LinkedIn Launches Connected TV and Live Event Ads for B2B Marketers

LinkedIn has launched its own version of connected TV (CTV) ads, while also adding a new way to promote live events. These moves come as it looks to help marketers capitalize on the rise of video consumption, both on and off platform.

First off, on CTV ads. In partnership with a range of video providers, LinkedIn will now enable marketers to activate video campaigns that will be displayed on their audience’s home TV sets.

As you can see in this example, LinkedIn advertisers launching Brand Awareness campaigns will now be able to “reach professionals on connected TVs and streaming devices” to expand their video promotions beyond the app itself.

As explained by LinkedIn:

“Right within Campaign Manager, you can easily launch a LinkedIn CTV campaign and scale it across our network of publishers, including Paramount, Roku and Samsung Ads.“

The idea is to provide TV-like reach for your LinkedIn promotions, though the reach is limited by campaign type and provider at this stage.

Still, it could be a good way to boost your business, and expand your campaigns in more ways, and may be worth an experiment in future.

LinkedIn is also launching LinkedIn Premiere, in partnership with NBCUniversal, which will enable brands to “target decision-makers in the United States across NBCUniversal’s premium streaming content on CTV.”

So expanding on LinkedIn’s own network of video publishing partners, you’ll also be able to target high viewership NBCUniversal shows via its streaming offerings. This will not be as wide ranging as a traditional TV campaign, but it will provide more avenues to reach audiences with your LinkedIn video ads.

LinkedIn’s CTV and Premiere ads are being launched with U.S. and Canadian based advertisers from this week.

Finally, LinkedIn is also launching Live Event Ads, which will enable you to promote your upcoming LinkedIn events in-stream.

LinkedIn’s live events promotions will provide another way to raise awareness of your upcoming broadcasts, which is a big deal, because LinkedIn is not particularly good at showcasing its own live sessions as it is.

Indeed, LinkedIn says that the number of professionals viewing events in the app grew 34% over the last year, but many of these remain out of view, unless you happen to be connected to, or following, the right people and brands in the app.

Live event promotions will provide another way to reach an expanded audience with your streams, which could be a big benefit for those who are running live sessions.

As noted, LinkedIn’s working to help marketers capitalize on the rise in video consumption, with the platform also developing a new, dedicated video tab, that will showcase the best video content.

In many ways, LinkedIn’s late to the party on this, with video generating the most engagement in the app of any post type for the past few years. It seems, then, that LinkedIn should have been working to showcase its video content sooner, but better late than never, and these new options will provide more considerations for LinkedIn marketers.

You can read more about LinkedIn’s CTV and Live Event Ads here.