Statistics as of September 2020 show that LinkedIn is one of only three major global social networks where Australia ranks in the top 20 countries for advertising (coming in at 12th), with an audience of 11 million people. LinkedIn currently has over 630 million users, with 63 million of them being in decision making positions for B2B transactions. 65% of B2B companies are currently using LinkedIn paid ads to acquire new customers, which isn’t surprising considering that the platform has shown to be 277% more effective that Facebook when it comes to generating business leads.
With all of this considered, it’s impossible to ignore the remarkable contribution that LinkedIn ads could bring to your marketing strategy. LinkedIn offers multiple ad sizes types to help cater to your various business goals, which is why it is necessary to understand best practices and specifications for your LinkedIn advertising.
Sponsored Content – Single Image Ads
- Ad name (optional): 255 max characters available to name your ads
- Introductory text: 150 max characters for mobile (desktop max of 600 characters).
- URLs length: URLs with 23 character are automatically converted into short links.
- Destination URL: URLs must include the “http://” “or https://” prefix and can include up t to 2,000 characters for the destination link.
- Ad image type and size: Upload a JPG or PNG file that’s 5MB or smaller.
- Headline: 70 characters max to avoid truncation on mobile devices (200 max characters).
- Description: Use approximately 100 characters to avoid truncation on mobile (300 max characters). Varies for ads that appear on third-party sites served through the LinkedIn Audience Network.
- Call-to-action (optional): Access to various CTAs.
If you opt for embedded rich media, use these specifications:
- Image Display Size: 1.91:1 ratio (1200 x 627px) and a max of 400px in width.
- Max Weight: 100MB with a recommended PPI (pixels per inch) of 72
Sponsored Content – Carousel Ads
- Ad name: Use up to 255 characters to name your carousel ad.
- Introductory text: Use up to 150 characters to avoid truncation on some devices (255 max characters)
- Cards: Minimum of two cards can be used and a maximum of ten. Individual cards within the carousel must meet these requirements:
- Max file size: 10 MB
- Recommended individual image spec: 1080×1080 pixels with a 1:1 aspect ratio
- Rich media formats supported: JPG, PNG and GIF (non-animated only)
- Headline text for each image card can take up a maximum of two lines before being truncated.
- Character limits:
- Destination URL: URLs must have the “http://” “or https://” prefix. You may use up to 2,000 characters for the destination link.
- 45-character limit for carousel ads that direct to a destination URL
- 30-character limit for carousel ads with a Lead Gen Form CTA
- Carousel cards can use a destination URLs or point to a Lead Gen Form
- Carousel campaigns are not eligible to use LinkedIn Audience Network.
Note: Once your carousel ad is saved, it cannot be edited.
Video Ads
- Ad name (optional): Use up to 255 characters to name your video ad.
- Introductory text (optional): Use up to 600 characters for your intro text.
- Video Length: Three seconds to 30 minutes
- File size: Between 75 KB and max of 200 MB
- File format: MP4 only
- Frame rate: Less than 30 Frames per second
- Pixel and aspect ratio requirements:
- Landscape:
- 360px (480 x 360; wide 640 x 360)
- 480px (640 x 480)
- 720px (960 x 720; wide 1280 x 720)
- 1080px (1440 x 1080; wide 1920 x 1080)
- Square:
- Minimum: 600 x 600px
- Maximum: 1080 x 1080px
- Vertical:
- Minimum: 500 x 625px
- Maximum: 1080 x 1920px
- Video ads created with a 1:1 aspect ratio must have a minimum resolution of 600 x 600px, and a maximum resolution of 1080 x 1080px.
- Audio format: AAC or MPEG4 only
- Audio size: Less than 64KHz
- Video captions: uploaded in SRT format only
- Video headline: 70 characters max to avoid truncation on most devices (200 max characters).
- Destination URL: URLs must have the “http://” or “https://” prefix.You can include up to 2,000 characters for the destination link.
- Call-to-action (CTA): Access to various CTAs.
Message/InMail Ads
- Ad name (optional): Use up to 50 characters, including spaces
- Sender: Select from available senders
- Message Subject: Up to 60 characters max (incl. spaces and punctuation)
- Message text: Up to 1,500 characters max (incl. spaces and punctuation)
- Clickable links: Up to 3 links max
- Hyperlinked text in message: Up to 70 characters max (incl. spaces and punctuation)
- Custom Terms & Conditions: Use up to 2,500 character max (incl. spaces and punctuation)
- Call-to-action (CTA) button copy: Up to 20 characters max (incl. spaces)
- Landing page URL in hyperlink or CTA: URLs must include the “http://” or “https://” prefix. Use up to 2,000 characters max for your destination link.
- Banner creative: 300 x 250
- File type: JPG, GIF (non-animated), or PNG (no flash)
- Maximum file size: 40kb
- Click-through URL
Text Ads
- Ad image: 100 x 100 pixels; upload a JPG or PNG file that is 2MB or smaller
- Ad headline: Use up to 25 characters max (incl. spaces)
- Ad description: Use up to 75 characters max (incl. spaces)
- Destination URL: URLs must have the “http://” or “https://” prefix. You may use up to 2,000 characters max for the destination link.
- Click tracking for destination URLs is supported.
- Text ads appear in a variety of sizes, including:
- 300 x 250
- 17 x 700
- 160 x 600
- 728 x 90
- 496 x 80
Note: Special characters may cause errors when used in the query string at the end of the URL. If your URL generates an error, copy everything after the question mark and paste it into a URL Encoder like this one: http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/dencoder/. Next, copy your results and replace the original query string in the URL.
Follower Ads
- Ad description (above images): Select a suggested option or create your own custom text. Suggested options are automatically translated but custom text is not. Use up to 70 characters, including spaces.
Ad headline (below images): Select a suggested option or produce your own custom headline. Suggested options are automatically translated but custom text in not. Use up to 50 characters max (incl. spaces). - Company name: Up to 25 characters max (incl. spaces). Company names are only displayed when a member places their cursor on your logo.
- Ad image: Minimum image size: 100 x 100px for JPG or PNG
- Call-to-action (CTA): Select from various CTAs available. CTAs are dynamically displayed in follower ads shown to members who follow your organization. Non-followers see your default Follow CTA.
- Visit company (default): Redirects to the Page tab of your LinkedIn Page
- Visit jobs: Redirects to the Jobs tab of your LinkedIn Page
- Visit life: Redirects to the Life tab of your LinkedIn Page
Spotlight Ads
- Ad description (above images): Use up to 70 characters, including spaces. Your text is not automatically translated.
- Ad headline (below images): Use up to 50 characters, including spaces. Your text is not automatically translated.
- Company name: Use up to 25 characters, including spaces. Your organization’s name is displayed when a member moves their cursor over your logo.
- Company image: Minimum image size: 100 x 100px for JPG or PNG
- Call-to-action (CTA) button text: Use up to 18 characters, including spaces.
- Landing page: Supports third-party click tracking destination URLs (via tracking parameters or redirects)
- Custom background image (optional): The image must be exactly 300 x 250px and 2MB or less.
Note: This format removes the ad description and member profile image. The white portion of the ad measures 276 x 148px.
Job Ads
- Company name: Use up to 25 characters, including spaces.
- Company logo: Recommended minimum logo size: 100 x 100px
Note: Smaller company logos will appear smaller and may not perform as well. Larger company logos will be reduced to 100 x 100px. Company logos that are not square will be reduced so that the largest dimension fits. - Ad headline: Choose from one of the suggested options or write your own custom text using up to 70 characters, including spaces.
- Call-to-action (CTA) button label: Choose from one of the pre-set CTAs or supply your own custom text. For “Picture Yourself” and “Jobs Page” ads, the CTA is automated. For the “Jobs of Interest” ad, you can customize the CTA.
LinkedIn ads sizes offer a wide arrangement of opportunities, catering to all audiences at every stage of the marketing funnel but LinkedIn also provides the perfect stage for your business to connect with all those big decision makers out there in one of the most successful B2B online platforms.
