Linkedin Video Ads

Linkedin Video Ads are Horizontal

$0.6 per view, worth paying Linkedin Video Ads if B2B is your target group.
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“There is no such thing as an attention span. There is only the quality of what you are viewing.” Seinfeld, 2004

Post is based on ConversionXL, SocialMediaExaminer and Instapage's articles.

LinkedIn has the potential to resolve both shortcomings:

• You know much more about who’s on the other end of an ad.
• You have a pretty good idea of why they’re on LinkedIn—to improve their career or company.

 
For video ads, Blitzmetrics CEO Dennis Yu outlines a four-step structure:

1. Hook. Capture attention within the first 3 seconds.
2. Ignite Pain/Pleasure. Identify problem or opportunity in 3–15 seconds range.
3. Describe Solution. Explain what you offer and why it will help viewers from 15–50 seconds.
4. Call to Action. Leave them with an actionable next step in the final 10 seconds.

 

• Quality = attention span. As Seinfeld said, “There is no such thing as an attention span. There is only the quality of what you are viewing.”
• Stay on brand. Don’t copy the style of a popular video (especially a “viral” one) if you’re trying to drive home your unique value proposition or establish your brand.
• Plan it out. A one-minute video needs only about 150 words. You need a straight-to-the-point script and an agreed-upon storyboard for the accompanying shots.

 

• Make sure you grab your audience’s attention in the first 10 seconds of the video.
• Tell a story visually with a mix of graphics, people, and text.
• Remember that LinkedIn video plays in the feed with the sound off, so consider adding subtitles.
• Feature a clear call to action (CTA) so your audience knows what steps you want them to take after watching your video.

 
LinkedIn has a dedicated page with a full list of technical specs for LinkedIn video ads. Here are the highlights:

• Video length can range from 3 seconds to 30 minutes.
• File size must be between 75KB and 200 MB.
• File format must be MP4.
• Videos must have a horizontal layout.
• Frame rate must be less than 30 frames per second.

 
Once you’ve created your first video, create additional versions of it so you can test them against one another.
But which video elements should you test? Try these ideas:

• Create videos of different lengths. Try 6-second videos to keep your brand top of mind, 30-second interview videos, or 1-minute videos where you tell a full story.
• Add or remove introductory text or your company logo.
• Test your original video against customer testimonial videos.

 
By default, LinkedIn video ads play without sound. Hard-code subtitles to get your message across without the audio.
 
LinkedIn video specs & ad metrics

• An impression includes 1 second of video play;
• A paid view is 2 seconds of video play “with 50% of ad unit in view” or “a click on the CTA, whichever comes first” (an “organic” view of Sponsored video content is 3 seconds);
• LinkedIn records the number of views as well as the percentage of the video watched at intervals of 25%, 50%, 75%, and “complete” (at least 97%);
• The completion rate (completions divided by views, multiplied by 100);
• Average cost per view;
• Number of clicks to view the video in full-screen mode.
• Pixel and aspect ratio requirements:
  • 360p (480 x 360; wide 640 x 360)
  • 480p (640 x 480)
  • 720p (960 x 720; wide 1280 x 720)
  • 1080p (1440 x 1080; wide 1920 x 1080)
• Ads with a 1:1 aspect ratio should have a minimum resolution of 600 x 600px, and a maximum resolution of 1080 x 1080px
• Audio format: AAC or MPEG4
• Audio size: Less than 64KHz
  
  
• If a user unmutes the video in their feed and scrolls down within 2 seconds, the video will continue playing, even if less than 50% is visible on screen
  
  
• Note: You cannot upload more than 25 videos in Campaign Manager within 24 hours, and you can only upload videos from a desktop, not a mobile device.

 
LinkedIn video ad costs
LinkedIn advertising isn’t cheap. In case studies, LinkedIn touts cost-per-view metrics as low as $0.06, but, that can add up quickly.
 
Test LinkedIn video ads
The key is to ensure that the pricey views on LinkedIn will be worth it:

• Test your creative.
• Know exactly who you want to reach.
• Know what you want those viewers to do.
• Content type
• Video length
• Audio and subtitles
• Description copy
• Headline
• Post-click landing pages

 
Real-time feedback on messagingPosting video ads on LinkedIn has one more alluring potential: feedback from the target audience. Likes and comments offer qualitative feedback on the video content—a passive way to conduct market research on social media.
That information is especially valuable if the video is used for YouTube pre-roll or TV spots, which don’t offer the benefit of viewer feedback.
It’s not the primary benefit. LinkedIn is too expensive (though sponsored videos can generate organic views in addition to paid ones). But it adds potential value to the investment.