LinkedIn video ads: specs, length, examples and metrics (2026)

LinkedIn video ads are Sponsored Content videos that autoplay in the LinkedIn feed and on the LinkedIn Audience Network, sold under objectives from brand awareness to lead generation. The current specs: MP4, 3 seconds to 30 minutes, 75 KB to 500 MB, in 16:9, 1:1, 4:5 or 9:16. LinkedIn recommends 15 to 30 seconds for eligibility across all placements. For B2B, they are the cheapest way to put a face and a point of view in front of a precisely targeted audience, and to build a retargeting pool of people who actually watched.

This guide covers the verified specs, how long to make them, sound-off design, which objective to pick, example structures, how to set them up, and what to measure. LinkedIn’s newer video placements, BrandLink and connected TV, are at the end. For other formats, see the complete LinkedIn Ads guide.

LinkedIn video ad specs (October 2026)

From LinkedIn’s “Video ads advertising specifications” help article and the Video Ads page of the LinkedIn Ads Guide.

Spec	Requirement
File format	MP4
Video codec	H.264 or VP8 (Apple ProRes not supported)
Audio	AAC or MPEG4, under 64 kHz
Frame rate	Under 30 fps per the help center (the Ads Guide recommends 30 fps)
File size	75 KB to 500 MB
Length	3 seconds to 30 minutes; 15 to 30 seconds recommended for all Feed and Audience Network placements
Playback	Videos under 30 seconds loop up to 30 seconds of playback; longer videos play once
16:9 horizontal	Min 640 x 360, max 1920 x 1080
1:1 square	Min 360 x 360, max 1920 x 1920
4:5 vertical (recommended)	Min 360 x 450, max 1080 x 1350; 720 x 900 recommended
9:16 vertical	Min 360 x 640, max 1080 x 1920
Aspect ratio range	Between 9:16 and 16:9
Captions (optional)	SRT file, text only, no custom formatting
Thumbnail (optional, recommended)	JPG or PNG, up to 2 MB, same aspect ratio and resolution as the video
Ad name (optional)	Up to 255 characters
Introductory text	About 150 characters to avoid truncation; 3,000 maximum per the help center (the Ads Guide page lists 600)
Headline	70 characters to avoid truncation; 200 maximum
Destination URL	http:// or https://, up to 2,000 characters
CTA options	Apply, Download, View Quote, Learn More, Sign Up, Subscribe, Register, Join, Attend, Request Demo
Upload rules	Direct upload only (no YouTube or Vimeo links); desktop upload; max 25 video uploads per 24 hours in Campaign Manager

The two LinkedIn sources disagree on the intro text maximum (3,000 vs 600). It rarely matters: anything past about 150 characters is hidden behind “see more” anyway.

When should B2B teams use video ads?

Video is a top-of-funnel and consideration format first. It is good at making people remember you and at qualifying who cares, and it is a weak primary format for cold demo requests.

Good fits:

Point-of-view clips from a founder or practitioner (30 to 60 seconds, talking head, one sharp argument).
Product in 15 seconds: one problem, one screen, one outcome.
Customer outcome stories told by the customer, where you have permission and real numbers.
Event and webinar promotion, where the speaker on camera does the selling.
Retargeting sequence openers: run video to a broad but well-targeted audience, then retarget viewers with document ads, conversation ads or message ads.

Poor fits:

Repurposed TV-style brand spots with no words on screen.
3-minute product tours aimed at cold audiences.
Any video where the point only lands at the end.

If the messenger is the asset, also consider promoting the video as a thought leader ad from the person’s own profile.

How long should a LinkedIn video ad be?

LinkedIn gives two pieces of guidance:

For delivery: 15 to 30 seconds keeps the video eligible across all Feed and Audience Network placements (help center specs).
For performance: LinkedIn’s video best-practices page cites its own 2025 data showing 7 to 15 second videos can see up to a 300% lift in completion rates. The same study found longer content drove as many clicks and views for demand generation, so LinkedIn suggests testing longer cuts there.

A practical length plan:

Goal	Length	Structure
Awareness, cold audience	6 to 15 seconds	One idea, product or face on screen in second one, logo early
Consideration, warm audience	30 to 60 seconds	Hook in the first 5 seconds, then 2 to 3 supporting points
Demand generation, retargeting	1 to 3 minutes	Webinar snippet, demo walkthrough, customer interview

LinkedIn advises showing key content within the first 10 seconds, since attention drops after that, and for medium-length videos establishing the point in the first 5 seconds. Test length by cutting the same footage two ways and changing nothing else.

Captions and sound-off design

LinkedIn’s best-practices page tells advertisers to plan for muted viewing and to burn subtitles into the video. Two ways to caption:

Burned-in subtitles (rendered into the video): always visible, styled your way, survive every placement. The default choice.
SRT caption file uploaded with the ad: text only, no custom formatting. Use it as well as, not instead of, burned-in text when accessibility matters.

Sound-off rules that hold up:

Put a text headline on screen in the first second that states the point.
Show, do not narrate: UI, numbers on screen, a person reacting.
Keep captions inside the center of the frame so they survive 1:1 and 4:5 crops.
Add a custom thumbnail. It is what people see before autoplay starts and in places where autoplay is off.

Which objective should you use for video ads?

Per LinkedIn’s help center, video ads can run under brand awareness, video views, engagement, website visits, website conversions and lead generation. Lead generation video campaigns are not eligible for LinkedIn Audience Network video placements.

Objective	Billed / optimized for	Use when
Brand awareness	Impressions (CPM)	Reach and frequency in a defined audience, brand lift studies
Video views	Views (CPV available)	Building cheap retargeting audiences of people who watched
Engagement	Engagement and clicks	Social proof, follower growth
Website visits	Landing page clicks	Content or event pages
Website conversions	Conversions on your site	Demo, trial, registration with Insight Tag or CAPI tracking
Lead generation	Lead Gen Form submissions	Capturing contact details without a landing page

The most common B2B play is two campaigns: a video views campaign that fills retargeting audiences cheaply, and a conversion or lead gen campaign aimed at people who watched a meaningful share of the video.

LinkedIn video ad examples (structures to copy)

These are illustrative scripts written for this guide, not real customer ads. Each fits the length guidance above.

1. The 12-second problem flash (awareness)

0 to 2s: on-screen text “Your search cluster costs 3x what it should.” Product UI behind it.
2 to 9s: three quick cuts of the dashboard showing the fix.
9 to 12s: logo and “See how in 2 minutes.”
Objective: video views. Retarget viewers who reached 50%.

2. The 45-second expert take (consideration)

0 to 5s: practitioner to camera, captioned: “Most teams size their clusters backwards. Here’s why.”
5 to 35s: two concrete reasons, each with a number or a screenshot.
35 to 45s: “We wrote the full method up. Link below.”
Objective: website visits or lead generation with a document ad follow-up.

3. The 90-second customer story (retargeting)

Customer on camera states the before state, the decision and the result in their words.
Lower-third captions with the result numbers.
Objective: website conversions, targeted at site visitors and 50%+ viewers of the first two videos.

How to set up a LinkedIn video ad

Create an ad set with one of the supported objectives. Turn off the Audience Network if you need tight placement control, and note that lead gen video cannot run there.
Upload from a desktop. Direct upload only, MP4, within the specs above; up to 25 uploads per 24 hours.
Add the SRT file and a custom thumbnail matching the video’s aspect ratio.
Write intro text and headline. Front-load the first 150 characters; describe what the video shows.
Set the destination and CTA (for website and lead gen objectives). On mobile, for website visits, website conversions and engagement objectives, the landing page appears below the video.
Upload at least two cuts (different hooks or lengths) so the ad set has something to learn from.
Create retargeting audiences from video viewers before launch, so they start filling on day one.

What metrics should you judge video ads by?

LinkedIn’s video metric definitions (Campaign Manager help):

Metric	LinkedIn’s definition
Plays	Times the video starts, by click or autoplay
Views	2 or more continuous seconds of playback while at least 50% of the video is on screen
View rate	Views / impressions x 100
Views at 25%, 50%, 75%	Plays that reached that share of the video, including skips
Completions	Watches that reached 97 to 100% of the video’s length, including skips
Completion rate	Completions / video impressions
Average watch time	Average seconds watched per view (available from January 6, 2026)
Full screen plays	Clicks to view in full screen
CPV	Cost / views

How to judge by objective:

Awareness: view rate and average watch time first, then CPM. Brand lift studies if spend allows.
Video views / retargeting: cost per 50% view or per completion, and the size of the viewer audience you built.
Conversion and lead gen: cost per conversion or lead, and the downstream pipeline those leads create. Treat view metrics as diagnostics only.

Diagnosing weak video:

Low view rate: the first second is not stopping the scroll. Change the opening frame and on-screen text, not the ending.
Good views, steep drop before 25%: the hook promises something the next seconds do not deliver.
High completion, no clicks: the video is pleasant but has no ask, or the ask is only spoken.

For benchmarks on LinkedIn click-through rates by format, see LinkedIn Ads CTR benchmarks.

Is LinkedIn BrandLink still available?

Yes, but as a beta. LinkedIn’s BrandLink page describes it as in-stream, pre-roll video ads that play before publisher and creator videos in members’ feeds, with partner packages bought through a LinkedIn sales representative. You upload the creative through the regular video ads format in Campaign Manager, and BrandLink ads must be 3 to 30 seconds long. LinkedIn reports impressions, video view rate and view completion rate, plus brand lift options. The specs page also lists in-stream video at up to 90 seconds as “in testing,” and notes in-stream placements may not show a CTA.

Treat BrandLink as an awareness buy for teams with sales-assisted LinkedIn budgets, not a self-serve performance channel.

Can you run connected TV ads through LinkedIn?

Yes. LinkedIn’s help center describes CTV ads that use LinkedIn’s professional targeting to reach members on smart TVs, streaming devices and gaming consoles, as pre-roll or mid-roll inside long-form streaming content. Key constraints from LinkedIn’s CTV pages:

Brand awareness is the only objective; you enable the “Connected TV Only” ad set toggle.
Audience targeting is limited to the United States and Canada, with English as the audience language.
Creative is 16:9 MP4 (H.264), 1920 x 1080 recommended, durations of 6, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 or 90 seconds (6, 15, 30 or 60 recommended; some inventory may not accept 75 or 90), up to 500 MB. LinkedIn’s CTV product page says only 15 or 30 second videos are compatible, so the safest cut is 15 or 30 seconds.
CTV Select, with exclusive partnerships (NBCUniversal, Paramount publishers), is only for managed accounts with a LinkedIn representative.

CTV is a brand play: no clicks, judged on reach, frequency, completion and lift. Most B2B teams should prove in-feed video first.

Reviewing video ads with GTM Hacker

GTM Hacker’s paid ads reviews cover LinkedIn Ads with a weekly scored report and ranked changes, using agents such as LinkedIn Ads Basic Review and LinkedIn Ads Campaign Reporter. Spend-affecting and irreversible changes always wait for a person to approve them; low-risk fixes can be set to auto-approve per campaign, or not.