tailor their campaigns.

Unlike many other advertising networks, LinkedIn has stringent requirements when it comes to their adverts. If your advert does not meet specific requirements, you may find that LinkedIn doesn’t allow your advert onto their site. 

If it does, then it may not display correctly.

Here, we want to discuss the type of content that can be promoted through Linkedin and the specifications for each of their ad types.

What is LinkedIn Sponsored Content?

LinkedIn sponsored content is the paid advertising network for LinkedIn. LinkedIn offers a variety of different types of sponsored content, each with its own specifications. 

These ads will be displayed on both mobile devices and desktop computers. You must pay attention to the specifications; otherwise, your advert will not display correctly on specific devices. 

LinkedIn sponsored content is, primarily, paid for ‘per click’. However, you can also pay per 1,000 views on the advert (CPM).

Types of LinkedIn Sponsored Content

There are five different types of LinkedIn sponsored content that you can utilize. An advertiser must choose the right option for their advertising aims.

Single Image Ads

These ads are the simplest of LinkedIn sponsored content. These ads involve a short snippet of text coupled with a large image and a link. They are very similar to the type of ads that you will generally find in Facebook feeds.

These adverts are perhaps the most versatile of sponsored content on LinkedIn. They can be used for anything from brand awareness to lead generation to find job applicants.

Video Ads

This type of sponsored content is much the same as single image ads. However, rather than having an image, you will have a video displayed. 

They are a great way to communicate a lot of information with people that may be interested in your content. 

Because these ads require somebody to interact with the ad and view video content physically, video ads can be challenging to make work for amateur marketers. 

Carousel Ads

A collection of images can be uploaded for this type of sponsored post. Each image will have its own call to action. This may be a great opportunity to advertise multiple job listings or even a collection of services that your business may offer.

Job Ads

These adverts are just job postings, albeit ones that are going to be promoted to people that may be potentially interested in that particular job. 

Event Ads

Event ads allow businesses to advertise seminars, trade shows, or pretty much any event that may be interesting to those that are using LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Sponsored Content Specifications

If you are planning on advertising on LinkedIn, then you do have to bear in mind that there are some specific requirements that LinkedIn has in place for their ads. 

These requirements are, mostly, related to image size and text length. 

This is to ensure that the ads display on both desktop and mobile devices.

Single Image Ads

If you are using single image ads, then your advert must conform to the following specifications:

The introductory text must be a maximum of 150 characters if you wish for the ad to display properly on mobile. if only being displayed on desktop computers, then the maximum is 600 characters.

URLs can be a maximum of 2,000 characters. However, anything over 23 characters (including HTTP://) will be shorted by LinkedIn.

The maximum image size is 7860 x 7860 pixels. If you have anything below 400 pixels wide, then the image will be displayed as a thumbnail.

Try to stick as close as possible to the 1:1 image ratio. If the image is taller than this, it will only be displayed on mobile devices.

Image must be in JPEG, GIF, or PNG format. It has a maximum size of 5MB.

The headline must be a maximum of 70 characters for mobile and 200 characters for display on desktop computers.

LinkedIn will warn you if your ad cannot be displayed.

Carousel Image Ads

The specification for the introductory text is the same here. Each image will have its own headline that cannot go over two lines in length.

There will be a difference with the image requirements here, though:

• You must upload between 2 and 10 images for the carousel.
• The maximum file size is 10MB with JPEG, GIF, or PNG being the accepted file formats.
• The full image dimensions are 6012 x 6012 pixels.
• Images will be scaled down to 312 x 312 pixels by LinkedIn.

Video Adverts

Video adverts displayed on LinkedIn may seem as if they have some pretty detailed specifications to meet. However, most videos will likely fit these specifications automatically. 

The rules for the headlines and intro text are the same as with single images.

Videos must meet these specifications:

• Between 3-seconds and 30-minutes long.
• Maximum file size of 200mb.
• The file format should always be MP4 with MPEG4 or ACC audio.
• The frame rate should be below 30fps.
• The width of the video should be between 640 pixels and 1920 pixels
• The height of the video should be between 360 pixels and 1920 pixels.

It is important to note that any videos which are higher than they are wide will not display on all mobile devices.

Single Job Ads and Event Ads

Since these ads are just promoting your existing content, there is nothing special that you need to do here. 

However, you will have to ensure that the intro text is a maximum of 150 pixels, or it will not display correctly on mobile devices.