LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads: Setup, Permissions and Playbook

#01Why use Thought Leader Ads?

People engage with people more readily than with logos. Thought Leader Ads put a human author, face and voice in the feed with your targeting behind it. Practitioner claim: many B2B advertisers report lower cost per engagement on Thought Leader Ads than on company-Page Sponsored Content. LinkedIn does not publish a universal benchmark, so test it yourself.

#02Which posts are eligible?

Requirements: the post is public, the profile shows the author's full name, and you have super admin, content admin or Sponsored Content poster access on the Page linked to the ad account.

#03How do you get permission?

1. Find the post in Campaign Manager (1st and 2nd-degree connections) or Creator Marketplace (also 3rd-degree+ and employees), under Content & assets > Creator Marketplace.
2. Send a sponsorship request. The author gets an email with approve, reject and auto-approval options.
3. Author approves on the Sponsorship Permissions page. Employees can turn on auto-approval for their employer.
4. Disclosure: the author should show the relationship, for example the role in the headline, or #[Company]Employee or #SponsoredPost in the post.
5. Build the ad set with the post as the ad.

There is no limit on how many requests you can send, but ask politely and explain where the ad will run.

#04How do you choose which posts to sponsor?

#05What about CTAs and Lead Gen Forms?

LinkedIn's Thought Leader Ads page says CTA buttons are not available on single image, video or document Thought Leader Ads, but you can add URLs to the intro text, and event ads include a CTA. A newer Help page on sponsorship requests says advertisers are gradually getting the option to add a headline, CTA button, destination link or Lead Gen Form to the sponsored version of the post; those additions appear only on the sponsored version. Check what your account shows.

Our view: even with CTAs, use Thought Leader Ads mainly for top and middle of funnel, and retarget engagers with Lead Gen Form ads.

#06What do the metrics include?

Campaign Manager reports performance for the paid version. Two Thought Leader specific metrics are member follows and clicks to the member profile. The author sees combined organic and paid impressions and reach on their post (excluding Audience Network).

#07Worked example: Ledgerline

Ledgerline is a fictional accounts-payable software company. Competitors A to D and all figures are illustrative.

Ledgerline's founder posts twice a week. Competitor B already runs Thought Leader Ads with its CFO.

Walkthrough

1. Bench: founder plus head of finance operations and a customer success lead. All three are UK-based, so DMA rules do not block them; a Berlin-based engineer cannot be sponsored.
2. Disclosure: headlines updated with roles.
3. Selection: top two posts per author last month.
4. Ad set: brand awareness to Tier 1 and 2 companies, expansion off.
5. Retargeting: engagers into a lead generation ad set with a checklist document.
6. Results after 6 weeks (illustrative): cost per engagement 46% lower than Page Sponsored Content; founder gained 1,100 followers; 9 demos from retargeting.

#08Common mistakes

• Sponsoring posts that flopped organically.
• Forgetting disclosure.
• Sponsoring polls or reposts (ineligible).
• Planning a programme around EU-based authors without checking DMA limits.
• Pressuring employees to approve.

#09Try it yourself

List three people whose posts you could sponsor, check each is eligible (public, full name, not in a DMA country), and pick the best recent post per person using the selection table.

#10Quick quiz

1. Can polls be sponsored as Thought Leader Ads? Answer: No.

2. Where does the author approve requests? Answer: On the Sponsorship Permissions page.

3. Which objective is available for video Thought Leader Ads but not image ones? Answer: Video views.

4. Can you find 3rd-degree+ posts in Campaign Manager search? Answer: No, only in Creator Marketplace.

#11What should you check before the next lesson?

• Bench of eligible authors with disclosure in place.
• Top posts chosen by organic signal.
• Retargeting set up for engagers.

Previous: Targeting, matched audiences and ABM · Next: Lead Gen Forms

Or return to the LinkedIn Marketing for Marketers track.

Related: Founder-led personal brand · Employee advocacy · Ads objectives and formats

#12Common questions

What are LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads? Thought Leader Ads let a company sponsor a public post from a LinkedIn member, such as its founder, an employee, a creator or a connection, with the author's permission. The ad shows the member as the author rather than the company Page.

Which posts can be sponsored as Thought Leader Ads? LinkedIn Help lists public text, single image, video, document, article and newsletter posts, eligible collaborative posts and posts by attendees of your Page's LinkedIn Live Events. Celebrations, polls, multi-image posts and reposts are not eligible.

Can Thought Leader Ads have a call-to-action or Lead Gen Form? The main Thought Leader Ads help page says CTA buttons are not available for single image, video or document ads, although event ads include one. A newer help page says advertisers are gradually getting the option to add a headline, CTA button, destination link or Lead Gen Form to the sponsored version, so check your account.

Can I sponsor posts from members in the EU? LinkedIn Help says content from authors located in Digital Markets Act countries currently cannot be discovered or sponsored through Creator Marketplace or as Thought Leader Ads.