Module 2: Ad Formats
Sponsored content, message ads, video, lead gen forms: what each format does, what it costs, and exactly when to use which one.
Sponsored content: the workhorse
Sponsored content — single-image, carousel, and video ads that appear in the LinkedIn feed — is where 80% of advertisers should start. It looks like a native post, it supports every objective from awareness to lead generation, and it’s the most forgiving format to learn on. Single-image ads are the default: one image (1200×627 pixels), a headline under 70 characters, and body text where the first 150 characters matter most (the rest hides behind “see more”).
Carousel ads let you swipe through up to 10 cards — perfect for step-by-step frameworks, before-and-afters, or “5 mistakes” style content. They consistently earn higher engagement rates than single images because the swipe is an interaction, and interactions feed the algorithm. Video ads autoplay muted in the feed; keep them under 30 seconds, burn captions in (most viewers never unmute), and put the hook in the first 3 seconds.
Benchmarks to know: a good sponsored content CTR is 0.4% to 0.6% — below 0.3%, your creative or targeting is off. CPCs run $5 to $12 depending on niche and competition. Start with single-image ads, graduate to carousel when you have a story worth swiping through, and add video when you have something worth watching.
Build brief
Which sponsored content format fits your offer best — single image, carousel, or video? Write down why, and sketch what the first frame would show.
Saved
Message ads: the inbox play
Message ads (including conversation ads) land directly in your prospect’s LinkedIn inbox — the most intimate placement on the platform. Open rates routinely hit 50% or higher, because a LinkedIn message notification is hard to ignore. But intimacy cuts both ways: a bad message ad feels like spam from a stranger, and LinkedIn knows it — that’s why message ads cost more per send (often $0.50 to $1.00 per delivered message) and why frequency is capped.
Message ads work best for high-intent offers: webinar registrations, demo bookings, event invites, downloadable guides. The structure that wins: a subject line under 60 characters that sounds like a real person wrote it (“Quick question about your Q3 pipeline” beats “EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR!!!”), a first line that names their world, one clear value proposition, and a single call-to-action button. Conversation ads take it further with multiple-choice reply buttons — “Are you struggling more with (a) lead volume or (b) lead quality?” — which segment respondents automatically.
The golden rule: write message ads like a respected colleague would write, not like a marketer. No hype, no fake familiarity (“Hope you’re well!” from a stranger is instant delete), no walls of text. Under 500 characters total. If it wouldn’t work as a real DM, it won’t work as an ad.
Build brief
Draft a message ad for your offer: subject line, first line, value prop, and CTA — all under 500 characters. Read it out loud. Does it sound like a real person?
Saved
Lead gen forms vs landing pages
Every LinkedIn campaign ends at a conversion point, and you have two choices. Lead gen forms are LinkedIn’s native forms — when someone clicks your ad, a form opens pre-filled with their LinkedIn profile data (name, email, title, company). Friction is near zero, which is why conversion rates run 2 to 3 times higher than landing pages. The trade-off: the leads are colder, because clicking “submit” on a pre-filled form takes about two seconds of thought.
Landing pages (your own website) convert at lower rates — 3% to 8% is realistic for B2B — but the leads who fill out your form deliberately are more qualified. You also control the experience: longer forms, qualifying questions, video, social proof, and — critically — your own tracking and retargeting pixels.
The decision framework: use lead gen forms when your offer is low-commitment (a guide, a webinar, a newsletter) and speed matters more than qualification. Use landing pages when the next step is high-commitment (a demo, a strategy call, a $5,000 purchase) and you need the prospect to sell themselves a little before they convert. Many advertisers run both: forms for top-of-funnel content, landing pages for bottom-of-funnel offers. Match the friction to the commitment — easy asks get easy forms, big asks earn a full page.
Pick your conversion point
Lead gen forms vs landing pages
| Lead gen forms | Landing pages | |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion rate | 2–3× higher — near-zero friction | lower — the visitor must work |
| Friction | pre-filled from their profile | every field is a tax |
| Lead warmth | colder — clicking was easy | warmer — they earned their way in |
Build brief
For your main offer: lead gen form or landing page? Defend your choice in two sentences using the friction-to-commitment rule.
Saved
Priya runs a $2,000/month marketing agency. She wants to fill her pipeline with discovery calls from marketing directors at SaaS companies. Which setup fits best?
LinkedIn’s native pre-filled forms, which convert 2–3x higher than landing pages but produce colder leads, are called .
Your turn: Build your format plan: for each of your next 3 campaign ideas, write the format (sponsored content / message ad / video), the conversion point (form vs landing page), and one sentence on why that combination fits.
Saved.
Your next 24 hours
Write one single-image ad (headline under 70 chars, body with the hook in the first 150) and one message ad draft (under 500 characters). You’ll refine them in Module 3.
Steal this template
AD FORMAT CHOOSER
Goal: ___
☐ Sponsored content (single image) — default choice, most forgiving
☐ Carousel — when you have a step-by-step story worth swiping
☐ Video (under 30s, captioned) — when motion sells it better
☐ Message ad — high-intent offers to small, precise audiences
Conversion point: ☐ Lead gen form (low commitment) ☐ Landing page (high commitment)
Why this combo: ___
Cheat sheet
- Sponsored content (feed ads) is the workhorse — start here. Good CTR: 0.4–0.6%.
- Carousel ads earn higher engagement — use them for step-by-step stories.
- Video: under 30 seconds, captions burned in, hook in the first 3 seconds.
- Message ads: 50%+ open rates, best for webinars/demos to small precise audiences.
- Lead gen forms convert 2–3x higher but produce colder leads — match friction to commitment.
- Landing pages convert 3–8% but qualify better — use them for high-ticket next steps.