- In-Stream Ads: pre-roll video ads before eligible creators’ videos, with creators paid a share. Invite-only test in the US; no payout, price or brand-safety details published.
- Reserved Ads now accept audiences of 100,000 members. Premiere video still needs a managed account and a $50,000 minimum reservation.
- The daily spend allowance is reported to move from 1.5× to 2× the daily budget. Your set budget does not change, but a single day can.
- Thought Leader Ads get member follows and profile clicks as metrics in API version 202610.
Checked 28 October 2026. The In-Stream Ads test is confirmed by LinkedIn’s announcement; the Reserved Ads minimum, Premiere requirements and 2× spend allowance come from a single October recap and should be verified in Campaign Manager. API metrics are from Microsoft’s LinkedIn Marketing API documentation.
01In-Stream Ads: pre-roll comes to LinkedIn
On 15 October LinkedIn began testing In-Stream Ads: when a pre-roll ad runs before an eligible creator’s video, the creator earns. It is invite-only, US-only and limited to select advertisers for now, with broader access “planned over time”. LinkedIn has not published payout shares, prices, eligibility thresholds or brand-safety controls.12
Animation. The revenue split between LinkedIn and creators has not been published.
Attention you can’t buy in feed
Pre-roll sits in front of content someone chose to watch. For B2B, that is expert content watched by the audience you want.
Adjacency control
No brand-safety or category exclusions are described yet. Ask your rep what you can exclude before you join.
A reason to post video
With a creator dashboard and paid Advice Sessions in the same release, LinkedIn is building a monetisation suite. Expect more creator video.
Skippable logic applies
Lead with the point in the first three seconds. It is a pre-roll, not a thought-leadership essay.
02Pacing and Reserved Ads
LinkedIn already spends unevenly across a month to hit your average. If the allowance moves to 2×, a single strong day can take double your daily figure, balanced by lighter days. Monthly totals stay inside the budget; daily volatility grows. For campaigns with hard daily caps (a webinar on Thursday, a launch on the 1st), use lifetime budgets and schedules rather than daily figures.3
| Product | What it is | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Reserved Ads | Fixed-price, guaranteed first-impression placements | Audience of 100,000 members or more (was larger) |
| Premiere video | Guaranteed video reach for brand moments | Managed account and $50,000 minimum reservation |
| Auction formats | Sponsored content, video, Thought Leader, lead gen | $10 a day minimum; $100 lifetime for a new campaign |
Which LinkedIn format fits your objective and budget?
Choose your goal, monthly budget and audience size. The picker suggests formats, flags the ones you cannot access yet, and notes the pacing setting to use.
Runs in your browser; nothing is saved. Thresholds reflect October 2026 reports; confirm current minimums in Campaign Manager.
03New metrics for Thought Leader Ads
Version 202610 of the Marketing API adds two optional metrics to ad analytics: memberFollows and memberProfileClicks. They exist only for Sponsored Updates and member-follower display ads such as Thought Leader Ads. If you promote an executive’s posts, you can now report follows and profile visits the ad produced, not just engagement.4
04What to do
Move dated campaigns to lifetime budgets
If a day matters, cap it with a schedule and a lifetime budget, not a daily figure that can double.
Ask about In-Stream now
Even if you are outside the US, ask your rep about timing, exclusions and creator categories, so you are ready when it opens.
Re-size audiences for Reserved Ads
If you have been building 300,000-member audiences to qualify, you may now be able to reserve tighter, better ones.
Report follows on executive ads
Add member follows and profile clicks to your Thought Leader Ads dashboard. They are the point of the format.
LinkedIn is becoming a video platform with a creator economy. B2B budgets will follow the attention.
Related: LinkedIn lead generation in the GCC and Meta’s creator partnership ads.
Common questions
What are LinkedIn In-Stream Ads?
In-Stream Ads are pre-roll video ads that run before eligible creators’ videos on LinkedIn, with the creator earning a share. LinkedIn began testing them on 15 October 2026 with select US creators and advertisers, by invitation. Payout shares, prices and brand-safety controls have not been published.
Did LinkedIn change its daily budget pacing?
An October 2026 recap reports that LinkedIn’s daily spend allowance is moving from 1.5× to 2× the daily budget, with configured budgets and schedules unchanged. LinkedIn has not published a separate announcement, so confirm the current behaviour in Campaign Manager and use lifetime budgets where daily caps matter.
What is the minimum audience for LinkedIn Reserved Ads?
As reported in October 2026, Reserved Ads now accept audiences of 100,000 members, while Premiere video still requires a managed account and a $50,000 minimum reservation budget.
What new metrics did LinkedIn add for Thought Leader Ads?
Version 202610 of the Marketing API adds memberFollows and memberProfileClicks to ad analytics, available for Sponsored Updates and member-follower display ads such as Thought Leader Ads.
Method & sources
Checked October 28, 2026. In-Stream Ads from LinkedIn’s announcement as reported; pacing and Reserved Ads details from a single recap; API changes from Microsoft’s documentation.
- PPC Land, “LinkedIn tests paying US creators for pre-roll ads on their videos”. ppc.land
- Social Media Today, “LinkedIn adds new creator monetization options”. socialmediatoday.com
- Influent, “LinkedIn product updates: October 2026 recap”. influent.co
- Microsoft Learn, “Recent Marketing API changes” (LinkedIn, version 202610). learn.microsoft.com