---
title: "The Next Big Thing in B2B Marketing: LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads | Resources"
url: https://metadata.io/linkedin-thought-leader-ads
description: "Metadata tested LinkedIn thought leader ads against traditional image and video ads. Results: 2.5x higher CTR and $18.40 less per click."
source: metadata.io
---

# The Next Big Thing in B2B Marketing: LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads

People buy from people, not brands. We tested LinkedIn's thought leader ad format against traditional ads. Here is what we found.

**Abdallah Al-Hakim** · Published September 26, 2023

## What Are Thought Leader Ads?

LinkedIn thought leader ads allow B2B marketers to promote employee posts through Campaign Manager. Instead of running ads from the company page, you amplify authentic content from verified employees — leveraging human trust over corporate messaging.

The data supports this approach: 88% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know (Nielsen), and 94% of marketers believe influencer marketing works for B2B. Yet only 24% of B2B businesses actually use it.

## The Experiment

We promoted posts from three Metadata employees to compare thought leader ads against standard brand awareness campaigns:

- **Mark's post** (Metadata-Webex case study): 712 engagements, 6.64% CTR, +24–27% in likes/comments
- **Jason's post** (AI optimization metrics): 259 engagements, 2.65% CTR, +30% likes, +20% comments
- **Abdallah's post** (vertical video performance): 237 engagements, 2.78% CTR, +24% likes, +20% comments

## Key Findings

Thought leader ads achieved **2.5x higher CTR** than benchmarks and cost **$18.40 less per click** than standard brand awareness campaigns. The engagement created retargeting opportunities for nurturing prospects down the funnel.

## Getting Started

1. Establish clear hypotheses before testing
2. Identify internal thought leaders with genuine authority
3. Promote only high-quality, relevant content
4. Embrace an experimental mindset with small budget allocation (we used 1%)

Early adoption provides competitive advantage before "banner blindness" sets in for this format. Start testing now while the format is still underused.