Join the video conversation in-feed on LinkedIn

Featured image of a woman in a mustard shirt presumably posting a LinkedIn video ad on her mobile device

With over 1 billion users globally, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. Its massive audience is full of decision-makers, executives, and professionals, which makes it ideal for B2B marketing. Users are on the platform to get industry insights, discover networking opportunities, and pursue professional development.

Video ads around thought leadership are especially effective for lead generation. Other forms of content like customer testimonials, product demos, behind-the-scenes looks, and event coverage are effective, too. Here are the best practices for creating video ads in LinkedIn with Adobe Express.

Summary

Levels

Using video editing in Adobe Express

Creating videos with all the drag-and-drop functionality in Adobe Express makes it virtually effortless to trim and merge clips, add text overlays, and insert effects. Even more, there are pre-designed templates you can customize for your brand that are tailored and optimized for engagement on social media.

Three steps for easy video editing in Adobe Express:

Drag and drop: Quickly trim and resize clips. Automatically add captions.
Enhance with AI: Add commercially safe images and text effects with simple text prompts.
Polish to perfection: Add royalty-free images, clips, and audio. Easily remove background noise.

LinkedIn-specific best practices

Simplicity and authenticity are key on LinkedIn, so your videos should prioritize substance, but style is always important. Minimal graphics and distraction-free layouts help maintain a genuine vibe. Also, conversational footage that feels unscripted and real are better than overly polished visuals. Building trust and furthering professionalism is the name of the game on this platform.

1. Keep it short and focused

The ideal length for an ad video is 15–30 seconds. The goal is to hook viewers in the first three seconds by grabbing their attention with a provocative question, bold text, or animation — that leads to your key messages. It’s best to keep your focus on one clear message and highlight the value proposition with essential information early.

2. Optimize for mobile

More and more users are turning to mobile, with 73% of all LinkedIn video views occurring on mobile devices. Additionally, videos viewed on mobile have a 19% higher completion rate as compared to desktop. Use a square or vertical aspect ration for better mobile performance and make sure text is large and readable on small screens.

3. Maintain brand consistency and know your audience

With this predominantly B2B crowd, clean visuals that prioritize clarity and professionalism perform best. Being clear about your target audience, using brand colors, fonts, and logos throughout, and including industry-specific language lead to successful ads. It’s also important to end with a direct call-to-action. CTAs like Download, Learn more, and Book a demo perform well.

4. Use native video uploads

Video that’s been uploaded directly onto the platform performs the best in-feed because, unlike embedded videos, native video auto-plays automatically in-feed. This captures the attention of users as they scroll in their feeds and increases the odds for engagement. Native video launched on LinkedIn in 2017, and engagement has grown over the past eight years. Not only do native videos get more attention than text-based posts, but they also tend to get more engagement than more polished posts.

5. Test and iterate

Like with all social media posts, it’s important to always monitor the performance of your video ads on LinkedIn. Pay close attention to how people are reacting to the post and whether they’re inclined to share and repost with their networks. If certain videos perform, use that as a benchmark to make more that are similar or even create a series. You can also test certain hypotheses and iterate on your platform-specific content strategy by evaluating your metrics.