LinkedIn Opens Ad Space for Video Ads

Video ads are coming to LinkedIn. The professional-focused social networking site today announced that its LinkedIn Ads platform is now capable of delivering 300×250 video ad units for advertisers.

The new video ads will have the same potential reach -175 million current LinkedIn members – as the text and image-based ads that were already available to advertisers on LinkedIn’s self-serve ad platform. The video ads will compete for clicks and impressions on the site just like traditional text and image ad formats, the company added.

When users click on the new ads, a 30-second video will play in the full 300×250 ad space and advertisers can direct users to their landing page or website following the conclusion of the 30-second ad.

“With LinkedIn Ads you can control your costs, pay per view or click, and stop your campaign at any time,” Will Hambly, online marketing manager at LinkedIn, wrote in a blog post.

Advertisers will have the ability to purchase video ads against pay per view and pay per click metrics, while also leveraging LinkedIn’s targeting options such as job title or function, industry, geography, company size or name, age, gender and others. The company is also trying to simplify the process by integrating YouTube videos and analytics into the service.

“LinkedIn self-serve video ads work seamlessly with YouTube so you can instantly leverage your brand’s existing YouTube presence and promote the same videos on LinkedIn,” Hambly added. “You’ll still be able to grow and capture the same YouTube stats you’re used to.”

Although LinkedIn doesn’t have a minimum weekly, monthly or annual spend requirement, it charges advertisers a minimum of $2 per click and daily budgets can be set for as low as $10.