When it comes to creating ads and other branded content for LinkedIn, choosing the right creative size is crucial for success. With a user base of over 800 million professionals, LinkedIn offers huge opportunities for marketers to reach their target B2B audiences. However, to fully capitalize on LinkedIn’s potential, you need to understand which creative sizes work best on this platform.
Why does creative size matter on LinkedIn?
Creative size impacts how your content is displayed across LinkedIn surfaces like the feed, messaging, and sponsored content. The right sizes help your creatives look crisp and professional, while the wrong sizes can create a poor user experience. Additionally, sticking to LinkedIn’s recommended specifications ensures your ads are more likely to be approved through their review process.
On a purely visual level, creatives that are sized properly are more likely to catch users’ eyes and professional-looking creative is key for brands targeting LinkedIn’s audience of working professionals. Using the ideal dimensions leads to higher engagement rates.
Creative sizes also matter for technical reasons. If your images and videos don’t follow LinkedIn’s requirements, they may get cropped or scaled improperly, loses quality, or get rejected altogether. By staying within the platforms guidelines you can ensure your creatives render properly across the various placements on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn’s creative requirements
LinkedIn has specific requirements for creative assets based on the different ad formats and placements used on their platform. Here are the key creative size specs to keep in mind:
Single Image Ads
- Image Dimensions: 1200 x 627 pixels
- File Size: 10MB max
- File Types: JPG, PNG, BMP
This is LinkedIn’s standard image size for single image ads displayed in the feed. The 1,200 x 627 pixel size ensures the image spans the full width of the feed without being distorted.
Carousel Ads
- Image Dimensions: 1200 x 627 pixels
- File Size: 10MB max
- File Types: JPG, PNG, BMP
- Elements per Carousel: 2-10
Carousel ads allow advertisers to use multiple creatives that users can flip through. The individual images need to be the same 1200 x 627 pixel size as single image ads.
Sponsored Content
- Image Dimensions: 546 x 400 pixels
- File Size: 5MB max
- File Types: JPG, PNG, BMP
These in-feed native ads use a more compact 546 x 400 image size. This vertical rectangle image appears alongside your headline and text.
Message Ads
- Image Dimensions: 400 x 400 pixels
- File Size: 300KB max
- File Types: JPG, PNG, BMP
Message ads are displayed within the LinkedIn messaging screen. To fit nicely within the message window, LinkedIn recommends square 400 x 400 sized creatives.
Dynamic Ads
- Image Dimensions: 1200 x 627 pixels
- File Size: 10MB max
- File Types: JPG, PNG, BMP
Sized the same as single image ads, dynamic ads update the copy and creative displayed based on the viewer. The image still needs to be 1200 x 627 pixels.
Sponsored Video
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 landscape
- Length: Up to 3 minutes
- File Size: 1.5GB max
- File Types: MP4, MOV
Video ads should be high quality with an aspect ratio of 16:9 to display correctly across LinkedIn.
Best practices for different objectives
Beyond sticking to LinkedIn’s base requirements, you can tailor creative sizes based on campaign objectives and placement. Here are some top tips:
Awareness Campaigns
– Use landscape image ads 1200 x 627 pixels to maximize real estate in the feed
– Add text overlays to help tell your brand story
– Carousels are great to feature multiple products/visuals
– Videos up to 3 minutes perform well for awareness
Traffic Campaigns
– Square message ads 400 x 400 px highlight a specific CTA
– Dynamic ads with CTAs personalized to the viewer
– Include text on image ads to direct viewers
Conversions Campaigns
– Message ads with strong calls-to-action
– Show product-specific images or offers
– Limit carousels to 3-5 slides
– Short 15-30 second videos
Key takeaways
When designing creatives for LinkedIn, keep these key tips in mind:
- Use the recommended dimensions for each ad format
- Keep file sizes within LinkedIn’s limits
- Landscape images work best in the feed
- Square creatives stand out in messaging
- Include relevant text overlays
- Optimize creative strategies based on campaign goals
Sticking to LinkedIn’s guidelines ensures your ads render properly across platforms. And optimizing based on your specific objectives further improves performance. A strong combination of visually compelling creatives and strategically tailored sizes will drive big results from your LinkedIn campaigns.
