14 Powerful LinkedIn Thought Leader Ad Strategies Worth Testing

Everyone knows that B2B buying has changed. 

People trust people more than they trust companies, making thought leadership ads more important than ever before. 

If you’re looking to use thought leader ads in your LinkedIn ad strategy but aren’t sure how to get started, this article is for you. 

Here are 14 thought leader ad plays and examples you can test. 

Let’s jump into it! 👇

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Play #1: Announce new product features, integrations, and partnerships

🔑 to success: Trust your audience. Target the experts and speak to them like they’re experts. Show them all the cool things they’ll be able to achieve with your product. 

Play #3: Highlight a case study featuring your own company

🔑 to success: Show how your team is using YOUR tool to reach YOUR goals – your company can serve as its own case study. 

Play #8: Promote an upcoming webinar

🔑 to success: Clearly highlight the value of the webinar for your audience – what will they learn by attending? Make sure to tag the speakers to generate more interest. 

Play #11: Demo different use cases of your product

🔑 to success: Have a senior leader – from your own company or one of your customers – educate prospects on how they can use your product to achieve their business goals. 

Play #12: Share long-form content with insights that your ICP would be interested in

🔑 to success: Don’t tell everyone how great your product is – instead, show them the insights they could have access to if they used it. Also, make the content industry-specific. For example, content about conversion impact or email subject lines in B2B SaaS will be much more powerful than content about conversions or email in general. 

Play #13: Provide practical advice based on insights from your platform

🔑 to success: Don’t provide generic advice that people have heard many times. Instead, give advice that your ICP may find surprising, and always back it up with data from your platform. This strategy is powerful because potential buyers will be grateful for the thought leader’s recommendations AND they’ll also relate the thought leader’s content to your organization (and hopefully be interested in learning more). 

Putting LinkedIn Thought Leader ads into action

If you’re excited about thought leadership ads and want to start running them right away, here’s what I would recommend:

1. Find a few people at your organization that would be great thought leaders. They don’t need to be influencers with 50K followers – they simply need to have a deep understanding of your product and your ICP (bonus if they also enjoy writing).  

2. Once you’ve selected your thought leaders, choose the top 3 strategies from this playbook that you’d like to begin with. I don’t recommend starting with all 14 strategies at once, since that could get pretty overwhelming. 

3. Have your thought leaders post a few times per month and boost their content to your ICP.

That’s all you need to get started. 

P.S.

If  you’re starting out with thought leadership ads, I recommend using the engagement objective to build your retargeting audiences in a cost-effective way. 

And if you want a complete masterclass on LinkedIn ads objectives, ad types, and bidding strategies, I highly recommend checking out this article by Ali Yildirim. 

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People Also Ask

What are LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads, and how do they differ from standard LinkedIn ads?

LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads allow companies to sponsor posts from individual profiles, such as company leaders or industry experts, rather than from the company page. This approach leverages personal connections and trust, often leading to higher engagement compared to standard company-sponsored ads. 

How can I select the right individuals for Thought Leader Ads within my organization?

Choose individuals who have a deep understanding of your product and ideal customer profile (ICP), and who are comfortable creating engaging content. They don’t need to be influencers with large followings; authenticity and expertise are key. 

What types of content work best for LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads?

Effective content includes announcing new product features, sharing case studies, promoting events or webinars, and providing practical advice based on insights from your platform. The goal is to offer valuable information that resonates with your target audience. 

How can I measure the success of my LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads?

Monitor metrics such as impressions, engagement rates, click-through rates (CTR), and conversions. Additionally, assess qualitative feedback like comments and shares to gauge how the content resonates with your audience. 

What are some best practices for creating effective LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads?

Ensure the content is authentic and aligns with the thought leader’s voice. Optimize the individual’s LinkedIn profile as it serves as a landing page for interested viewers. Use high-quality visuals, clear messaging, and include a call-to-action to guide the audience’s next steps.

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Alejandro Perez
Want to level up your B2B advertising skill set?
AdConversion was created to help B2B marketers master advertising with free courses, articles, resources, and templates created by the world best practitioners.
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Want to level up your B2B advertising skill set?
AdConversion was created to help B2B marketers master advertising with free courses, articles, resources, and templates created by the world best practitioners.
☝️Takes <  90 seconds
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