What Does a LinkedIn Ad Look Like?

Ever wondered what people actually see when you run an ad on LinkedIn? Unlike other platforms where ads can feel disruptive, LinkedIn's professionally-focused environment offers unique ad formats designed to connect with users a little differently. This article will break down what each type of LinkedIn ad looks like in the wild, explain its key components, and give you practical tips on when and how to use each one.

The Basic Anatomy of a LinkedIn Ad

While there are several different ad formats, most share a common structure that helps users identify them as promotional content. Familiarizing yourself with these core elements will help you recognize and create more effective ads.

Here’s what you'll typically find:

• "Promoted" Tag: To maintain transparency, LinkedIn clearly labels all advertising with a "Promoted" or "Sponsored" tag. This is usually located just below the company name.
• Company Information: Your company name and profile picture appear at the top, just like they would on an organic post.
• Introductory Text: This is the main ad copy that appears above the creative (the image, video, etc.). It’s your chance to hook the reader and provide context.
• Ad Creative: The visual heart of your ad. This can be a single image, a video, a series of swipeable carousel cards, or even a downloadable document.
• Headline: A short, punchy line of text that appears just below the creative. It’s meant to grab attention and summarize your offer.
• CTA (Call-to-Action) Button: The button that prompts users to take a specific action, like "Learn More," "Sign Up," "Download," or "Request Demo."

Feed-Based Ads: The Workhorses of LinkedIn Advertising

These ads are the most common and appear directly in the LinkedIn feed, where professionals scroll and consume content. They are designed to blend in seamlessly with organic posts from companies and connections.

1. Single Image Ads

Single Image Ads are the original, classic LinkedIn Ad format. They are simple, clean, and incredibly effective for driving brand awareness and traffic.

What They Look Like

Picture a standard LinkedIn post from a Company Page - that's essentially what a Single Image Ad looks like. You’ll see the company's name and logo at the top left, followed by the "Promoted" tag. Below that is the introductory text for the ad. The central focus is a single, static image. Underneath the image, a bold headline accompanies the ad, and to the right, a clear CTA button encourages a click. It's an unobtrusive but effective way to get your message in front of a targeted professional audience while they’re actively scrolling.

Best Practices for Single Image Ads

• Use Strong Visuals: Your image needs to pop. Use high-quality photos, compelling graphics, or illustrations that are relevant to your message. Avoid clutter and too much text on the image itself.
• Write Clear, Concise Copy: Your introductory text should be engaging, and your headline needs to be short and direct. Get straight to the value proposition.
• Have a Specific CTA: Don't leave your audience guessing. "Learn More" is fine, but more specific CTAs like "Download the Guide" or "Get a Free Trial" often perform better because they set clear expectations.

2. Video Ads

Video is a powerful medium for storytelling and capturing attention in a busy feed. LinkedIn Video Ads autoplay silently, making them a great way to showcase your brand, product, or company culture in a dynamic format.

What They Look Like

Much like a Single Image Ad, a Video Ad appears natively in the LinkedIn feed. The framing is the same: company name, "Promoted" tag, intro text, and a headline with a CTA. The key difference is the creative. The video will start playing automatically (on mute) as a user scrolls past it. Users will see a speaker icon in the corner to unmute the video. This format is far more engaging and can stop a scroll much more effectively than a static image.

Best Practices for Video Ads

• Capture Attention Fast: You have about three seconds to pique a viewer's interest before they scroll past. Start with your most compelling visuals or a clear hook.
• Design for Sound Off: Since most videos autoplay silently, rely on visuals, text overlays, and captions to get your message across. People should understand your ad without sound.
• Keep It Short: While LinkedIn allows longer videos, the most successful ads are often between 15 and 45 seconds long. Be respectful of your audience's time.

3. Carousel Ads

When you have a multifaceted story to tell or want to showcase multiple products or features, Carousel Ads are your best bet. This format lets you use up to ten swipeable image "cards" in a single ad unit.

What They Look Like

A Carousel Ad looks similar to a Single Image Ad at first glance but features a swipeable series of images. Users on desktop can click arrows, while mobile users can swipe horizontally to move through the different cards. Each individual card can have its own headline and can link to a different landing page, allowing for rich, interactive storytelling. The main introductory copy and primary CTA apply to the entire carousel, creating a cohesive ad unit.

Best Practices for Carousel Ads

• Tell a Story: Use the sequence of cards to walk your audience through a process, tell a brand story, or highlight a series of customer testimonials.
• Showcase Variety: Carousels are perfect for featuring a range of products, multiple features of a single service, or different speakers at an event.
• Keep Branding Consistent: Ensure a cohesive visual identity across all cards to create a professional and engaging experience.

Document Ads: Share High-Value Content Directly

Document Ads are one of LinkedIn's more unique offerings. They allow users to preview and even download multi-page documents like PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, and Word documents without ever leaving the platform.

What It Looks Like

Appearing in the feed like other sponsored content, a Document Ad is instantly recognizable. Below the standard intro text, users will see the first page or cover of your document prominently displayed. There are controls to click through a preview of several pages directly inside the ad unit, and a clear call-to-action button, typically labeled "Download," is present. It essentially turns valuable company resources like whitepapers and eBooks into easily accessible lead magnets.

Best Practices for Document Ads

• Offer Genuinely Valuable Content: This format is perfect for sharing thought leadership. Think checklists, research reports, case studies, or webinar presentation slides. The better the content, the higher the engagement.
• Design an Eye-Catching Cover Page: The first page is your ad's display image, so make it visually striking and easy to read.
• Pair with Lead Gen Forms: Combine Document Ads with a LinkedIn Lead Gen Form. This allows users to access your document by submitting a pre-populated form with their profile data, creating a frictionless experience for both you and your prospect.

Text Ads: Lean, Mean, Traffic-Driving Machines

If you're looking for simplicity and efficiency, look no further than Text Ads. These ads feature no major visuals but can be very effective for hitting targeted professionals in a different placement on the platform.

What They Look Like

Text Ads are subtle notice boards that appear at the top of the feed or in the right-hand column on desktop LinkedIn pages. They are minimalist, containing just three core elements:

• A very small square company logo (50x50 pixels)
• A short headline (up to 25 characters)
• A brief description (up to 75 characters)

They are purely outcome-focused. There's no fancy creative work here - just a direct message aimed at earning a click.

Best Practices for Text Ads

• Write a Strong, Action-Oriented Headline: With only 25 characters, your headline needs to be powerful. Use verbs and clearly state what you're offering.
• Be Highly Targeted with Your Audience: Since there’s no big visual to grab attention, success relies heavily on your targeting. Make sure the ad is perfectly relevant to the professionals you want to reach.
• Focus on a Clear Offer: Free demos, downloads, and consultations work well because the offer is direct and immediately clear.

Personalized Ads: Engaging on a One-to-One Level

These formats leverage user information from their LinkedIn profiles to create highly personalized ad experiences that cut through the noise and speak directly to individuals.

1. Sponsored Messaging (Message Ads)

Formerly known as Sponsored InMail, this ad format delivers your message directly to a user's LinkedIn inbox, alongside the messages from their connections.

What It Looks Like

Sponsored Messaging appears in a member's inbox and looks almost identical to a regular message. The key difference is a small "Sponsored" tag. The ad will have a sender from your company (often a relevant person like a sales lead or executive), a subject line, a personalized message in the body, and typically one or two CTAs. When crafted well, these feel less like unsolicited ads and more like professional outreach.

Best Practices for Sponsored Messaging

• Be Conversational and Human: Avoid corporate jargon and stiff marketing language. Write it like you're starting a real professional conversation.
• Offer Clear Value: People's inboxes are sacred. Make sure your message contains a high-value invitation, resource, or offer that warrants the direct contact.
• Keep It Concise: Professionals are busy. Get to the point quickly and make it easy for them to understand your offer and take action.

2. Dynamic Ads

Dynamic Ads automatically personalize creative at scale by pulling information from members' LinkedIn profiles, like their profile picture, first name, and company.

What They Look Like

Appearing on the right rail of the desktop feed, these simple ad modules are designed for direct engagement and come primarily in two forms:

• Follower Ads: These ads promote your LinkedIn Company Page. You’ll see a large version of your company logo and a customized message that might say, "John, follow [Company Name] to stay updated on industry news." Critically, it will also feature the user's own profile picture, which grabs their attention instantly.
• Spotlight Ads: These ads are used to drive traffic to a landing page for a specific service, job posting, or event. It dynamically puts the user's profile picture into the ad display with a message like, "Sara, see top jobs at [Company Name] now."

Best Practices for Dynamic Ads

Since the personalization is largely automated, success often comes down to choosing the right objective. Follower ads are ideal for growing your organic reach and community on LinkedIn. Spotlight Ads work well when you have a specific, compelling event, service, or opportunity that you need to get in front of a highly tailored audience.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, a LinkedIn ad can take many forms, from an interactive carousel in the news feed to a personalized message that lands directly in an inbox. Choosing the correct format depends entirely on your campaign goal - whether it's driving webinar sign-ups, promoting an ebook, or just building brand presence. Understanding all the options available is the first and most critical step toward a successful advertising strategy.

Once your campaigns are up and running, analyzing performance across all these different formats can quickly become overwhelming. At Graphed, we help you simplify that process after a one-click integration where you can start asking plain-English questions like "Show me my best-performing LinkedIn campaigns by clicks and cost-per-lead for last month." We instantly build a real-time dashboard so you can see what’s working, cut what isn’t, and get back to focusing on meaningful strategy instead of endlessly wrangling data.