Brief:
- LinkedIn introduced a carousel format for Sponsored Content, letting users view multiple visuals by swiping horizontally on an ad, the company announced in a blog post. The expanded format strings together up to 10 images in a single post, but no videos, as seen on other platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, per Adweek.
- Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, RBC Wealth Management and Volvo Canada are among the more than 300 brands that beta tested the format. Three quarters of those brands plan to use the format in their next Sponsored Content campaign after seeing a rise in engagement and click-through rates, per the blog post.
- The networking platform currently offers downloadable reports for metrics like click-through rates and number of leads for a whole ad unit, along with insights into clicks and impressions for each card in a carousel ad. LinkedIn plans to add these measurement reports to its self-serve Campaign Manager in the coming months.
Insight:
LinkedIn is mostly associated with job searches and professional networking, but the company has taken steps in the past year to become a stronger publishing and marketing platform. Its introduction of carousel ads aims to appeal to major brands that want to leverage compelling imagery in their advertising.
Volvo Canada's test campaign was aimed at LinkedIn users based on the seniority of their job position, per Business Insider. The carmaker used job titles as an indicator of personal income to target the most likely buyers on the professional network. RBC Wealth Management piloted the carousel ads as part of a broader Asia-themed campaign that included an article for parents whose children were studying abroad. The ad had a link to a web form to download a research report about wealth management in Asia. RBC's carousel ad saw 2x the click-through rate of an average LinkedIn ad.
LinkedIn's lags a few years behind Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in adopting the feature, but it now lets advertisers tell a stronger brand story through a series of images rather than cram too much information into one image on a post. Because carousel ads are interactive and have eye-catching visuals, they stand out in a mobile- or web-based news feed. Instagram in February started testing a similar format that tied together three photos or videos in the same post. California Pizza Kitchen, Netflix and Paramount were among the brands that tested the format.
