B2B marketers should stop asking “Should we try video ads on LinkedIn?” anymore.
They should ask, “How do we make LinkedIn video ads work harder for us?”
Recently, LinkedIn’s Creative Lab released a powerful report called Pixels and Promises. After analyzing over 13,000 B2B video ads and 550,000+ video frames, they revealed five creative themes that consistently drive success. These aren’t vague tips. They’re field-tested principles for real results.
Let’s break them down.
1. Cultural Coding: Mirror Your ICP’s World
The most compelling way to grab attention? Reflect your audience’s culture — their language, their humor, their daily context.
Your ad should feel like a native piece of content from their world, not an interruption. Think memes they share, slang they use, or the industry quirks they live with every day.
Read the full SiteHub case study.
Now imagine the impact when you use video to immerse viewers in culturally familiar stories, sounds, and humor.
2. The Human Touch: Lead with Emotion
Culture alone doesn’t cut it. Your ad must connect emotionally.
Facial expressions, voice tones, music cues, or even raw behind-the-scenes clips can capture attention like nothing else, especially within the first three seconds.
Source: LinkedIn Creative Labs (The Art and Science of Video Storytelling)
When possible, use real faces from your team, actors, or customer stories. Or, if you’re animating, choose voiceovers and background music that spark curiosity, empathy, or energy.
3. Attention Hacking: Win the First Frame
In a scroll-heavy feed, your job is to earn every second.
You get one sentence. One visual. One moment to prove you’re not boring. That’s your hook.
Some ways we’ve cracked this:
- Starting with an absurd question
- Zoomed-in visuals of product breakdowns
- Fast-paced testimonial snapshots
Remember: your first 3 seconds = your ad’s lifeline.
4. Expert Takes: Kill the Corporate Voice
B2B ads are shedding their rigid suits.
The most engaging video ads on LinkedIn don’t sound robotic or generic. They sound curious, quirky, clear — almost like a podcast snippet or a short-form YouTube reel.
The Creative Lab found that ads that perform best borrow language patterns from influencers, not corporations. Keep your copy tight, conversational, and visually exciting.
5. Inspiring Imagination: Show, Don’t Sell
Remember that hilarious LinkedIn forklift ad?
They made a creative point: selling forklifts to financers is like selling pencil heel sandals in a snowstorm.
That ad worked because it showed the absurdity of poor targeting — rather than telling us about segmentation.
Even in B2B, storytelling and imagination can win hearts.
More and more companies are now treating video ads like short films with punchlines, not pitch decks.
What We’ve Learned Running LinkedIn Video Ads for B2B Brands
At Shivyaanchi, we’ve run dozens of LinkedIn video campaigns for B2B companies like ShaBaas Pay, Supply Stack, and Flyability.
Here’s what our real-world experience has taught us:
1. Video Ads Have Two CTAs — Which Splits Attention
Unlike single-image ads, where users either scroll or click, video ads introduce a second call-to-action: watching the video.
Because of this split attention:
- CTR is generally lower
- CPC tends to be higher
Use video ads more strategically for top or mid-funnel objectives like awareness and engagement.
2. Video Ads Are Best for Awareness and Remarketing
We’ve found video ads most useful for:
- Creating early-stage visibility
- Nurturing prospects via story-driven content
- Setting up remarketing audiences for lead-gen or demo ads
Don’t judge their success purely by direct conversions.
3. Cost Per 50% View Is Your Golden Metric
One of the strongest signals of interest: if someone watches 50% of your video.
👉 Why it matters: These viewers are highly qualified for retargeting.
On LinkedIn, you can segment audiences based on 25%, 50%, 75%, or 97% view completions.
4. 2025 Benchmarks for LinkedIn Video Ads (Save These!)
Based on our internal data and published platform insights:
✅ View Rate (% watched at least 2s with 50% in-view)
- Average: 20% – 35%
- Good: 35%+
- Excellent: 50%+
✅ Video Completion Rate
- 0–15 sec video: 20% – 40%
- 15–30 sec: 15% – 25%
- 30–60 sec: 10% – 20%
- 1 min+: 5% – 10%
✅ CTR (Click-Through Rate)
- Average: 0.30% – 0.60%
- Good: 0.70%+
- Top: 1%+
✅ CPC (Cost Per Click)
- Brand Awareness: ₹15–₹40 ($0.20–$0.50)
- Lead Gen: ₹40–₹150 ($0.50–$2)
- High-Intent/Niche: ₹150–₹350 ($2–$5+)
✅ CPV (Cost Per View @ 2s–3s)
- Average: ₹1–₹4 ($0.01–$0.05)
- Efficient: Under ₹2 ($0.025)
✅ Engagement Rate
- Average: 0.5% – 1%
- Good: 1.5%+
5. Optimization Tips That Work
- Front-load your value in the first 3 seconds
- Use subtitles — many users watch silently
- Try square (1:1) or vertical (4:5) formats
- Overlay your CTA in the middle and end
- A/B test 2–3 video versions
6. Video Ad Examples You Can Learn From
Here’s one we ran for ShaBaas Pay — targeting accountants in Australia:
Watch the ad
It’s sharp, clean, cultural, and explains a real-world problem in <30 seconds. Bonus: it speaks directly to the ICP.
Final Word
LinkedIn video ads aren’t just for enterprise giants with flashy budgets. They’re the perfect canvas for modern B2B storytelling — if you play by the new rules.
Combine cultural intelligence with clear hooks, emotional design, and remarketing logic — and you’ll build not just clicks, but brand gravity.
Need help crafting one? We have been guiding as well as working as a marketing sidekick for small B2B businesses for over a decade.
And yes, we can turn your product into a punchy 30-sec scroll-stopper.
