LinkedIn is giving brands another way to boost event visibility by expanding its Thought Leader Ads to include user posts that link to a LinkedIn Event.
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The new Thought Leader Event Ads format lets marketers promote posts from any member, executives, employees, creators, or industry experts, as long as they contain a direct link to the brand’s LinkedIn Event page.
As explained by LinkedIn:
“When a member – executive, employee, creator, or industry expert – shares an event Page, marketers can now promote that post with a Thought Leader Event Ad. Marketers can login to Campaign Manager to set up their Thought Leader Event Ad. From there, they can choose ‘Browse Existing’ in the Content Library to search for a member’s post containing an event to sponsor.”
Campaign setup happens in LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager, where advertisers can browse existing posts, get creator permission, and then run them as paid ads.
It’s a move designed to combine the reach of advertising with the credibility of trusted voices. LinkedIn says B2B marketers are already seeing 1.6x higher engagement with Thought Leader Ads compared to single-image ads, while live video events on the platform grew 15.3% in 2024.
The option builds on last year’s expansion of Thought Leader Ads to posts from any LinkedIn member, not just employees, and could make it easier to amplify content from speakers, sponsors, or well-known industry figures.
For now, Thought Leader Event Ads are available with brand awareness and engagement objectives only.
How to Get Started:
- Identify your key event or campaign moment
- Identify posts from members or speakers that link directly to the event on LinkedIn OR work with your account team to get a member to reshare the event with their own commentary
- Request permission from the member to promote their post
- Monitor performance via standard campaign reporting tools, such as Click-Through Rate (CTR), Cost-per Click (CPC/Cost Per Conversion), and the number of new followers your Page gained from the ad.
