LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 810 million members worldwide. As one of the most popular social media platforms, LinkedIn offers a unique opportunity for businesses to connect with professionals and promote their products and services through paid advertising. LinkedIn provides robust targeting options, detailed analytics, and powerful call-to-action capabilities, making it an essential platform for digital marketers and advertisers. However, creating and managing LinkedIn ad campaigns requires using their self-serve Ads Manager. This can be complex and time consuming, especially for those new to LinkedIn advertising. Many marketers have been asking – is there an easier way? Does LinkedIn offer an ad library or pre-made ad templates that make getting started with ads fast and simple? In this article, we’ll explore the advertising options on LinkedIn and discuss whether there is an existing ad library available to make LinkedIn advertising more accessible.
LinkedIn’s Advertising Options
LinkedIn offers several ad formats and products for reaching your target audience:
Sponsored Content
Sponsored Content places native ads in the LinkedIn feed that look and feel organic. You can publish branded articles, videos, presentations, and images.
Sponsored InMail
Sponsored InMail allows you to send targeted direct messages to LinkedIn members matching your ideal audience parameters.
Text Ads
Text ads show up on the side rail or top banner of the LinkedIn feed. They contain a short headline, description and call to action.
Dynamic Ads
Dynamic ads automatically promote highly relevant and personalized content to LinkedIn users based on their profile data and activity.
Conversation Ads
Conversation ads feature an image, headline and customizable call-to-action button to drive clicks and engagement.
Lead Gen Forms
Lead gen forms allow visitors to fill out a submission form to convert directly within the LinkedIn ad unit.
| Ad Format | Description |
|---|---|
| Sponsored Content | Native ads in the LinkedIn feed like articles, images, videos |
| Sponsored InMail | Targeted direct messages sent to LinkedIn members |
| Text Ads | Text ads on the side rail or top banner of the feed |
| Dynamic Ads | Personalized ads based on user data and activity |
| Conversation Ads | Image, headline and call-to-action ads |
| Lead Gen Forms | Submission forms to convert within the ad unit |
Is There a LinkedIn Ad Library?
Now that we’ve outlined the core LinkedIn advertising options, let’s discuss the key question – is there an existing ad library or template resource that makes it easier to create LinkedIn ads?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. Unlike some other social platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn does not currently offer any library of pre-made ad templates or assets. All ads on LinkedIn have to be created directly within their self-serve Ads Manager.
There are a few key reasons why LinkedIn does not offer ad templates:
Targeted, Professional Audience
LinkedIn caters to a highly targeted audience of professionals. This makes standardized ad templates less effective. Ads need to be customized to properly engage the business-focused audience.
Ad Options Require Tailoring
The available ad formats like Sponsored Content and Conversation Ads require tailoring to match brand voice and messaging. Generic pre-made templates are less appealing.
Self-Serve Ad Manager
LinkedIn’s self-serve ad platform is robust and provides needed creative controls when building customized ads. Generic ad templates would not provide the required flexibility.
Testing and Optimization
The ability to iteratively test and optimize different versions of ad creative is key on LinkedIn. Relying solely on pre-made templates would limit optimization potential.
So in summary, the nature of advertising on the professional LinkedIn network along with the capabilities of their self-serve Ad Manager means that they do not currently offer any library of reusable ad templates or assets.
Best Practices for Creating LinkedIn Ads
While there is no ad library available, here are some top best practices marketers can follow when creating LinkedIn ads:
Research Your Audience
Take time to understand your target audience on LinkedIn based on job title, industry, skills, interests, and demographics. Build personas.
Craft Engaging Ad Copy
Write compelling copy that speaks directly to your audience. Align to their needs and pain points. Use concise calls-to-action.
Test Different Formats
Experiment with different ad formats like Sponsored Content, Conversation Ads, Dynamic Ads, etc. See what resonates.
Use Visuals Purposefully
Select visuals that reinforce your messaging and capture attention – product photos, infographics, videos etc.
Optimize for Outcomes
Set specific goals and continuously optimize ads to drive the desired outcome – clicks, leads, sales etc.
Analyze Performance
Use LinkedIn’s reporting to understand ad results. Identify successes and underperformers to refine approach.
Retarget Engaged Users
Create separate ads and target segments to re-engage people who already interacted with your brand.
Ad Creation Services
For those looking for additional help creating optimized LinkedIn ads, there are specialized LinkedIn advertising agencies and freelancers available for hire.
These services offer managed LinkedIn ad solutions and can typically provide:
– Audience research and targeting strategies
– Custom ad copywriting and design
– Ad management and ongoing optimization
– Performance analysis and reporting
So although LinkedIn does not have an ad library, hiring an advertising professional can save time and provide the expertise needed to succeed with LinkedIn ads.
Tools for Building LinkedIn Ads
There are also some software tools available that, while they do not offer pre-made ad templates, can simplify parts of the LinkedIn ad creation process:
Design Tools
Tools like Canva provide templates and design capabilities to create visuals quickly.
Social Media Management
All-in-one platforms like Hootsuite allow scheduling and posting ads across networks.
Ad Copy Tools
Services like Copy.ai use AI to generate high-performing ad copy tailored to your brand.
Audience Insights
Audience research tools can provide data to inform targeting and personalization.
So while these tools still require customizing ads for LinkedIn, they can assist by automating some steps.
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn currently does not offer an ad library with pre-made templates. Their self-serve ad manager and professional audience requires creating customized, optimized ads for each campaign. While this takes more effort up front, it results in better performing ads more finely tuned for your goals and target audience. To make quality LinkedIn ad creation more scalable, leverage tools that automate steps in the process as well as professional ad management services. With the right approach and execution, LinkedIn’s highly engaged audience combined with the right messaging can drive impressive results and ROI without relying on generic ad templates.
