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LinkedIn Launches Sponsored Content Carousel Ads

Date published: June 12, 2018
Last updated: June 12, 2018

Carousel Ads Come with Improved Metrics

LinkedIn announced today that they are offering a new ad format for marketers looking to rev up their campaigns. The company is finally jumping on the carousel ad bandwagon piloted first by Facebook, then by Twitter and Instagram.

[bctt tweet="#LinkedIn gives marketers more flexibility in their ad options by introducing customizable carousel ads. " username="relevance"]

Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn’s sponsored carousel ads can include up to ten, swipeable cards with customized images (no videos).

Each card can include its own link and, along with being able to calculate click-through rates and number of leads, brands can measure clicks and impressions for each individual card.

Early beta testers Cotton Inc, Titan HQ, and RBC Wealth Management have all sang their praises for the new ad format. In LinkedIn’s blog post announcing the ads, Titan HQ’s Conor Henry states,

“We decided to test LinkedIn carousel ads to drive conversions on our site; what resulted was a high CTR and the opportunity to visually showcase more of our content...we will definitely be implementing Carousel Ads to a broader audience in the near future."

LinkedIn added that almost 75% of the beta testers saw higher click-through rates than for standard promotional content campaigns.

LinkedIn

Carousel Ad Specifications

Carousel ads can be created for two different campaign objectives: send people to your site or content or collect leads using the LinkedIn Lead Gen form. LinkedIn notes that carousel ads using the Lead Gen form include a CTA button in each card but standard carousel ads do not.

Marketers can’t edit carousel ads once they’ve been delivered. However, they are rewarded with a good amount of customization options in the creation process.

Admins can adjust the number of cards (2-10), change the order of the cards, and compose headline descriptions (no more than 45 characters for ads that lead to a landing page and no more than 30 for ads with a Lead Gen Form CTA).

The recommended individual image spec for carousel ads is 1080x1080 pixels with a 1:1 aspect ratio. JPG, PNG, and non-animated GIFs are supported.

Carousel ads are currently not eligible for the LinkedIn Audience Network.

Detailed specifications are listed on LinkedIn's marketing blog.

Final Thoughts

Branded storytelling is quickly becoming a LinkedIn mainstay and carousel ads give marketers more flexibility to tell their stories in a visual, creative way. Marketers can use carousels to display multiple products or services or they can accentuate a single product or service in up to ten slides.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn states,

“More ad space means more flexibility to achieve your business goal. When you build a carousel, you can customize the content you add to each carousel to support your different objectives.

To build brand awareness and consideration, tell a brand story, or provide various helpful insights to your audience. To generate demand for your business, showcase multiple products at once, or feature a single product in depth to inspire your audience to take action.”

LinkedIn has been busy ramping up their ad offerings in recent months. In March, the company caught on to the video trend currently sweeping its platform and rolled out native video ads for company pages.

In May, the company updated its Sales Navigator prospecting tool which integrated five new marketing platforms including SAP Hybris, Clari, and Groove and improved its mobile account and lead pages.

 

 

 

 

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