LinkedIn Updates: Video Cover Images, Video Ads, Ads Creative Tools, and More

Summary

Summary of "LinkedIn Updates: Video Cover Images, Video Ads, Ads Creative Tools, and More" – Social Media Marketing Talk Show

Release Date: July 14, 2025

In the latest episode of the Social Media Marketing Talk Show, host Jerry Potter teams up with LinkedIn strategist Judy Fox to discuss pivotal updates on LinkedIn that are reshaping the landscape for marketers. This episode delves into innovative video features, advanced advertising tools, and enhanced analytics integrations, providing marketers with actionable insights to stay ahead in the ever-evolving social media environment.

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1. Introduction to LinkedIn's Enhanced Video Features

The episode kicks off with an overview of LinkedIn's new capabilities designed to boost engagement and visibility for marketers. Judy Fox elaborates on the introduction of video cover images for LinkedIn articles and newsletters, emphasizing the shift towards more dynamic and interactive content.

Notable Quote:

“We now have the ability to upload video onto the cover image of your newsletter or your article. If somebody uploads a video, it's the way of doing business. It's high trust. It's a really smart move.” – Judy Fox [01:45]

2. Video Cover Images: Transforming Static Content

Judy explains how the new video cover images can autoplay within the LinkedIn feed, adding a layer of movement and engagement that static images lack. This feature allows videos ranging from 3 seconds to 15 minutes in a landscape format, providing flexibility for various content types.

Key Points:

• Autoplay Functionality: Enhances user engagement by drawing attention immediately.
• Custom Thumbnails: Marketers can upload professional thumbnails to maintain brand aesthetics instead of using potentially unflattering freeze frames.
• Landscape Format: Ensures compatibility and optimal viewing experience within LinkedIn’s interface.

Notable Quote:

“Instead of feeling like we're coming across a static piece of information like an article feels sometimes, it's going to have that movement with a video.” – Judy Fox [01:50]

3. Leveraging Video for Increased Click-Through Rates

Jerry Potter discusses strategies for utilizing video cover images to maximize clicks on articles and newsletters. The ability to showcase a compelling thumbnail and a brief video snippet serves as an effective hook for potential readers.

Key Strategies:

• Attention-Grabbing Thumbnails: Create visually appealing thumbnails to entice clicks.
• Brief Video Snippets: Use short videos to pique interest and encourage deeper engagement with the content.
• Early Adoption Advantage: Being among the first to use this feature can help marketers stand out and gather valuable data.

Notable Quote:

“If you want to be the first thing people see, this makes you look different on the platform, it catches people's eyeballs differently.” – Judy Fox [04:42]

4. Advanced Video Advertising Options

The conversation moves to LinkedIn’s enhanced video advertising capabilities, including new ad formats like first impression ads and reserved ads. Judy Fox explains how these ad types offer premium placement options to ensure maximum visibility.

Key Points:

• First Impression Ads: Positioned at the top of the feed, ensuring that ads are the first thing users see.
• Reserved Ads: Guaranteed premium placement, similar to securing front-row seats at a concert.
• Connected TV (CTV) Ads: Expands LinkedIn’s reach by allowing ads on streaming services like Paramount Plus and CBS, currently available in the US and Canada.

Notable Quote:

“It's like choosing the front row at your favorite concert to guarantee the best view.” – Jerry Potter [07:58]

5. Simplifying Video Ad Creation with Adobe Express Integration

To reduce the complexity of creating high-quality video ads, LinkedIn has integrated with Adobe Express. This partnership aims to streamline the video production process, making it easier for marketers to produce engaging content without extensive technical expertise.

Key Benefits:

• Ease of Use: Simplifies the video creation process, allowing marketers to focus on content rather than technical details.
• Time Efficiency: Reduces the time required to produce professional-grade video ads.
• Increased ROE: Enhances the return on effort by leveraging integrated tools and AI to optimize ad creation.

Notable Quote:

“They’re trying to make creating a video ad less painful, less heavy lifting for the team.” – Judy Fox [11:07]

6. Enhanced Analytics Integration with Third-Party Tools

LinkedIn has expanded its analytics capabilities to integrate with popular third-party platforms like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprinklr. This move allows marketers to access LinkedIn performance data within their existing dashboards, facilitating better measurement and strategy refinement.

Key Points:

• Seamless Data Access: Marketers can view LinkedIn analytics alongside other social media metrics in a unified interface.
• Improved Strategy: Easier access to comprehensive data encourages more informed decision-making and strategic adjustments.
• Elevated Focus on LinkedIn: Enhanced visibility of LinkedIn metrics may lead to greater investment and attention towards the platform.

Notable Quote:

“If you use Hootsuite, Buffer later, you can look in whatever tool you use. But more of this is going out to be in the third-party tool rather than having to log into LinkedIn.” – Judy Fox [12:23]

7. Strategic Implications for Marketers

Judy Fox highlights the strategic advantages of adopting these new LinkedIn features early. By leveraging enhanced video capabilities, premium ad placements, and integrated analytics, marketers can significantly boost their campaign effectiveness and ROI.

Key Takeaways:

• Early Adoption: Gain a competitive edge by being among the first to utilize new LinkedIn features.
• Increased Engagement: Dynamic video content and strategic ad placements drive higher user engagement and interaction.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Integrated analytics empower marketers to fine-tune their strategies based on comprehensive performance data.

Notable Quote:

“Imagine having access, but you didn't know before that maybe you got a really big shout out on LinkedIn and something happened and maybe your customers started talking about you and you're starting to see that effect on your content.” – Judy Fox [13:25]

8. Connecting with Judy Fox for Further Insights

In the concluding segment, Judy Fox invites listeners to connect with her on LinkedIn to explore these features further and share their experiences. She emphasizes the importance of community and continuous learning in maximizing the benefits of LinkedIn’s latest tools.

Closing Remarks:

“Please send me a direct message, especially if you've seen the LinkedIn cover images on the article. Really want to hear.” – Judy Fox [14:03]

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This episode provides a thorough exploration of LinkedIn's latest updates, offering marketers practical strategies to enhance their presence and effectiveness on the platform. By embracing these new features, marketers can drive greater engagement, streamline their advertising efforts, and make data-driven decisions to achieve superior results.

Transcript

[Mike Stelzner]

Hey there, Mike Stelzner. Before we get started with today's podcast, picture this. While your peers are struggling with basic chat GPT prompts, you're the marketer everyone turns to for AI solutions. You're automating tasks that used to take hours, creating stunning visuals in minutes and analyzing data like a pro. This, my friends, is not a fantasy. It's exactly what's happening to marketers. It's in the AI Business society. When you join the AI Business Society, you get monthly live training from leading experts, real world examples you can implement immediately, and a community of innovators pushing the AI boundaries. Don't let this moment pass you by. Visit socialmediaexaminer.com AI and start your AI transformation today.

[Judy Fox]

Welcome to the Social Media Marketing Talk show, your guide to the ever changing world of social media.

[Jerry Potter]

On today's show, we're gonna explore the most important LinkedIn updates marketers need to be on top of, including some really impressive new formats. Imagine being able to be the first thing your ideal client sees during the day whenever they happen to sign into LinkedIn. Also, LinkedIn has added a really cool feature that may draw more clicks to your newsletters and articles. We'll jump into that and more. Right now. My name is Jerry Potter, host of the Social Media Marketing Talk show where we break down all the latest social media news and what it means for marketers like you. Today I'm joined by Judy fox. Judy's a LinkedIn strategist. Her course is called the LinkedIn Business Accelerator Program. Judy, welcome to the show.

[Judy Fox]

Excited to be here.

[Jerry Potter]

So let's start off with a new way to possibly get more clicks to our articles and newsletters. So fill us in on this update.

[Judy Fox]

Yes, we now have the ability to upload video onto the COVID image of your newsletter or your article. The power of that is, you know, we're here with this whole segment is going to cover a lot of video topics and we understand how much we can connect with the subject. If somebody uploads a video, it's the way of doing business. It's high trust. It's a really smart move. I was going to give some initial thoughts on it, but it's going to autoplay in the feed, so that's really nice. Instead of feeling like we're coming across a static piece of information like an article feels sometimes it's going to have that movement with a video and you can upload a thumbnail, which is really nice in front of your video. If you don't want that to hold the first frame, you can actually put a thumbnail there and it's three seconds all the way up to 15 minutes. Okay, so that's pretty interesting. That's pretty long. And it's landscape. So it's not a vertical video format. It is a landscape format.

[Jerry Potter]

Yeah. Okay. So I was kind of thinking about this, like, okay, how would we use this? And so that's interesting, that three second minimum, because you could just do sort of something to quickly grab attention enough to even just make them look at the title or read the caption and then hopefully click through. I like that custom thumbnail because then, I don't know, I'm picturing other recovering perfectionists like me. When somebody's on the article, you may not want a weird freeze frame at the top. You might want something that looks, you know, looks nice.

[Judy Fox]

I was going to say along that lines of the thumbnail. When you share a LinkedIn article or newsletter to another platform like Facebook or X, or you send it to a colleague, you want that thumbnail to probably look somewhat professional.

[Jerry Potter]

Yeah.

[Judy Fox]

Instead of maybe a, like you said, a freeze frame, that you're making a certain face.

[Jerry Potter]

Yes, yes. As happens to all of us. And what I found, the more expressive we are, the worse our freeze frames are. But I wanted to ask you, do you see it like if somebody was going to build an article around a video they already made? So maybe some marketers are publishing on YouTube and LinkedIn, they're already taking their YouTube video, turning it into a LinkedIn article and embedding the video. Do you see this as like an opportunity? Like, would you instead upload the video to the top of the article instead of embedding or. I know it's early and all of us don't have access yet.

[Judy Fox]

Yeah, I was going to say that sounds like a great idea to test. And I would test it out for three or four in a row so you can actually get some data. The power of doing that is you are going to stand out as an early adopter on this tool. And. And we are always fascinated. We may not be early to LinkedIn right now anymore, but you can actually be early to a tool that LinkedIn rolls out. And so because this makes you look different on the platform, it catches people's eyeballs differently. So I think it's worth testing.

[Jerry Potter]

You said when we were meeting before the show, you've only seen one person with it or at least one person that had actually put it into place. And I imagine it jumped out at you. Right.

[Judy Fox]

That has started using it more than once. So I would give a shout out to Jim Louderback. He has uplift to two pieces that start with a video and he's testing it out and I absolutely love that. So if you have seen this, you have access to it, please let me. I would love to know personally, but if you want to put it in the comments or send me a direct message, I truly would love to see this because I think it's a really powerful tool they've rolled out.

[Jerry Potter]

Yeah. One more note I saw in there too is that when the email goes out about your newsletter it or article, it's also the thumbnail there. So that's another way to even, you know, get more attention drawn in, which is great. So, all right, we've got some other video updates too that we'll get to in just a second. Obviously we talk about AI almost every week on this show and if you are in a situation where you're, you know, tired of drowning repetitive tasks, maybe that squash your creativity. AI is making it so all of us can automate our content creation, streamline data analysis, handle boring tasks that you dread doing, and the result is you get hours back every single week for the stuff that actually matters and tasks that you enjoy. And so that's why we put together the AI Business Society to show you exactly how with expert training on automation, workflows, advanced prompting techniques, time saving integrations. I was in there the other day, I just learned you can edit your ChatGPT prompts instead of typing a new one. Like hey, you got this wrong. You can scroll up and edit that prompt and it'll just reissue it. So I'm in there all the time learning stuff. Member Prathema V said it best. She said, I've already improved how I create and publish content. That's why I joined the AI business as society, to maximize my roe, my return on effort, which I love. So if you're ready to reclaim your time, check out the AI Business Society right now. Social Media Examiner.com AIbusiness Again Social Media Examiner.com AIbusiness all right, video ads. Obviously video is getting attention. That's why they're putting them on top of articles. That's why we have the video tab that we didn't have a couple of years ago on mobile. And now new enhancements and placements are coming to video ads. So tell us what's going on with this, Judy.

[Judy Fox]

I'm first going to start with the fact that like we're talking about LinkedIn is doubling down on video and what's new about video on the ad side is being able to have what's called first impressions ads. I don't know if you've opened up your news feed, but right at the beginning of your scroll, you're starting to see a vertical video right at the top of the day or right at the top of your experience on LinkedIn. What I think is really interesting about this ad is using it to announce something brand new for your business or you're just really want that immediate visibility on something that's really important to your marketing department and meet like, like it's a pop in your world. Does that make sense?

[Jerry Potter]

Yeah. So just to make sure I'm understanding. So this first impression ad they're calling it, essentially you can say I want to be the first ad people in this demographic, like C level executives in this town or city or state or whatever. See when they open the app or go to the website every day.

[Judy Fox]

Yes, basically what the two ads are first impression ads and then there's something called reserved ads. They're both being positioned at least to me and what I'm reading and what I've heard from LinkedIn directly to give priority placement. And I absolutely love when they're like giving an analogy that it's like choosing the front row at your favorite concert to guarantee the best view. Good analogy.

[Jerry Potter]

Yeah.

[Judy Fox]

Because you don't want advertising that's stuck in the middle of people who are already trying to get a visibility. They're saying, hey, you should be at the top of the news feed. So that is a smart move for LinkedIn to make to make their ads more attractive.

[Jerry Potter]

Yeah. Well, I do think that we are getting to the point where prioritized feed placement makes a huge difference. Like when I used to work in radio and tv, people would pay extra to be the first ad in the commercial break or the last ad in the commercial break because the middle are the ones where people tune out and then don't come back or those are the ones that got missed. So I really like this also because I know for me, not on LinkedIn but just, you know, similarly on Facebook, the longer I scroll usually the worse my experience gets. And that's not when you want to show me your ad. Right. You want to be earlier on with that.

[Judy Fox]

Well, a final piece of the puzzle I was going to mention is, and LinkedIn told me this directly where the thought leader ads are really becoming very important to C suite executives who want to be active on LinkedIn, but they don't. They're an executive, they're not sure how to show up on video. And this type of ad is really attractive to them because it is something that can position them as a thought leader. A short video from that person not trying to be advertising, but to actually amplify the executive's voice.

[Jerry Potter]

Got it. Okay. So we have first impression ads and reserved ads, which are supposed to be available globally later this year. And then one more type of ad.

[Judy Fox]

That they announced, video ad, ECTV ads. You probably can take this one better than me or AJ Wilcox. I'll always shout him out as my LinkedIn ads expert.

[Jerry Potter]

Yeah, well, CTV stands for Connected TV because we have this over on YouTube as well. And, you know, other platforms are adding it, but basically this is going to connect to TV is basically any streaming TV service. And so it looks like now these are available in the US and Canada. Generally, they're saying, they don't say universally, but essentially you'll be able to run ads from your LinkedIn dashboard on like Paramount content, Paramount plus some of the CBS shows, different things like that. So it's really interesting to see. And I think, you know, when we think about the barriers to trying out new formats, you know, if you were just kind of sitting around marketing your client, if you're an agency or marketing your own business, you wouldn't just be like, I'm going to buy ads on Star Trek, for example, or something. I'm trying to think of like C. But if it was built in there and you're like, oh, I can just add that in there, I think that's great because it removes some of that friction. So. All right. And then in other ways, also continuing to make videos easier to create and turn into ads too. So update us on this.

[Judy Fox]

The Adobe Express integration, I think what it shows is they're trying to make creating a video ad less painful, less heavy lifting for the team and to integrate tools. And you're going to see that's the second theme is let's make video easier and then let's connect it to tools, because the world of tools and AI, like you mentioned, it's going to make the return on effort. Is that the expression?

[Jerry Potter]

Yes, the roe.

[Judy Fox]

Yeah, I love that. That was really great to hear that. So it's going to increase the roe.

[Jerry Potter]

Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up again because I love that phrase too. I want to start using that more. So. Yeah. Which is great. And then, you know, speaking of again, all of this is kind of moving away from friction. And, you know, You've met with LinkedIn and they've been very clear on that. They also have just announced in the last couple of days that they are opening up more of their analytics to be used on third party platforms. So if you use hootsuite, Buffer, sprinklr later, you know, and lots of others, you can look in whatever tool you use. But more of this is going out to be in the third party tool rather than having to log into LinkedIn. What do you feel like the impact of that is from our marketers?

[Judy Fox]

I think the number one impact is marketers who haven't always taken LinkedIn seriously from a place of we want to spend, we just push out our content we were creating elsewhere. They may, because they see the data in the dashboards they're already using for maybe TikTok, Instagram X, they will start to take LinkedIn. What's seen and measured is something you start paying attention to. So if they're going to start to see the data inside hootsuite buffer later, they will maybe take their content and their strategy. They might start looking at it a little more because they don't have to run over to LinkedIn, go check it out as a separate task from their other channels.

[Jerry Potter]

Yeah, well, and if they weren't monitoring it, if they were just syndicating it.

[Judy Fox]

That'S a good word.

[Jerry Potter]

Over to LinkedIn to use a kind word as opposed to dumping it on LinkedIn. No, you didn't, you didn't. I was just for comparison, syndicating versus dumping. Same thing, just different tone. Different. Yeah. So that way they might see like, oh my gosh, this is doing really well over on LinkedIn.

[Judy Fox]

Exactly.

[Jerry Potter]

In a way that they hadn't before.

[Judy Fox]

Imagine having the access, but you didn't know before that maybe you got a really big shout out on LinkedIn and something happened and maybe your customers started talking about you and you're starting to see that effect on your content. You may not have caught that and now you might, which is really cool from the perspective of teams working with these other tools already.

[Jerry Potter]

Yeah, love that. All right, speaking of Roe, your return on investment, learn more about becoming an AI enhanced marketer. Go to social media examiner.com AI business again, social media examiner.com AI business. And Judy, where's the best place for people to discover more about you?

[Judy Fox]

Well, let's go over to LinkedIn. It's Judi Fox on LinkedIn and please send me a direct message, especially if You've seen the LinkedIn cover images on the article. So really want to hear.

[Jerry Potter]

You're set up so people can send you direct messages. Yes. Okay.

[Judy Fox]

I have an open system here.

[Jerry Potter]

Awesome. All right. And if you want to add another podcast to your listening lineup, a couple of you to check out Social Media Marketing Podcast as well as the AI Explored podcast. Until next time, may you be wise with your marketing decisions. Take care everybody. Bye.

[Judy Fox]

The Social Media Marketing Talk show is a Social Media examiner production. For more social media insight, visit social media examination examiner.com.

[Mike Stelzner]

Just a quick reminder before you go. If you're ready to become indispensable in the age of AI, the AI Business Society is your solution. Join now and secure your discounted membership by visiting social media examiner.com AI I can't wait to see you inside the AI Business Society.