LinkedIn has opened Reserved Ads — a top-of-feed, reservable ad placement — to all managed advertisers, offering predictable delivery and premium visibility for B2B campaigns. According to Search Engine Land, Reserved Ads “let advertisers secure top-of-feed placement at a fixed rate, providing predictable delivery, consistent reach, and greater share of voice.” — Anu Adegbola
What are LinkedIn Reserved Ads?
Reserved Ads guarantee the first ad slot in a LinkedIn member’s feed. Instead of competing in an auction for placement, advertisers reserve that premium slot at a fixed rate through their LinkedIn account representative. The format supports most Sponsored Content creative types — Video, Single Image, Carousel, Document, Thought Leader and Event Ads — which gives marketers flexibility in how they present high-visibility messages to targeted professional audiences.
Why this matters for B2B marketers
Top-of-feed placement is valuable because it captures attention the moment someone opens their feed, improving the chances of meaningful engagement. LinkedIn’s early metrics tied to Reserved Ads indicate substantial uplifts: up to 75% higher dwell time, 88% higher view-through rates, and delivery of 99% of forecasted impressions. These outcomes suggest that reserved placement reduces wasted impressions and increases the quality of audience interactions — especially for campaigns aimed at brand awareness and upper-funnel activation.
Performance and measurement implications
Guaranteed delivery simplifies planning: fixed pricing and predictable impression volumes let media teams model reach and frequency with greater confidence. That predictability can improve attribution by making it easier to tie exposure to downstream signals (site visits, content downloads, leads). LinkedIn also reports up to a 101% lift in mid-funnel engagement when Reserved Ads are used to warm audiences before follow-up tactics — a compelling stat for marketers balancing brand and demand objectives.
Creative formats and best practices
Because Reserved Ads support multiple formats, marketers should align creative with campaign goals. Use concise, thumb-stopping creative for top-of-feed slots: short videos (15 60s) with captions, image ads with clear headlines, and carousel units that tell a short, sequential story. For lead generation, pair a high-visibility creative with an immediate next-step CTA (event sign-up, gated content, demo request) and ensure landing pages are mobile-optimized for LinkedIn’s audience.
How to plan, buy and measure Reserved Ads
1. Define objectives and KPIs. Reserved Ads are best used for awareness, upper-funnel engagement, and audience warming. Set clear KPIs: reach, view-through rate, dwell time, and mid-funnel engagement.
2. Coordinate with your LinkedIn rep. Reserved inventory is purchased through account reps who can provide availability, pricing and scheduling windows. Book early to secure prime dates and audience segments.
3. Integrate with retargeting. Build remarketing pools from users who engaged with Reserved Ads; use shorter retargeting windows for timely offers and longer windows for nurturing complex buying cycles.
4. Use unified measurement. Combine LinkedIn metrics with your analytics (UTM-tagged URLs, first-party conversion tracking, and CRM events) to attribute impact across the funnel.
Budgeting and when to use Reserved Ads
Reserved Ads will carry a premium, so evaluate on expected business impact. Consider using them for:
- Product launches and events where immediate visibility is critical.
- Account-based marketing (ABM) programs targeting named accounts or industries.
- Brand campaigns where predictable reach and share of voice matter more than lowest cost per action.
For performance-driven programs where cost-per-action is the priority, continue to use auction-based placements while testing Reserved Ads for awareness lift and audience warming.
Actionable checklist for your first Reserved Ads campaign
- Work with your LinkedIn rep to reserve dates and confirm forecasted impressions and pricing.
- Develop high-quality creative optimized for the top-of-feed slot (short video, clear headline, concise copy).
- Plan a multi-touch funnel: Reserved Ad exposure 6 retargeting sequence 6 conversion-focused creative.
- Implement tracking (UTMs, conversion pixels, CRM logging) before launch to measure impact.
- Run A/B tests on creative variants and follow-up messaging to optimize mid- and lower-funnel conversions.
Conclusion
LinkedIn’s expansion of Reserved Ads to all managed advertisers creates a new option for marketers to buy attention predictably on a platform rich with professional audiences. When paired with thoughtful creative, measurement and retargeting, Reserved Ads can boost brand awareness and strengthen mid-funnel engagement — but they should be deployed strategically given the premium cost. As Anu Adegbola reports, Reserved Ads “let advertisers secure top-of-feed placement at a fixed rate, providing predictable delivery, consistent reach, and greater share of voice.”
Source: Search Engine Land (Anu Adegbola).
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