A LinkedIn Spotlight ad is a type of sponsored content ad that appears in the LinkedIn feed. Spotlight ads allow businesses to publish rich media and content directly into the LinkedIn feed to capture the attention of members. Spotlight ads aim to generate awareness, consideration, and drive conversion through an immersive experience.
How do LinkedIn Spotlight ads work?
LinkedIn Spotlight ads appear in the LinkedIn feed and are optimized for mobile and desktop. When members scroll through their feed, Spotlight ads are displayed between organic posts.
Spotlight ads contain visually engaging rich media like video, PDFs, presentations, offer ads, lead gen forms, content carousels, and more. This immersive content aims to stop LinkedIn members in their tracks as they scroll through their feed.
Spotlight ads are mobile-optimized native ad formats that span the full width of the LinkedIn feed on desktop and mobile. This delivers an immersive full-screen ad experience on mobile.
Spotlight ad formats
There are several Spotlight ad formats to choose from:
- Video Spotlight: Upload a video natively into the LinkedIn feed
- Content Spotlight: Add documents, PDFs, presentations
- Carousel Spotlight: Create a content carousel or slideshow
- Lead Gen Spotlight: Generate and collect leads directly from the LinkedIn feed
- Offer Spotlight: Promote sales or offers directly in the feed
Each Spotlight ad format is designed to deliver an immersive ad experience that stops scrolling LinkedIn members in their tracks.
What are the benefits of LinkedIn Spotlight ads?
There are several key benefits to running LinkedIn Spotlight ads:
Capture attention in the feed
Spotlight ads stand out in the LinkedIn feed through visually engaging rich media. This commands attention as members scroll through their feed.
Align with content consumption habits
Spotlight ads meet LinkedIn members in the feed, aligning with natural content consumption habits on the platform.
Tell a story
Spotlight ads allow brands to tell a story by integrating rich media seamlessly into the feed.
Increase awareness
Cutting through the feed with Spotlight ads increases awareness of brands, products, content, and offers.
Drive conversions
Spotlight ads feature robust call-to-action capabilities to drive conversions of lead gen, content downloads, sales, and more.
How much do LinkedIn Spotlight ads cost?
LinkedIn Spotlight ads are purchased through an auction-based system. Advertisers bid on how much they are willing to pay each time their Spotlight ad is shown in the LinkedIn feed. The minimum bid is currently $50 per thousand impressions.
Costs vary based on factors like audience targeting, competitive bidding, and engagement rate. On average, LinkedIn Spotlight ads cost between $2-10 per click.
CPM bidding
With CPM bidding, advertisers pay for each 1,000 impressions. CPMs for Spotlight ads tend to range between $10-50.
CPC bidding
With CPC bidding, advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their Spotlight ad. Average CPCs are $2-10.
CPV bidding
CPV bidding is available for video Spotlight ads. Advertisers pay for each video view. CPVs range from $10-30.
Spotlight ad targeting options
LinkedIn offers robust targeting capabilities to reach your ideal audience with Spotlight ads.
Demographic targeting
Target Spotlight ads by location, age, gender, education, experience level, and more.
Company targeting
Target ads by company attributes like industry, size, location, and more.
Interest targeting
Reach audiences based on their LinkedIn profile interests and groups.
Account targeting
Engage known accounts by targeting company names or specific employees.
Matched audiences
Use email hashes, website visitors, member lists, and more to target similar audiences.
Retargeting
Remarket to audiences who have already engaged with your ads or content.
Spotlight ad best practices
Here are some top best practices for optimizing LinkedIn Spotlight ad performance:
- Leverage sight, sound & motion for maximum impact
- Keep messaging succinct and relevant
- Use strong, clear calls-to-action
- Test different content types like video, presentations, infographics
- Retarget engaged audiences for increased conversion
- A/B test ad variations to improve performance
Spotlight ad creative tips
Follow these creative best practices to design high-performing Spotlight ads:
- Highlight key information upfront
- Use eye-catching visuals and design
- Ensure content is relevant and valuable to audience
- Make the most of the first 3 seconds for video ads
- Drive clicks with a strong, simple CTA button
- Leverage auto-play for video Spotlight ads
How to create a LinkedIn Spotlight ad
Here is an overview of how to create a LinkedIn Spotlight ad campaign:
Step 1: Choose Spotlight ad format
Select the desired ad format – video, content, carousel, lead gen or offer Spotlight.
Step 2: Create compelling ad creative
Develop engaging ad creative that aligns with the selected Spotlight ad format.
Step 3: Set campaign objectives
Define campaign objectives for awareness, consideration, conversions, etc.
Step 4: Target your audience
Use LinkedIn’s targeting tools to hone in your ideal audiences.
Step 5: Establish bidding strategy
Set your bidding strategy – either CPM or CPC bidding.
Step 6: Monitor and optimize
Actively monitor campaign analytics and optimize for better performance.
Work with a LinkedIn ads specialist to execute Spotlight campaigns flawlessly.
Spotlight ad specifications
Here are key specs and requirements for LinkedIn Spotlight ads:
Video Spotlight
- File Format: MP4 or MOV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Length: Up to 10 minutes
- Max File Size: 10GB
Content Spotlight
- File Types: PDF, PPT, DOC
- Max File Size: 100MB
Carousel Spotlight
- 2-10 cards/frames
- Square 1:1 images (300×300 min)
- Title: 25 characters
- Description: 75 characters
Lead Gen Spotlight
- Header: 125 characters
- Description: 300 characters
- Single/multi-field forms
- Custom thank you page
Spotlight ad dos and don’ts
Follow these dos and don’ts to maximize the impact of your Spotlight ad campaigns:
Dos | Don’ts |
---|---|
– Do use eye-catching visuals | – Don’t use misleading or sensational messaging |
– Do keep text succinct | – Don’t use overly complex/busy animations |
– Do highlight value proposition upfront | – Don’t use overly promotional/salesy language |
– Do include a strong CTA | – Don’t make the CTA an afterthought |
– Do A/B test different creatives | – Don’t set and forget campaigns |
Frequently asked questions
What types of businesses use Spotlight ads?
All types of businesses across every industry leverage Spotlight ads, including B2B software, professional services, financial services, CPG, retail, healthcare, and more. If you are looking to drive awareness, consideration, and conversions on LinkedIn, Spotlight ads are worth testing.
Are Spotlight ads effective?
Yes, when executed correctly, Spotlight ads can deliver strong results. Spotlight ads excel at brand awareness objectives in particular. The immersive unit helps ads stand out from the crowded feed. Integrated call-to-action capabilities also make Spotlight ads effective for lead generation and conversions.
How are Spotlight ads different from Sponsored Content?
While both appear in the feed, Spotlight ads offer a more immersive canvas and robust features. Spotlight ads can integrate multimedia content fluidly into the feed. There are also more call-to-action and conversion capabilities compared to Sponsored Content ads.
Can I reuse existing creative assets?
Absolutely. Existing assets like videos, presentations, PDFs, and images can be repurposed for Spotlight ads. The key is to adapt and optimize these assets to fit the Spotlight format and objectives.
What makes a Spotlight ad successful?
Successful Spotlight ads use attention-grabbing rich media seamlessly woven into the feed. They deliver value quickly with relevant messaging. A clear call-to-action and effective audience targeting also contribute to Spotlight ad success.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Spotlight ads offer a powerful way to engage professional audiences natively in the LinkedIn feed. By combining sight, sound, and motion, Spotlight ads command attention as members scroll through their feed. This makes Spotlight ads effective for moving KPIs like awareness, consideration, and conversions. With compelling creative and strategic targeting, brands can achieve their marketing objectives leveraging the immersive canvas of Spotlight ads.