For years, B2B marketing on LinkedIn has been about pushing out corporate content and hoping people engage. But let’s be real, decision-makers don’t trust polished brand messaging as much as they trust other people.
That’s why LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads are such a big deal. They let you sponsor posts from actual humans. Whether it’s your executives, employees, customers, or industry experts, you can amplify voices that people actually want to hear from.
This underused ad format builds trust, credibility, and engagement. Here’s how you can make it work for you.
What Are LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads?
Until now, you could only boost content from your own company page or verified employees. But with Thought Leader Ads, you can sponsor organic posts from any LinkedIn user. That means you can now put ad dollars behind posts from:
Your executives and SMEs (so their insights reach the right audience)
Industry influencers and partners (to align your brand with credible voices)
Customers and brand advocates (so social proof does the talking for you)
People trust people, not brands. So the fact that this ad doesn’t feel like an ad—it feels like an interesting, valuable post—means it drives way more engagement.
How to Actually Use Thought Leader Ads in Your Strategy
Amplify your internal thought leaders. Your employees and execs have smart things to say (or at least, they should). Instead of limiting their reach to their LinkedIn connections, boost their best content to get it in front of the right audience. This works great for executives breaking down industry trends and SMEs sharing tactical insights.
Consider sponsoring expert voices beyond your company. Maybe a respected industry leader is talking about trends that align with your product. Maybe a partner is giving a shoutout to your work together. Whatever it is, you can now put ad spend behind that content to increase its visibility and reinforce your brand’s credibility.
Perhaps best of all, you can leverage customer advocacy. Your customers’ words mean more than your marketing copy ever will. If a customer posts about how your product helped them win a deal, save time, or drive revenue, you can sponsor that post so more of the right people see it. It’s social proof on steroids.
What Makes These Ads Work?
The key to winning with Thought Leader Ads isn’t throwing budget behind just any old post. The best campaigns:
Prioritize authenticity. This is not the place for heavily branded, salesy posts. The content needs to feel real and valuable. Otherwise, it won’t land.
Match the message to the moment. If your execs or customers are sharing big insights, boost them at the right time (e.g., when industry conversations are already happening).
Focus on the right voices. Not every post is worth sponsoring. The best ones add new insights, data, or fresh takes that actually stop the scroll.
The Future of B2B Marketing Is Human
This is your chance to shape the conversation, build trust, and drive engagement in a way traditional ads never could. The question isn’t whether you should use Thought Leader Ads, it’s whose voice you should elevate first.
Want help building out your Thought Leadership Ads strategy? Let us know. We can help.
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