Which LinkedIn Advertising Formats Are Best for Lead Generation Campaigns?
For most B2B lead generation campaigns, the LinkedIn advertising formats we would test first are Document Ads and Single Image Ads combined with LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms.
Document Ads are particularly strong when you’re offering something valuable such as a guide, report, checklist or benchmark.
Single Image Ads tend to work well when the offer can be explained quickly, such as a consultation, demo, workshop or assessment.
Video Ads can help educate colder audiences before asking them to convert, while Carousel Ads can be useful when your proposition needs more explanation.
The key point is this:
There isn’t one LinkedIn ad format that is best for every lead generation campaign.
The right format depends on:
- How aware the audience is of your business
- What you’re offering
- How complicated the proposition is
- Whether you want leads immediately or need to build trust first
- How much information somebody needs before taking action
At Olivia Hudson, we’ve worked across more than 1,000 LinkedIn advertising campaigns, and one thing we’ve learnt is that the format rarely fixes a bad offer.
A brilliant advert promoting something nobody wants still won’t generate good leads.
So let’s break down the formats we would actually consider.
Quick answer: what LinkedIn advertising format is best for lead generation?
If you want the simplest answer:
Best for downloadable lead magnets:
Document Ads + Lead Gen Form
Best for direct enquiries, consultations and demos:
Single Image Ads + Lead Gen Form
Best for educating a cold audience:
Video Ads
Best for explaining several benefits or steps:
Carousel Ads
Best for highly targeted account-based campaigns:
Conversation Ads or Message Ads
Best conversion mechanism:
LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms
For the majority of B2B campaigns where the objective is generating leads directly inside LinkedIn, our starting point would normally be:
Strong offer + simple creative + LinkedIn Lead Gen Form.
Why LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms matter so much
Before comparing the individual advertising formats, it’s important to understand the role of LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms.
A Lead Gen Form isn’t really an advert by itself.
It’s the form that opens after somebody clicks the CTA on your advert.
Rather than forcing the prospect to leave LinkedIn, load your website, find the form and manually type in their information, LinkedIn can pre-populate the form using information from their profile.
That can include details such as:
Name.
Email.
Job title.
Company.
Seniority.
Location.
And other professional information.
The prospect can therefore respond without leaving LinkedIn.
That’s important, especially on mobile.
Every extra page load, form field and click introduces another opportunity for somebody to disappear.
The job of a Lead Gen Form is to remove as much of that friction as possible.
1. Document Ads with Lead Gen Forms
If we’re running a campaign around a genuinely useful piece of content, Document Ads are normally one of the first formats we test.
They allow someone to start reading your content directly in their LinkedIn feed.
You can then gate the document using a LinkedIn Lead Gen Form.
For example, imagine you’ve produced:
The 2026 CFO Payment Risk Report
Instead of showing an advert saying:
“Download our report.”
and sending somebody to another website, you could let them begin reading the actual report inside LinkedIn.
They might swipe through the first few pages.
They see the quality of the information.
Then:
Want the full report? Complete the form.
That is a very different experience.
You’re showing value before asking for information.
LinkedIn itself reports that Document Ads combined with Lead Gen Forms have produced around 2x higher form completion rates than other feed formats.
That’s one reason we like them for lead generation.
Good Document Ad offers include:
Industry reports.
Benchmark reports.
Guides.
Checklists.
Templates.
Research.
Frameworks.
Case studies.
Buyer’s guides.
Salary reports.
Original research.
When wouldn’t we use a Document Ad?
When the asset isn’t worth downloading.
Turning a generic five-page sales brochure into a PDF doesn’t suddenly make it a lead magnet.
The document needs to solve a real problem or contain information that your target audience actually wants.
That’s the bit people often miss.
The format isn’t the offer.
2. Single Image Ads with Lead Gen Forms
Single Image Ads are far less exciting.
And that’s partly why I like them.
They’re simple.
A prospect sees:
An image.
Some copy.
A headline.
A CTA.
That’s it.
You don’t need a £10,000 video shoot.
You don’t need 15 carousel cards.
You don’t need an enormous creative concept.
If the offer is strong enough, a simple advert can work incredibly well.
For example:
Posting on LinkedIn but getting nothing from it?
I’ll walk you through the exact LinkedIn system we use for content, ads and outreach in a 45-minute session.
That’s easy to understand.
Click.
Lead Gen Form.
Done.
Single Image Ads work particularly well when the prospect doesn’t need huge amounts of explanation before understanding the value.
We would consider Single Image Ads for:
Consultations.
Workshops.
Demos.
Assessments.
Events.
Lead magnets.
Webinars.
Reports.
Audits or diagnostic-style offers.
Product enquiries.
The biggest mistake with Single Image Ads
Trying to say everything in the advert.
You don’t need 14 benefits, six paragraphs and every feature you’ve ever built.
Your prospect should be able to look at the ad and understand:
This is for me.
This is the problem.
This is what I’m getting.
This is what I need to do next.
Clear beats clever.
3. Video Ads for lead generation
Video can absolutely play a role in lead generation.
But there’s an important distinction.
A video doesn’t necessarily need to generate the lead itself to be valuable to the campaign.
Suppose you’re targeting CFOs who’ve never heard of you.
Would you rather immediately serve them:
BOOK A DEMO
or first show them a 45-second video explaining an expensive problem they probably don’t realise they have?
For a cold audience, I would often choose the second option.
Video can:
Build familiarity.
Educate.
Demonstrate expertise.
Explain a complicated problem.
Show a customer story.
Introduce the founder.
Answer objections.
Then you can retarget the people who watched or engaged.
That second campaign can contain your stronger lead generation offer.
This is why obsessing over which individual ad “generated” the lead can sometimes give you the wrong answer.
The video may have created the trust.
The Document Ad may have captured the details.
Both mattered.
4. Carousel Ads for lead generation
Carousel Ads let you use multiple images within one advert.
This can be useful when the proposition needs a little more explanation.
For example:
Card 1
5 reasons your LinkedIn Ads aren’t generating pipeline
Card 2
Your audience is too broad
Card 3
Your offer looks exactly like everybody else’s
Card 4
You’re asking cold prospects to book a demo
Card 5
You have no retargeting journey
Card 6
Want us to show you what we’d change?
That creates a mini journey inside the advert.
Carousel Ads can also be combined with LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms for lead generation campaigns.
Where Carousels can work well
Multi-step processes.
Several product benefits.
Before-and-after stories.
Case studies.
Statistics.
Frameworks.
Product features.
“Five mistakes” style educational content.
But don’t use a Carousel just because you can
If the entire message can be communicated in one image, use one image.
Don’t make someone swipe through eight cards to discover something you could have told them in eight words.
5. Conversation Ads
Conversation Ads appear in LinkedIn Messaging and allow prospects to choose different paths through the message.
For example:
What would you like to see?
View pricing
Read a customer story
Download the report
Book a demo
This makes the experience more interactive than a standard advert.
They can be useful for highly targeted campaigns where you know exactly who you want to reach and have a very specific offer for them.
For example:
An enterprise event.
An invitation-only webinar.
A highly targeted ABM campaign.
A niche demonstration.
An offer aimed at a small group of senior decision-makers.
Conversation Ads can also be connected to Lead Gen Forms.
But they aren’t something we automatically recommend for every campaign.
Messaging is personal space.
If your offer feels generic or spammy in the feed, putting it directly in somebody’s inbox won’t improve it.
6. Message Ads
Message Ads are another form of Sponsored Messaging.
They let advertisers deliver a sponsored message directly to the LinkedIn inboxes of selected members.
Like Conversation Ads, they can be useful where targeting is very tight.
However, we generally wouldn’t make them the foundation of every LinkedIn lead generation strategy.
They can be powerful when:
The audience is specific.
The reason for contacting them is clear.
The offer is strong.
The message feels relevant.
But weak Sponsored Messaging can feel like cold email with a LinkedIn logo slapped on it.
Use it because it suits the campaign.
Not simply because the format exists.
7. Event Ads
LinkedIn also supports Event Ads within its Lead Generation objective.
They’re obviously more specific than something like Single Image Ads or Document Ads.
But if your actual conversion is:
Conference registration.
Webinar registration.
Virtual event registration.
Live demonstration.
Roundtable attendance.
Then the format makes far more sense.
This is another reason there is no universal “best” LinkedIn format.
If your objective is filling a webinar, the best format may be completely different from a company trying to generate enterprise software demos.
What about Thought Leader Ads?
Thought Leader Ads are one of our favourite LinkedIn formats.
But we need to make an important distinction when talking specifically about lead generation campaigns.
LinkedIn’s current Lead Generation objective supports formats including Single Image, Carousel, Video, Event, Message, Conversation and Document Ads.
Thought Leader Ads are better thought of as a demand generation and audience-warming format rather than your primary native lead capture format.
You sponsor content from an actual person rather than forcing everything through the company page.
That could be:
A founder.
CEO.
Employee.
Industry expert.
Subject matter expert.
And this is powerful because people generally want to hear from people.
Not logos.
A founder explaining:
“Here’s the £50,000 mistake I see companies making with LinkedIn Ads.”
is usually far more interesting than:
“Olivia Hudson is delighted to announce our industry-leading solution…”
The Thought Leader Ad might not directly capture the form submission.
But it could be exactly what makes somebody recognise and trust you when they later see your lead generation campaign.
That’s why we often think in funnels rather than individual adverts.
The LinkedIn lead generation funnel we’d recommend
Here’s a simple example.
Stage 1: Cold audience
The audience doesn’t know you yet.
Give them something useful.
Use:
Video Ads.
Thought Leader Ads.
Educational Single Image Ads.
Strong content.
Don’t spend your entire time screaming:
BOOK A CALL.
Build familiarity first.
Stage 2: Interested audience
Now target people who’ve shown some level of interest.
They may have:
Watched your videos.
Engaged with content.
Interacted with your company.
Visited your website.
Opened something.
Now show more proof.
Case studies.
Customer stories.
Educational documents.
Results.
Specific problem-solving content.
Stage 3: Lead generation
Now introduce the actual offer.
This might be:
Document Ad + Lead Gen Form
or
Single Image Ad + Lead Gen Form
The audience already understands who you are.
They’ve seen some proof.
They understand the problem.
Now the jump from scrolling LinkedIn to giving you their details is much smaller.
That’s the bit that makes the whole campaign work.
Lead generation versus website conversion campaigns
You also need to decide where you actually want the conversion to happen.
There are two very different journeys.
Journey one
LinkedIn Ad
↓
LinkedIn Lead Gen Form
↓
Lead
Journey two
LinkedIn Ad
↓
Website
↓
Landing page
↓
Website form
↓
Lead
Neither is automatically right or wrong.
LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms remove friction and can make it considerably easier for somebody to enquire.
But a landing page gives you far more room to sell.
You can include:
Case studies.
Testimonials.
FAQs.
Videos.
Pricing.
Features.
Proof.
Customer logos.
Longer explanations.
For an expensive or complex proposition, that additional information may be useful.
So don’t only judge the campaign by:
Which one produced the cheapest lead?
Judge it by what happened afterwards.
Don’t optimise LinkedIn Ads for lead volume alone
This is probably one of the most important lessons in LinkedIn advertising.
Let’s say:
Campaign A
100 leads
£20 CPL
2 meetings
0 customers
And:
Campaign B
30 leads
£60 CPL
12 meetings
3 customers
Which campaign won?
Obviously Campaign B.
But if you only looked inside Campaign Manager at cost per lead, Campaign A looked amazing.
This is why lead generation campaigns need to connect to the sales process.
Track:
Leads.
Qualified leads.
Phone conversations.
Meetings.
Opportunities.
Pipeline.
Customers.
Revenue.
Don’t obsess over generating the cheapest spreadsheet full of names.
Generate people who might actually buy something.
Which LinkedIn advertising format produces the cheapest leads?
There is no format guaranteed to produce the lowest cost per lead across every campaign.
Performance changes based on:
Target audience.
Country.
Seniority.
Industry.
Company size.
Offer.
Creative.
Competition.
Campaign objective.
Form.
Brand recognition.
However, Document Ads with Lead Gen Forms are particularly worth testing where you have a strong content offer.
LinkedIn has reported that Document Ads paired with Lead Gen Forms can deliver around 2x higher form completion rates than other feed formats.
Again though:
A high completion rate doesn’t automatically mean high-quality leads.
Measure what happens after the form submission.
What LinkedIn ad format should I start with?
If I were starting a new B2B lead generation campaign tomorrow, I would usually make the decision like this:
I have a strong downloadable resource
Start with:
Document Ad + Lead Gen Form
I have a simple, compelling offer
Start with:
Single Image Ad + Lead Gen Form
Nobody knows who we are
Start with:
Video and Thought Leader Ads
Then retarget engagement with a lead generation campaign.
My solution needs explaining
Test:
Carousel Ads
or video.
I’m targeting a very small enterprise account list
Consider:
Conversation Ads or Message Ads
alongside feed advertising.
I’m promoting an event
Test:
Event Ads
and supporting Sponsored Content.
Simple.
You don’t need every advertising format in the account.
You need the formats that match the journey you’re trying to create.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best LinkedIn ad format for lead generation?
For many B2B campaigns, Document Ads or Single Image Ads paired with LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms are the strongest formats to test first. Document Ads work particularly well with downloadable resources, while Single Image Ads are ideal for simple direct offers.
Are LinkedIn Document Ads good for lead generation?
Yes. Document Ads can be gated with a LinkedIn Lead Gen Form, allowing prospects to preview content and then exchange their details for access. LinkedIn has reported that Document Ads can achieve around twice the Lead Gen Form completion rate of other feed formats.
Are Single Image Ads good for LinkedIn lead generation?
Yes. Single Image Ads are one of the simplest formats for direct response campaigns because the audience can understand the proposition quickly and click directly into a Lead Gen Form.
Can Video Ads use LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms?
Yes. Video Ads can be used with LinkedIn’s Lead Generation objective and connected to Lead Gen Forms.
Can Carousel Ads generate LinkedIn leads?
Yes. LinkedIn currently supports Carousel Ads with the Lead Generation objective and Lead Gen Forms.
Are Thought Leader Ads good for lead generation?
Thought Leader Ads are particularly valuable for building credibility, engagement and demand. We would normally use them to warm audiences and then retarget engaged prospects with a dedicated lead generation campaign.
Should I use a LinkedIn Lead Gen Form or send traffic to my website?
If lead volume and ease of conversion are the priority, native Lead Gen Forms are worth testing first. If the prospect needs considerably more information before converting, a strong landing page may help qualify and persuade them. Test both and judge performance based on qualified opportunities and revenue, not just CPL.
Final answer: which LinkedIn advertising formats are best for lead generation campaigns?
For direct B2B lead generation, the strongest LinkedIn advertising formats to test first are Document Ads and Single Image Ads combined with LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms.
Use Document Ads when you have a valuable report, guide, checklist or resource.
Use Single Image Ads when the proposition is simple and easy to understand.
Use Video and Thought Leader Ads to educate and build trust with cold audiences before retargeting them.
Use Carousel Ads when your proposition requires more explanation.
Use Conversation or Message Ads selectively for targeted account-based or enterprise campaigns.
Most importantly:
Don’t choose an ad format in isolation.
The best-performing LinkedIn lead generation campaigns combine the right audience, offer, creative, conversion mechanism and follow-up process.
That’s ultimately what turns LinkedIn advertising into pipeline.
About Olivia Hudson
Olivia Hudson is a specialist LinkedIn Ads agency helping B2B businesses generate demand, leads and pipeline through LinkedIn advertising, content and outreach.
Co-founder Brett Creed has more than a decade of experience with LinkedIn advertising and has worked across more than 1,000 LinkedIn campaigns and hundreds of advertising accounts.
Rather than trying to be an agency for every advertising platform, Olivia Hudson specialises in LinkedIn.
If you’d like Brett to look at your current LinkedIn advertising strategy, you can book a 45-minute LinkedIn session to walk through your targeting, offers, funnel and campaign structure.