LinkedIn carousel ads allow advertisers to showcase multiple images, videos, or pieces of content in one ad unit. The carousel format gives more flexibility to tell a story and show off different aspects of a product, service, or brand. When someone sees a LinkedIn carousel ad in their feed, they can swipe through the carousel cards horizontally to view all of the content.
Carousel Ad Format
A LinkedIn carousel ad can contain between 2-10 cards. Each card can feature an image, video, or text. Some key things to know about the carousel ad format include:
- Image Size: 1200×627 pixels recommended (minimum 600×315)
- Video Length: Up to 15 seconds
- Text Length: 125 characters recommended
- Call-to-Action Button: Each card can have a customizable CTA button
- Link: Each card clicks through to a different landing page or website if desired
The carousel card format gives advertisers a lot of creative flexibility. For example, you may want to showcase different product images, customer testimonials, or demonstrative videos of your service in action. The key is to offer a variety of compelling visual assets and text to catch the viewer’s interest.
Benefits of LinkedIn Carousel Ads
There are a few key benefits of using LinkedIn carousel ads compared to single image ads:
- Tell a Story: With multiple cards, you can walk users through a logical story or customer journey.
- Highlight Products/Services: Showcase different offerings or features in each card.
- Improved Engagement: Carousels drive 2x more engagement on average compared to single image ads.
- Flexible Calls-to-Action: Put a different CTA button on each card depending on your goal.
Carousel ads work well when you have a multi-step process, varied product line, or just want to keep the viewer engaged with rich media. The key is making each card valuable on its own but also part of an overall narrative.
Best Practices
Here are some best practices to create effective LinkedIn carousel ads:
- Keep text short, clear, and action-oriented.
- Use high-quality, eye-catching images that stand out.
- Make sure videos are relevant and concise within 15 seconds.
- Focus on one key message per card.
- Align visuals and text messaging for congruency.
- Use cards to tell a cohesive story that flows logically.
- Have a strong CTA on each card that matches the content.
It’s important to avoid information overload in each card. Be selective with your messaging so the viewer knows exactly what to do. A good carousel guides the audience through an engaging experience.
Ideal Use Cases
Here are some ideal use cases and examples where LinkedIn carousel ads can be effective:
- Product Launch: Highlight different features, images, videos, or customer reviews.
- Brand Awareness: Showcase company values, culture, and personality across cards.
- Lead Generation: Promote different lead magnets like eBooks, whitepapers, or free trials.
- Events: Build excitement with speaker bios, schedule, venue images, and call-to-action to register.
- Trade Shows: Preview different booths, exhibits, or offerings attendees can expect.
The card format lets you showcase the full scope of what you offer versus being limited to one static image. Take advantage of the flexibility.
Design Tips
Here are some design tips to optimize your LinkedIn carousel ads:
- Use high resolution, eye-catching imagery.
- Ensure text is easy to read on all background colors.
- Keep branding consistent across all cards.
- Balance text and negative space – don’t overcrowd cards.
- Use contrasting colors between cards to differentiate each one.
- Make CTA buttons stand out with contrasting colors.
- Add captions or overlays on photos to better tell the story.
Visually appealing carousel ads will get more attention and engagement from LinkedIn users. Use fonts, colors, and overlays to make the design clean and dynamic.
Optimizing Performance
Here are some tips to optimize the performance of your LinkedIn carousel ads:
- A/B test different image sizes and text length.
- Experiment with different page layouts and card orders.
- Analyze metrics like CTR, engagement rate, and conversions by card.
- Refine targeting based on highest performing demographics and interests.
- Change up creative over time based on new products or campaigns.
- Ensure landing pages are optimized for conversions from carousel traffic.
Continuously test and analyze the results of your LinkedIn carousel ads. Optimize each element from copy to images to get the best performance.
Measuring Success
Important metrics to measure the success of LinkedIn carousel ads include:
- Impressions: Number of times ad was on screen
- Clicks: Total clicks on Call-to-Action buttons
- Clickthrough rate (CTR): Clicks divided by impressions
- Cost per click (CPC): Ad spend divided by clicks
- Engagement rate: Total interactions (likes, comments, clicks) divided by impressions
- Conversions: Sign-ups, purchases, or desired goal from clicks
Analyze both overall performance and metrics for each individual card. Your goal is to drive relevant traffic to your site and ultimately conversions. Continuously optimize based on results.
Ad Targeting Options
You can target your LinkedIn carousel ads using:
- Location
- Company
- Job Title/Function
- Industry
- Seniority Level
- Age
- Gender
- Interests/Skills
Advanced targeting options include targeting by groups, lead gen forms, and Matched Audiences to re-engage site visitors. Leverage LinkedIn’s detailed professional profile data to reach your ideal customers.
Ad Creation Process
Here is an overview of the LinkedIn carousel ad creation process:
- Choose objective – brand awareness, traffic, lead gen, etc.
- Create ad account and campaign in LinkedIn Campaign Manager
- Design carousel ad creative with 2-10 cards
- Write compelling copy and add links for each card
- Upload assets and enable tracking pixels
- Set targeting, placement, and budget
- Submit ad for LinkedIn review
- Ad starts running once approved
- Continuously optimize based on performance
Having clean, professional ad creative will help ensure your ad passes LinkedIn’s review process. Optimize for your target audience and goals.
Ad Placement Options
You can choose to have your LinkedIn carousel ads shown in the following placements:
- LinkedIn Feed
- Right column next to content
- Sponsored content in the Feed
- InMail Messages
The LinkedIn feed offers maximum visibility but you can also do right column placements for additional impact. Test different options to see what converts best.
Carousel Ad Examples
Here are some examples of effective LinkedIn carousel ads:
| Company | Carousel Ad Description |
|---|---|
| Microsoft | Promotes LinkedIn Learning courses with different course images, captions, and CTAs in each card |
| HP | Highlights printer security features in different cards with descriptive images and text |
| SAP | Uses cards to showcase their platform benefits – one for real time data, scalability, automation etc. |
| Oracle | Counts down to a cloud infrastructure event with dynamic cards showing speakers, schedule, partners etc. |
| Amazon Web Services | Promotes working from home benefits with cards focused on collaboration, security, remote access, and more |
These examples showcase how versatile the carousel ad unit can be. Make each card focus on a specific product, feature, or part of your event/story.
Troubleshooting Tips
Some troubleshooting tips for LinkedIn carousel ads:
- Ensure ad creative follows guidelines – image sizes, text limits, etc.
- Double check targeting settings if seeing irrelevant impressions.
- Test different bid strategies if CPCs are too high.
- Lower daily budget if spending too quickly without results.
- Swap low performing cards for better visuals/copy that engages.
- Retarget people who engage if overall conversion rate is low.
Check metrics frequently and optimize for relevance, engagement, and conversions. A/B test elements of both creative and targeting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do LinkedIn carousel ads cost?
LinkedIn carousel ads cost on average between $2-5 per click in the United States, depending on targeting and competition. The more narrow/specialized your targeting, the lower your average CPC may be.
Do carousel ads work better than single image ads?
Yes, according to LinkedIn carousel ads drive 2x more engagement on average compared to standard single image ads. Carousels allow you to tell a deeper story and showcase more visuals.
Can I create carousel ads directly within LinkedIn?
No, LinkedIn carousel ads have to be created directly within LinkedIn’s self-serve Campaign Manager. You upload your visual assets and ad copy there.
What’s the best LinkedIn carousel ad size?
1200×627 pixels is recommended for optimal image quality on retina screens while still being a compact file size. Minimum size is 600×315. Keep images crisp and text brief.
Is there a limit to how many cards I can include?
Yes, LinkedIn carousel ads allow 2-10 cards. Best practice is usually having 3-5 cards so you don’t overwhelm the viewer.
Conclusion
LinkedIn carousel ads let you tell an engaging, multimedia story to your target B2B audience. Leverage the card format to showcase your products, customer proof points, videos, and more. Follow LinkedIn’s creative guidelines and continuously optimize for relevance, engagement, and conversions with your tailored audience. Use A/B testing and data to refine your LinkedIn carousel ads over time. Done right, carousels can significantly boost your LinkedIn ad performance.