LinkedIn offers more ad types than most marketers realize. Beyond the standard single image ads that everyone runs, there are seven distinct ad formats – each with different specs, placements, costs, and use cases. Choosing the wrong type of LinkedIn ad for your campaign objective can mean overpaying for results that a different format would have delivered at half the cost.
I have tested every type of LinkedIn ad across ABM campaigns that generated over $5 million in pipeline. In this guide, I will explain each LinkedIn ad type, share performance benchmarks from ZenABM’s 2026 Benchmarks Report, and help you decide which types to use based on your campaign goals and budget.
Here is a quick overview of every LinkedIn ad type with key specs and benchmarks:
| Ad Type | Placement | Median CTR | Median CPC | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single Image Ads | Feed | 0.42% | $13.23 | Direct response, conversions |
| Thought Leader Ads | Feed | 2.68% | $2.29 | Awareness, engagement |
| Carousel Ads | Feed | 0.32% | $13.30 | Storytelling, education |
| Video Ads | Feed | 0.24% | $15.61 | Brand awareness, trust |
| Document Ads | Feed | ~0.43% | Varies | Lead gen, education |
| Text Ads | Sidebar / Top bar | 0.02% | $0.50-3.00 | Low-cost awareness |
| Spotlight / Dynamic Ads | Sidebar | 0.08% | Varies | Personalized awareness |
| Message / Conversation Ads | LinkedIn Inbox | ~3% | $20-50+ | Direct outreach at scale |
| Event Ads | Feed | 0.55% | Varies | Event promotion |
Single image ads are the most widely used type of LinkedIn ad. They appear in the feed as sponsored content with a single image, introductory text, headline, and CTA button.
Key specs: 1200 x 1200 px (square recommended), JPG/PNG, up to 5 MB. Intro text up to 600 chars (150 before truncation).
Performance: 0.42% median CTR, $13.23 median CPC in ABM campaigns.
Best for: Direct-response campaigns — demo requests, content downloads, competitor comparisons. Single image ads are the workhorse format that works across all campaign objectives.
“Single image ads, another very popular and effective, a bit more expensive ad format. Expensive why? Because everyone’s running them.” The high competition drives up CPC, but their versatility makes them essential for conversion-stage campaigns.
You still need 5 to 6 single image ads for your campaign to run effectively.” Run multiple variations to identify your top performers quickly.
Deep dive: LinkedIn Single Image Ads Best Practices for ABM
Thought Leader Ads promote existing organic posts from a personal LinkedIn profile as sponsored content. They look like regular posts from a person, not from a company page, which is why they get dramatically higher engagement.
Key specs: Must be an existing organic post. Supports text, text+image, text+video. Cannot edit the content after posting. Must use Brand Awareness or Engagement objective only.
Performance: 2.68% median CTR, $2.29 median CPC — 6x higher CTR and 77% cheaper than single image ads.
Best for: Awareness campaigns, warming up target accounts before outbound, credibility building.
From our analysis of 119 TLAs: 65% of top performers use first-person “I” voice, 75% place the link in the bottom 25% of the text, and the best-performing hooks open with a pain point or vulnerability.
“Don’t post thought leader ads saying ‘hey, book a demo of my product,’ because that’s not what they’re for. You need to use them for building your credibility.” – Emilia Korczynska, VP Marketing at Userpilot
Tim Davidson from B2B Rizz adds: “Thought leader ads to me, it shouldn’t be your whole strategy. It’s going to be just one part of it.” Use TLAs alongside other ad types for a complete funnel.
Complete guide: LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads for ABM
Carousel ads let users swipe through 2-10 cards in the feed. Each card can have its own image, headline, and destination URL.
Key specs: 1080 x 1080 px per card (1:1 only), JPG/PNG, up to 10 MB per card. Card headline up to 45 chars. Intro text up to 255 chars.
Performance: 0.32% median CTR, $13.30 median CPC.
Best for: Product walkthroughs, case study stories, framework breakdowns, tool comparisons.
“A really underappreciated format, carousel ads. Great for combining all the messaging in your campaign into one ad, which makes it really cost-efficient to project your entire message to your audience at once.”
Design the first card as a pattern interrupt — users see about 1.5 cards at a time on mobile, and that first card decides whether they swipe or scroll past.
Video ads play directly in the LinkedIn feed. They support landscape (16:9), square (1:1), vertical (4:5), and full vertical (9:16) formats.
Key specs: MP4 recommended, 3 seconds to 10 minutes (15-30 seconds optimal), up to 5 GB, 30 fps, 5-10 Mbps bitrate.
Performance: 0.24% median CTR, $15.61 median CPC — the lowest CTR and highest CPC of all feed ad types.
Best for: Brand awareness, customer testimonials, product demos for warm audiences.
Do not measure video ads by CTR. “Video ads are actually really expensive. It’s really hard to create video ads that actually engage. I recommend creating ads that look like UGC content, because people engage more.”
80% of LinkedIn users browse with sound off, so always add captions. LinkedIn’s most successful video ads are 10-15 seconds long.
Complete guide: LinkedIn Video Ads for ABM
Document ads display a PDF preview directly in the LinkedIn feed. Users can swipe through pages without leaving LinkedIn. They can be gated (requiring a lead gen form) or ungated.
Key specs: PDF recommended, up to 100 MB, up to 300 pages (10 visible in preview). Letter/A4 page size. Supports Brand Awareness, Engagement, and Lead Generation objectives.
Performance: ~1.8% average engagement rate (4x higher than typical ads). Conversion rates up to 13% when paired with Lead Gen Forms.
Best for: Industry reports, benchmarks data, comparison guides, tactical playbooks.
A word of caution: “I would recommend not to use document ads at all in some cases. This is an extremely high cost per lead for an asset that is very low intent. If someone downloads my report today, I don’t assume they’re ready to buy. And if I were to pay $800, which is often the cost per lead with document ads, I would just go broke instantly.”
The better approach: ungated for trust-building, gated only for warm accounts. Lacework achieved 6x ROI by using ungated document ads for awareness then retargeting engagers.
Deep dive: LinkedIn Document Ads: The Ultimate Guide with Examples
Text ads appear in the right sidebar and top bar of LinkedIn on desktop. They are small (100 x 100 px image + short text) but generate massive impression volume at extremely low CPMs.
Key specs: 100 x 100 px image, 25-char headline, 75-char description. JPG/PNG, up to 2 MB.
Performance: 0.02% CTR, $0.50-3.00 CPC.
Best for: Always-on awareness, “surround sound” brand impressions.
“Text ads, if you use the website visits objective, are practically free, so I don’t actually count them when calculating how many ads I can run.”
“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, Founder of B2B Rizz
Spotlight ads are a type of dynamic ad that appears in the right sidebar. They automatically personalize with the viewer’s profile photo and name, creating a personalized experience.
Key specs: Company logo 100 x 100 px, optional background 300 x 250 px. JPG/PNG, up to 2 MB.
Performance: 0.08% CTR. Higher engagement than standard text ads due to personalization.
Best for: Follower campaigns, personalized brand awareness, event promotions.
Message ads (formerly Sponsored InMail) and conversation ads appear directly in LinkedIn’s inbox. Message ads deliver a single message; conversation ads let you create branching paths with multiple CTA buttons.
Key specs: Message ads: up to 500 chars subject, 1,500 chars message body, optional banner 300 x 250 px. Conversation ads: multiple CTAs with branching logic.
Performance: ~3% CTR, ~30% open rate. CPL varies widely ($20-50+).
Best for: Event invitations, direct offers to warm audiences, webinar registrations.
I have found DM ads effective for specific use cases: “The typical CPL for conferences from DM ads is around $11.” They work well when the offer is high-value and time-limited.
Event ads promote LinkedIn Events directly in the feed. They pull event details (name, date, description) from your LinkedIn Event page and display them as sponsored content.
Key specs: Image pulled from LinkedIn Event (1200 x 627 px recommended). Supports Website Visits and Engagement objectives.
Performance: 0.55% CTR globally.
Best for: Webinar promotion, conference registration, community events.
The best ABM campaigns use multiple ad types across the funnel. Here is how to match each type to funnel stages based on our data:
| Funnel Stage | Primary Ad Types | Secondary Ad Types | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Awareness | TLAs + Text Ads | Video Ads | Brand visibility at low cost |
| Engagement | TLAs + Single Image | Carousel + Document Ads | Meaningful interactions |
| Consideration | Single Image + Document | Carousel | Case studies, comparisons |
| Conversion | Single Image | Message Ads | Demo requests, meetings |
The recommended mix per campaign: “5 to 7 single image ads, 5 TLAs, 1 or 2 carousels, and 1 to 3 videos, plus text ads as many as you want.”
Max Herzeg recommends tracking frequency across all ad types: “Per creative asset, it’s usually 2.5 to 3 impressions per creative per user when I see results declining.” Rotate your creative before fatigue sets in.
Track which ad types drive engagement from your target accounts using company-level tracking in ZenABM.
LinkedIn offers nine ad types: Single Image Ads, Thought Leader Ads (TLAs), Carousel Ads, Video Ads, Document Ads, Text Ads, Spotlight/Dynamic Ads, Message/Conversation Ads, and Event Ads. Each type has different placements, specs, and performance characteristics suited for different campaign objectives.
Thought Leader Ads have the highest CTR at 2.68% median, over 6x higher than the next best format. This is because TLAs look like organic posts from a person rather than company-page ads. Message/Conversation Ads have approximately 3% CTR but are delivered to the inbox, not the feed.
Text ads are the cheapest per impression, with CPCs ranging from $0.50-3.00. Thought Leader Ads are the cheapest per click among feed ads at $2.29 median CPC. Single image and carousel ads are the most expensive at approximately $13 CPC due to high advertiser competition.
I recommend using 3-4 ad types across your ABM funnel. At minimum, use TLAs for awareness, single image ads for conversion, and text ads for always-on awareness. Add carousel or document ads as your budget allows. The recommended mix: 5-7 single image ads, 5 TLAs, 1-2 carousels, 1-3 videos, plus text ads.
Message Ads can be effective for specific campaigns like event invitations and high-value offers targeted at warm audiences. They have approximately 30% open rates and 3% CTR. The typical CPL for conference registrations from DM ads is around $11. Avoid using them for cold outreach or generic demo requests.
