LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads: Formats and Requirements

What Is a LinkedIn Thought Leader Ad

A LinkedIn Thought Leader Ad is a Sponsored Content format that allows a company to promote an existing post from a LinkedIn member.

The ad appears under the member’s name and profile rather than the company Page. This allows advertisers to distribute content from employees, executives, subject-matter experts, customers, and other creators to a defined audience.

A Thought Leader Ad can include:

• The member’s name, profile photo, and professional headline
• The original introductory text
• A single image or video
• A LinkedIn Live Event
• A native LinkedIn article or newsletter
• The original reactions, comments, and social context
• A promoted label identifying the sponsoring company

The advertiser does not create a separate post in Campaign Manager. The company selects an existing public post and requests permission from its author to sponsor it.

How Thought Leader Ads Work

Thought Leader Ads combine an organic member post with LinkedIn’s paid targeting and delivery.

The process has four main stages:

1. A LinkedIn member publishes an eligible public post.
2. An advertiser finds the post in Campaign Manager.
3. The advertiser requests sponsorship permission from the author.
4. After approval, the post can be added to an ad set and promoted.

Paid distribution increases the reach of the existing post. The author remains visible as the source of the content, while the sponsoring company pays for delivery.

The original post remains on the member’s profile. Organic and paid engagement can therefore contribute to the same public post.

Thought Leader Ads are different from standard Sponsored Content. A standard ad is shown from a company Page. A Thought Leader Ad is shown from a member’s profile and retains the author’s identity.

Supported Campaign Objectives and Placements

Thought Leader Ads are available in Classic ad sets.

The supported objective depends on the type of post:

Thought Leader Ads can appear:

• In the LinkedIn feed
• On desktop devices
• On mobile devices
• On the LinkedIn Audience Network when the selected format and campaign settings support it

The ad format selected in Campaign Manager must match the organic post. A video post must be added to an ad set using the video ad format. An image post must use the single image format.

Who Can Be Promoted

A company can sponsor posts from:

• Employees
• Executives
• Company founders
• Subject-matter experts
• Customers
• Industry creators
• First-degree connections
• Second-degree connections
• Third-degree and more distant connections discovered through Creator Marketplace

The author does not always need to be an employee of the sponsoring company.

Posts from employees and first- or second-degree connections can be found by the member’s name or the post URL. Creator Marketplace is required to discover and request posts from third-degree and more distant connections.

The post must be public and available for sponsorship. The author must approve the request before the advertiser can use it.

Eligible Content Formats

Thought Leader Ads support four main content categories:

• Single image posts
• Video posts
• Posts linked to eligible LinkedIn Live Events
• Native LinkedIn articles and newsletter articles

Each category uses the specifications of its underlying LinkedIn ad format.

Thought Leader Ads do not have one universal image size, aspect ratio, or file requirement. The technical requirements depend on whether the original post contains an image, video, event, article, or newsletter.

Single Image Thought Leader Ads

A Single Image Thought Leader Ad promotes an existing member post that contains one image.

The ad retains:

• The member’s profile information
• The original post text
• The original image
• Reactions and comments
• A promoted label

Recommended image sizes

Square images are suitable when the same post needs to work across desktop and mobile.

Vertical 4:5 images occupy more space in the mobile feed. However, vertical delivery can be more limited on desktop devices.

File requirements

• Supported file types: JPG, PNG, and GIF
• Maximum file size: 5 MB
• Maximum number of images: one

The image should remain readable without opening it. Avoid small text, complex charts, and screenshots that depend on desktop-scale details.

Video Thought Leader Ads

A Video Thought Leader Ad promotes an existing member post containing a video uploaded directly to LinkedIn.

Supported aspect ratios include:

LinkedIn recommends 4:5 for vertical video.

Video file requirements

• File format: MP4
• File size: 75 KB to 500 MB
• Duration: 3 seconds to 30 minutes
• Recommended duration: 15 to 30 seconds
• Video codec: H.264 or VP8
• Frame rate: less than 30 FPS
• Audio format: AAC or MPEG-4
• Captions: optional SRT file

Use captions or burned-in subtitles because users may watch without sound.

Show the speaker, topic, product, or main claim in the opening seconds. Do not begin with a long logo animation.

Event Thought Leader Ads

A Thought Leader Event Ad promotes a member’s post connected to a LinkedIn Live Event.

The event must:

• Be a LinkedIn Live Event
• Be created by the sponsoring company’s LinkedIn Page
• Be directly linked in the member’s post
• Have sponsorship approval from the post author

An event created by a different company Page is not eligible.

Thought Leader Event Ads support the brand awareness and engagement objectives.

Unlike single image and video Thought Leader Ads, event ads include a CTA button.

When the event is hosted on LinkedIn, the ad can change depending on when it is viewed:

• Before the event: members see the event image and registration information
• During the event: members can see the live broadcast
• After the event: members can access the replay

Use this format when a speaker, host, or subject-matter expert is already promoting the event from their personal profile.

Article and Newsletter Thought Leader Ads

Companies can sponsor native LinkedIn articles and newsletter articles published by a member.

The content must be published organically before it can be promoted. Direct Sponsored Content does not support the article and newsletter format.

Supported objectives

For standalone articles:

• Brand awareness
• Engagement
• Lead generation

For newsletter articles:

• Brand awareness
• Engagement

The advertiser cannot add a new headline or introductory text in Campaign Manager. Changes must be made by the original author.

Clicking the ad opens the native LinkedIn article or newsletter. A separate destination URL is not added.

Article and newsletter ads include a promoted label. When the content is sponsored as a Thought Leader Ad, the label also identifies the sponsoring company Page.

For lead generation article ads, the CTA reads Unlock Article. Newsletter ads do not support the lead generation objective.

Content That Cannot Be Promoted

LinkedIn currently does not support the following content as Thought Leader Ads:

• Document posts
• Polls
• Multi-image posts
• Celebration posts
• Reshared posts
• Carousel posts
• Text-only posts without a supported ad format

A post may also be unavailable if:

• It is not public
• The selected objective does not support its format
• The format selected in the ad set does not match the post
• The author has not approved sponsorship
• The post or account does not meet LinkedIn’s advertising policies
• The author has revoked a previous approval

Thought Leader Ads cannot be duplicated in Campaign Manager.

Permissions and Approval Requirements

The advertiser and the post author must provide separate permissions.

Advertiser permissions

The person creating the ad needs:

• Super admin, content admin, or Sponsored Content poster access for the company Page
• Creative manager access or higher for the ad account

If the ad account is connected to a Showcase Page, the required Page permission applies to the parent company Page.

Author approval

The advertiser must request permission from the member who published the post.

The author receives an email notification and can:

• Approve the request
• Decline the request
• Enable or disable automatic approval
• Review the sponsorship terms

There is no fixed limit on the number of requests an advertiser can send to one thought leader.

An author can revoke permission later. If permission is revoked, the active ad stops running immediately. Other ads in the same ad set can continue to deliver.

How to Create a Thought Leader Ad

Step 1: Select an objective

Create a Classic ad set and select an objective supported by the post format.

The main options are:

• Brand awareness
• Engagement
• Video views for video posts
• Lead generation for standalone article ads

Step 2: Select the ad format

Choose the format that matches the organic post:

• Single image
• Video
• Event
• Article and newsletter

Step 3: Open the Content Library

On the Ads page, select Browse existing content.

Open the LinkedIn members section.

Step 4: Find the post

Search using:

• The member’s name
• The URL of the post
• Creator Marketplace for third-degree and more distant connections

Select the post you want to promote.

Step 5: Request approval

Click Request approval and send the sponsorship request.

You can copy the request link and send it directly to the author if they need help finding the notification.

Campaign Manager shows whether the request is:

• Pending
• Approved
• Declined

Step 6: Add the approved post

After the author approves the request, return to the Content Library and add the post to the ad set.

Step 7: Review and launch

Check the audience, budget, schedule, placements, and optimization settings.

Preview the selected post and launch the ad set.

CTA, Links and Editing Limitations

Single image and video Thought Leader Ads do not have a CTA button.

If the campaign needs to send users to a website, the original author can add a URL to the introductory text before the post is sponsored.

Event ads include a CTA button connected to the event.

Article and newsletter ads open the native LinkedIn content. They do not use a separate destination URL.

The advertiser cannot rewrite the author’s post, replace the creative, or add a separate advertising headline in Campaign Manager. Required changes should be made by the author before the post is selected for sponsorship.

Third-party impression and click tracking tags are not available for Thought Leader Ads.

Reporting and Available Metrics

Campaign Manager reports paid performance for the Thought Leader Ad.

Depending on the objective and format, advertisers can review metrics such as:

• Impressions
• Reach
• Clicks
• Click-through rate
• Reactions
• Comments
• Shares
• Engagement rate
• Video views
• Video completion rates
• Article clicks
• Newsletter subscriptions

Thought Leader Ads also support two member-specific engagement metrics:

• Member Follows: the number of people who followed the author through the sponsored post
• Clicks to Member Profile: the number of clicks from the ad to the author’s LinkedIn profile

The post author can see combined organic and paid results on the original post. These aggregated results do not include LinkedIn Audience Network activity.

Separate paid reporting in Campaign Manager from the combined totals shown on the author’s profile when evaluating performance.

LinkedIn Thought Leader Ad Best Practices

Start with proven organic posts

Review the author’s recent posts before selecting content.

Prioritize posts that already generate:

• Relevant comments
• Reactions from the target audience
• Profile visits
• Shares
• Video watch time
• Website traffic

Strong organic performance does not guarantee paid results, but it provides evidence that the message is relevant.

Choose the right author

The author should have direct experience with the topic.

Suitable authors can include:

• Founders discussing company strategy
• Product leaders explaining a feature or workflow
• Sales leaders addressing common buyer questions
• Customers describing their experience
• Engineers explaining a technical decision
• Event speakers introducing their session

Job title alone is not enough. The author, topic, and target audience should be connected.

Keep the original voice

Thought Leader Ads work best when the post sounds like the person who published it.

Avoid corporate introductions, multiple approval messages, and long product descriptions. Use direct language, specific observations, and a clear point of view.

Put the main point first

LinkedIn may truncate long introductory text.

The opening lines should explain:

• Who the post is for
• What the author learned
• What problem the post addresses
• Why the reader should continue

Do not use the first paragraph only for background.

Use one message per post

A post should focus on one problem, idea, result, or recommendation.

Combining several products, audiences, and calls to action makes the post harder to understand and evaluate.

Add the link before sponsorship

Single image and video Thought Leader Ads do not support a separate CTA button.

If website traffic is required, include the destination URL in the original post before requesting approval.

Use campaign-specific tracking parameters when possible. Third-party ad tags cannot be attached to the Thought Leader Ad.

Match the format to the message

Use:

• A single image for a clear idea, quote, or visual explanation
• Video when the speaker’s delivery supports the message
• An event post to increase registrations or live views
• An article for detailed educational content
• A newsletter article to build repeat readership

Do not select a format only because it is already available. The content must remain understandable in the feed.

Agree on permissions in advance

Tell the author:

• Which company will sponsor the post
• Which audience will see it
• How long the promotion will run
• Whether the post contains a tracked link
• Who will monitor and answer comments

This reduces delays during campaign setup.

Monitor comments

Paid distribution can introduce the post to a larger and less familiar audience.

Decide whether the author, company Page, or campaign team will:

• Answer questions
• Respond to objections
• Remove spam
• Escalate sensitive comments

The response should remain consistent with the author’s voice.

Test content, not only authors

Do not judge the format based on one post.

Test variables such as:

• Author
• Topic
• Opening line
• Image versus video
• Educational content versus opinion
• Customer story versus company expert
• Organic engagement level

Keep targeting and campaign settings stable when comparing creative variables.

Which Posts Should You Promote

For most advertisers, the best starting point is an existing single image or video post with relevant organic engagement.

Use an event post when the author is directly involved in a LinkedIn Live Event. Use articles and newsletters when the topic requires more detail than a standard feed post can provide.

Select posts based on the target audience, campaign objective, and next action. Do not promote a post only because the author has a senior job title or a large number of followers.