LinkedIn Launches Sponsored Articles for B2B Marketers To Promote Native LinkedIn Articles

LinkedIn has introduced a new ad format called Sponsored Articles, which allows Company Pages to promote LinkedIn articles for various objectives such as awareness, engagement, and lead generation. These promoted articles feature an "Unlock Article" call-to-action button that encourages viewers to share their information (name, email, job title) in order to access and read the content.

Currently, only articles authored by Company Pages are eligible for promotion, but LinkedIn has plans to introduce additional functionalities in the future.

Why It Matters: Sponsored Articles on LinkedIn address the demand from B2B marketers, providing companies with an opportunity to increase visibility and engagement on long-form content, such as thought leadership pieces, while also collecting information from potential prospects in exchange for access. The native experience on LinkedIn keeps viewers on the platform, potentially resulting in more leads compared to redirecting them to an external site to consume the article.

Anticipated future functionalities, such as allowing non-Company Pages like creators to amplify articles and the ability to amplify newsletters, could further enhance this ad format and the platform’s overall advertising business, which has been benefiting from advertisers leaving X, formerly known as Twitter.

LinkedIn previously rolled out Thought Leader Ads, which companies can use to sponsor posts from thought leaders and creators within their organizations, with their permission.