# Best LinkedIn Ad Formats for ABM: Which Formats Drive Pipeline in 2026

> A data-driven comparison of all LinkedIn ad formats for ABM campaigns, with CTR, CPC, and CPM benchmarks from ZenABM’s 2026 report.

Author: Emilia Korczynska
Published: 2026-03-21
Updated: 2026-03-23
Categories: Ad Formats & Creatives
Source: https://zenabm.com/blog/best-linkedin-ad-formats

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![Best LinkedIn Ad Formats for ABM: Which Formats Drive Pipeline in 2026 cover](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/Best-LinkedIn-Ad-Formats-for-ABM-Which-Formats-Drive-Pipeline-in-2026.jpg)

Not all LinkedIn ad formats perform equally when you’re running account-based marketing, and picking the wrong one for the wrong funnel stage is one of the fastest ways to burn through budget without moving target accounts forward.

After analyzing data from over 500 ABM campaigns in ZenABM’s [2026 Benchmarks Report](/blog/linkedin-abm-performance-benchmarks-report-2026), the performance gaps between ad formats turned out to be far wider than most marketers assume.

Thought Leader Ads deliver a 2.68% median CTR while video ads sit at just 0.24%, which means choosing the wrong format at the wrong stage can quietly waste thousands of dollars in ad spend before anyone notices.

![Performance of different LinkedIn ad formats in ABM campaigns compared based on trends analyzed in ZenABM's ABM benchmarks report 2026](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/linkedin-ad-formats-abm-performance.png)

In this guide, I’ll break down every LinkedIn ad format available for ABM campaigns, share benchmark data for each one, and (more importantly) explain which formats actually work best at each stage of the ABM funnel so you can allocate budget with confidence rather than guesswork.

## Best LinkedIn Ad Formats for ABM: Quick Summary

In case you want a quick overview before diving into the full breakdown:

- Not all LinkedIn ad formats perform equally in ABM, and using the wrong format at the wrong stage can waste serious budget without moving target accounts forward.
- Thought Leader Ads are the top-performing LinkedIn ad format for ABM, with the highest CTR and lowest CPC in the benchmark set, making them the strongest choice for awareness and engagement.
- Single-image ads are the workhorse format for mid- and lower-funnel ABM, especially for retargeting, demo offers, competitor comparisons, and other direct-response plays.
- Carousel ads work best when you need to tell a structured story, explain a framework, or walk warm accounts through comparisons and case studies.
- Video ads are best used for awareness, trust-building, testimonials, and product education, not as a pure click-driving format.
- Document ads are useful for engagement and lead generation, especially for reports, guides, and comparison content, but gating should be used carefully and mostly for warmer accounts.
- Text ads and spotlight ads are low-CTR but very low-cost formats that work well for always-on awareness and surround-sound visibility across target account lists.
- The best media mix depends on funnel stage: TLAs and text ads for awareness, TLAs plus single-image and carousel ads for engagement, single-image and document ads for consideration, and single-image or message ads for conversion.
- Benchmark data is helpful, but the real decision should come from seeing which formats are actually engaging your target accounts and influencing the pipeline.
- [ZenABM](/) helps with that by showing company-level engagement, account journey reporting, job title analytics, qualitative intent signals, and CRM-linked visibility into how LinkedIn ads affect real buying progression.

## LinkedIn Ad Format Performance Benchmarks for ABM

Before we get into the individual formats, here’s a summary of performance benchmarks across all LinkedIn ad formats, drawn from ABM campaigns tracked through ZenABM.

Understanding the baseline numbers is what lets you spot outliers in your own data and make smarter allocation decisions:

| Ad Format | Median CTR | Median CPC | Best [ABM](/) Stage | Efficiency Score |
| [**Thought Leader Ads](/blog/how-to-write-linkedin-thought-leader-ads) (TLAs)** | 2.68% | $2.29 | Awareness + Engagement | 9.5 |
| **Single Image Ads** | 0.42% | $13.23 | Engagement + Conversion | 3.2 |
| **Carousel Ads** | 0.32% | $13.30 | Engagement | 2.8 |
| **Video Ads** | 0.24% | $15.61 | Awareness | 1.5 |
| **Document Ads** | Varies | Varies | [Engagement + Lead Gen](/blog/crm-integrations-linkedin-ad-tracking) | 3.0 |
| **Text Ads** | 0.02-0.05% | $0.50-3.00 | Awareness (high volume, low cost) | N/A |

The efficiency score measures the ratio of engagement to cost, where higher is better, and TLAs dominate with a 9.5 score that’s nearly 3x the next best format, which makes a pretty compelling case for leading your media mix with them.

## Thought Leader Ads (TLAs): The Best LinkedIn Ad Format for ABM

![LinkedIn thought leader ad example promoting ZenABM, with a dashboard of accounts moving through ABM stages](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/Top-Performing-Linkedin-TLA-example-4-ZenABM.png)

Thought Leader Ads are the top-performing LinkedIn ad format for ABM by a wide margin, and the reason comes down to how they show up in the feed.

They look like organic LinkedIn posts from a person rather than a company page, which means they blend naturally into the scroll and consistently pull higher engagement because people are far more inclined to stop for a human voice than a brand logo.

**Key stats from our data:**

- 2.68% median CTR, over 6x higher than single-image ads
- $2.29 median CPC, 77% cheaper per click than other formats
- 65% of top-performing TLAs use first-person “I” voice
- 75% place the link in the bottom 25% of the text

![LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads benchmark chart comparing top and bottom 20 TLAs by CTR and landing page CTR](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/Linkedin-TLAs-benchmarks-.png)

**When to use TLAs for ABM:**

- Awareness campaigns where you need to get your brand in front of target accounts at a low cost without burning through your quarterly budget in the first month
- Warming up accounts before BDRs begin outbound outreach, since accounts that have already seen content from a real person are significantly more likely to respond
- Sharing thought leadership content that positions your executives as domain experts rather than just another vendor in the category
- Promoting ungated content like blog posts, guides, and podcasts, where the goal is engagement and trust-building rather than an immediate form fill

Read the complete guide: [LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads for ABM](/blog/linkedin-thought-leader-ads-for-abm)

## Single Image Ads: The Workhorse LinkedIn Ad Format

![Winning LinkedIn Single Image Ads Examples cover, with sample LinkedIn single image ads for ABM](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/Winning-LinkedIn-Single-Image-Ads-Examples.png)

Single-image ads remain the most commonly used LinkedIn ad format, and for good reason: they’re straightforward to create, easy to A/B test across multiple creative variants, and flexible enough to work across all campaign objectives.

For ABM specifically, single-image ads tend to perform best in the engagement and conversion stages of the funnel, where accounts are already familiar with your brand and a clear CTA can drive them toward a meaningful next step.

**Key stats:**

- 0.42% median CTR
- $13.23 median CPC
- Best for direct-response campaigns (demo requests, content downloads)

![ZenABM table of LinkedIn single image ad benchmarks with median CTR 0.42%, CPC $13.23 and CPM $59.15](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/ZenABM-linkedin-single-image-ads-performance.png)

**When to use single-image ads for ABM:**

- Promoting gated content to accounts that have already engaged with your awareness-stage ads and shown initial interest
- Retargeting website visitors from target accounts who have demonstrated intent by visiting key pages
- Direct demo request campaigns aimed at accounts in the consideration or selection stages
- Competitor comparison content that helps accounts actively evaluating alternatives see how you stack up

**Best practices:**

- Use high-contrast visuals that break the scroll pattern, since LinkedIn feeds are overwhelmingly blue-and-white, and anything that departs from that palette earns more attention
- Include a clear CTA in the image itself rather than relying solely on the button, because many users process the creative before their eyes ever reach the ad copy below it
- Test different introductory text lengths, because shorter copy often wins, particularly when your audience is already familiar with the value proposition
- Rotate creatives every 2 to 3 weeks to prevent ad fatigue, which tends to hit ABM audiences faster than broad targeting because the account lists are smaller and frequency accumulates quickly

Deep dive: [LinkedIn Single Image Ads Best Practices for ABM](/blog/linkedin-single-image-ads-best-practices-for-abm)

[ZenABM](/) adds another layer here that goes beyond the standard CTR and CPC metrics most teams rely on.

Because it de-anonymizes engagement at the company level, you can see exactly which companies clicked, which personas and job titles within those companies engaged, and what qualitative intent signals followed after the click.

That visibility makes it much easier to judge whether a competitor comparison or demo creative is attracting genuine buying intent or just idle curiosity from accounts that were never going to convert.

![ZenABM account view showing LinkedIn Ads impressions logged before the deal was opened for Edenred](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/Linkedin-ads-impressions-before-deal-was-opened-ZenABM.png)

![ZenABM company table showing LinkedIn ad impressions, clicks and cost per target account](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/Company-level-LinkedIn-ad-engagement-data-for-each-campiagn-for-a-selected-time-period-in-ZenABM.png)

![ZenABM job title analytics: campaign groups for Growth Specialist with impressions, clicks and CTR](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/Job-title-analytics-in-ZenABM-e1763015217744.jpeg)

![ZenABM revenue metrics dashboard showing LinkedIn-influenced pipeline by month and ABM campaign effectiveness](https://cdn.zenabm.com/assets/company-buyers-intent-in-ZenABM.gif)

## Carousel Ads: Best LinkedIn Ad Format for Storytelling

![Carousel Linkiedin ads example](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/Carousel-Linkiedin-ads-.png)

Carousel ads give you the ability to tell a story across multiple swipeable cards, which makes them uniquely suited for content that requires a logical sequence: a narrative arc that builds understanding of your product, your approach, or a customer outcome as the user moves from card to card.

For ABM, this sequential format works especially well for educational content, because target accounts in the engagement and consideration stages often need to absorb a multi-step argument before they’re ready to take the next action.

**Key stats:**

- 0.32% median CTR
- $13.30 median CPC
- Higher engagement time than single image ads, since users naturally spend more time swiping through cards than glancing at a static image

![LinkedIn Carousel Ads benchmarks table from ZenABM showing a 0.32% median CTR and $13.31 median CPC](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/ZenABM-Carousel-ads-performance-benchmarks.png)

**When to use carousel ads for ABM:**

- Product walkthroughs that showcase key features across cards in a logical progression, moving from problem to solution to proof
- Case study highlights structured as problem, solution, and results across separate cards, which mirrors how buying committees actually evaluate vendors
- Framework or process breakdowns that benefit from a step-by-step visual format
- Comparison content like before/after or old way/new way narratives that make the contrast tangible rather than abstract

**Best practices:**

- Use a pattern-interrupt first card that grabs attention, because this card determines whether anyone sees the rest of your story, so treat it as a standalone hook
- Deliver real value in cards 2 and 3 rather than saving everything for the end, because most users drop off before reaching the final card if the early ones feel like filler
- Include a clear conversion card as the last slide with a specific CTA, since the users who make it to the end are your most engaged audience and deserve a direct path forward
- Keep text on each card minimal and let visuals carry the message, because carousel cards are consumed at swipe speed, not reading speed

Carousel ads are also a particularly good fit for [ZenABM’s qualitative intent analysis](/company-buyers-intent), because the format naturally reveals what kind of narrative your target accounts are choosing to spend time with.

If an account swipes through a comparison-focused carousel but ignores an educational one, that behavioral signal tells you whether they’re leaning toward evaluation mode versus still in early research, and that distinction matters when you’re deciding what to serve them next.

![ZenABM revenue metrics dashboard showing LinkedIn-influenced pipeline by month and ABM campaign effectiveness](https://cdn.zenabm.com/assets/company-buyers-intent-in-ZenABM.gif)

## Video Ads: Best LinkedIn Ad Format for Brand Awareness

![LinkedIn video ad from Wistia featuring Veronica Parker-Hahn of Effie as a testimonial-style example](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/LinkedIn-Video-Ad-with-Veronica-Parker-at-Wistia.png)

Video ads on LinkedIn have the lowest CTR of all the formats we measured, but that number is misleading if you evaluate them by the same direct-response criteria you’d use for image or carousel ads, because video ads serve a fundamentally different purpose in an ABM program.

They’re about building brand recognition and trust over time, not driving immediate clicks, and a target account that watches 50% or more of your video is arguably more warmed up and familiar with your positioning than one that merely glanced at a static single-image ad in passing.

**Key stats:**

- 0.24% median CTR
- $15.61 median CPC
- View-through rates matter significantly more than clicks when measuring video performance in an ABM context

![ZenABM table of LinkedIn video ads benchmarks: 342 ads, 0.37% average CTR and 0.24% median CTR](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/ZenABM-linkedin-video-ads-performance.png)

**When to use video ads for ABM:**

- Top-of-funnel awareness for new [target account lists](/blog/clay-for-target-account-list-building-abm) where the primary goal is name recognition and category association, not conversion
- Customer testimonials and case study videos that let prospects hear directly from peers in similar roles and industries
- Product demos targeted at accounts that have already engaged with earlier-stage content and need to see the product in action before they’ll agree to a live call
- Founder or CEO thought leadership content designed to build trust and humanize the company behind the product

Complete guide: [LinkedIn Video Ads for ABM](/blog/linkedin-video-ads-abm-examples)

## Document Ads: Best LinkedIn Ad Format for Lead Generation

![LinkedIn document ad on phone screens showing an ungated Download document button for a marketing trends PDF](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/ungated-LinkedIn-document-ads.png)

Document ads let users preview a PDF directly in the LinkedIn feed without leaving the platform, which creates a uniquely low-friction way to deliver in-depth content to your target accounts.

They can be gated (requiring a [lead gen form](/blog/linkedin-ads-hubspot-integration-steps) to access the full document) or ungated, and for ABM specifically, ungated document ads that deliver genuine value up front tend to build considerably more trust than gated ones.

This is because target accounts at enterprise companies are increasingly skeptical of trading their contact info for content that might turn out to be a thinly disguised pitch deck.

**Key stats**:

- 0.45% median CTR
- $12.33 median CPC
- Gated lead gen form ads work better for a warm audience. For a cold audience, they can be very expensive. Choose ungated document ads in that case.

![ZenABM table of LinkedIn Lead Gen Form ad benchmarks showing CTR, CPC, CPM and CPL for 2026 performance](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/ZenABM-Document-ads-performance-benchmarks-2.png)

**When to use document ads for ABM:**

- Sharing industry reports and benchmark data that positions your brand as the authoritative source in your category
- Product comparison guides that lay out your solution versus alternatives in an honest, side-by-side format
- Playbooks and tactical guides that showcase genuine expertise and give the reader something they can immediately act on
- Gated document ads for lead gen, but only when targeting highly engaged accounts that are already deep enough in the funnel to justify the friction of a form

Deep dive: [LinkedIn Document Ads: The Ultimate Guide with Examples](/blog/linkedin-document-ads-guide-with-examples)

Document ads often create a layer of educational engagement that builds familiarity and credibility well before pipeline intent becomes obvious, which means they’re doing real work even when they don’t immediately show up in your attribution reports.

## Text Ads and Spotlight Ads: Low-Cost ABM Awareness

Text ads and spotlight ads appear in the sidebar and [top bar of LinkedIn](/blog/linkedin-ads-experts-consultants), and while their CTRs are extremely low (0.02 to 0.05%), they compensate by generating thousands of impressions at a CPM that’s a fraction of what you’d pay for feed-based formats.

For ABM, they serve as “surround sound,” keeping your brand persistently visible to target accounts in the periphery of their LinkedIn experience without burning through the budget you need for higher-intent formats lower in the funnel.

> *“LinkedIn’s text ads and spotlight ads are extremely significant to my ABM strategy template as they generate a huge number of impressions for a very low CPM.”* – [Tim Davidson](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41), B2B Rizz

![Tim Davidson suggests that LinkedIn's text ads and spotlight ads are extremely significant to his ABM strategy template as they generate a huge number of impressions for a very low CPM](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/linkedin-text-ads-spotlight-ads-cpm.png)

**When to use text/spotlight ads for ABM:**

- Always-on awareness campaigns that run continuously against your entire target account list, ensuring consistent brand exposure without requiring constant creative refreshes
- Supplementing your feed ads to increase the total number of brand impressions a target account receives across multiple LinkedIn placements
- Budget-conscious teams that need maximum reach per dollar and want to stretch their awareness spend as far as possible while reserving higher-cost formats for engagement and conversion

**Pro Tip**: LinkedIn text ads are so cheap that you can use them as a near-free website deanonymization layer. Just build a text ad audience from your site visitors, let LinkedIn serve low-cost impressions back to those accounts, and use ZenABM’s official LinkedIn API-based tracking to surface which companies came back, turning anonymous traffic into identifiable account-level intent.

![ZenABM founder's LinkedIn post on Text Ads retargeting, plus ZenABM list of PayPal and Orange visitors](https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/linkedin-text-ads-zenabm-company-list.png)

## Which LinkedIn Ad Format to Use at Each ABM Stage

The best LinkedIn ad format for any given moment depends entirely on where your target accounts are in the buying journey, because a format that excels at awareness can actively underperform if you deploy it at the conversion stage, and vice versa.

Here’s how to map formats to [ABM funnel stages](/blog/running-abm-on-linkedin-the-ultimate-guide) so that each dollar goes toward the right objective:

| ABM Stage | Primary Format | Secondary Format | Goal |
| **Awareness** | TLAs + Text Ads | Video Ads | Get in front of target accounts at low cost |
| **Engagement** | TLAs + Single Image | Carousel + Document Ads | Drive meaningful interactions and content consumption |
| **Consideration** | Single Image + Document | Carousel | Share case studies, comparisons, and detailed content |
| **Conversion** | Single Image | Message Ads | Drive demo requests and meetings |

## Best LinkedIn Ad Formats for ABM: Final Thoughts

The best LinkedIn ad format for ABM is not one universal winner for every situation. It depends on what stage the account is in, what action you want next, and how much friction that account is ready for.

Thought Leader Ads may dominate in efficiency, but the strongest ABM programs still combine formats deliberately across awareness, engagement, consideration, and conversion.

The more important lesson is that format decisions should not be made on CTR and CPC alone. You need to know which companies engaged, which personas responded, and whether those interactions actually pushed accounts closer to the pipeline.

That is where ZenABM becomes genuinely useful. If you want to move beyond surface metrics and see which LinkedIn ad formats are actually working on your target accounts, ZenABM is a strong layer to add.

[Try ZenABM for free (37-day free trial)](https://app.zenabm.com/signup) or [book a demo now!](/book-a-demo)

## FAQs About Best LinkedIn Ad Formats for ABM

Some common questions about the best LinkedIn ad formats for account-based marketing, answered based on our benchmark data and campaign experience:

### What is the best LinkedIn ad format for ABM?

Thought Leader Ads (TLAs) are the best LinkedIn ad format for ABM based on our benchmark data, delivering a 2.68% median CTR and $2.29 median CPC, which significantly outperforms every other format we measured. They work especially well for the awareness and engagement stages of the funnel because they look like organic posts from a real person, which means they earn attention and trust in a way that branded creatives simply can’t replicate.

### Which LinkedIn ad format has the highest CTR?

Thought Leader Ads have the highest CTR at 2.68% median, followed by single image ads at 0.42%, carousel ads at 0.32%, and video ads at 0.24%. Text ads sit at the bottom with a 0.02 to 0.05% CTR, though they compensate with extremely low CPMs that make them valuable for always-on awareness rather than click-driven campaigns.

### Should I use video ads for ABM on LinkedIn?

Yes, but only if you’re using them for the right purpose and measuring the right metrics. Video ads have the lowest CTR and highest CPC of all formats, which means they’re a poor choice if your goal is driving clicks, but they excel at top-of-funnel brand awareness, customer testimonials, and product demos, where view-through rate is the metric that actually reflects whether your content is landing with target accounts.

### How many LinkedIn ad formats should I use in an ABM campaign?

I recommend using 3 to 4 ad formats across your ABM funnel so that each stage has the format best suited to its objective. At minimum, run TLAs for awareness and engagement, single-image ads for conversion, and text ads for always-on brand visibility. Then layer in carousel or document ads as your budget allows, since those formats strengthen the engagement and consideration stages where accounts are actively building their understanding of your product and category.

### What LinkedIn ad format is cheapest for ABM?

Text ads and spotlight ads are the cheapest per impression, which makes them ideal for always-on awareness campaigns that need to reach a large account list without straining the budget. If you’re optimizing for cost per click instead, TLAs are the clear winner at $2.29 median CPC, while single-image and carousel ads are the most expensive per click at roughly $13 CPC, so they should be reserved for mid-to-lower funnel stages where each click carries higher intent and justifies the cost.

## Images

- https://cdn.zenabm.com/media/Text-Ads-LinkedIn.png