If you have been paying attention to B2B advertising trends recently, you might have noticed something interesting.
LinkedIn Conversation Ads are making a comeback. A couple of years ago, many marketers dismissed them as too salesy, too clunky, or too expensive. But things are changing fast.
Now that new data, better targeting, and improved message flows are leading to higher engagement rates, B2B brands are quietly reinvesting in this format with real results. If you have not taken a closer look recently, you may be missing an opportunity to be early in the revival curve.
What Conversation Ads Actually Do
LinkedIn Conversation Ads deliver a message directly into a user’s inbox, but the magic is in the branching structure. Instead of a single static message, users choose their next step through clickable prompts.
They can:
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Download a guide
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Register for an event
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Request a demo
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Speak to sales
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Visit a landing page
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Learn more about a specific feature
Think of it like a mini interactive funnel placed right inside LinkedIn Messaging. When done right, it feels personalized, helpful, and high intent.
Why Conversation Ads Are Coming Back
For a while, B2B brands avoided Conversation Ads. Costs were rising, and click intent felt lower than expected. But the landscape in 2024 and 2025 looks different, and the shift is happening for four major reasons.
LinkedIn Targeting Has Improved Significantly
LinkedIn has quietly upgraded its audience modeling. The platform is drawing from richer engagement data, more behavioral signals, and improved predictive modeling. Translation: Conversation Ads now land in more relevant inboxes.
Brands can now target based on:
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Buyer role intent signals
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Company growth and hiring patterns
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Recent technology adoption
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Content interaction history
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Seniority behaviors
This means the people receiving Conversation Ads often have a much higher chance of being in an active buying cycle.
Buyers Respond Better to Guided Choices
B2B buyers prefer options, not walls of text. Conversation Ads provide a choose your own path experience that feels more natural compared to a cold email or a generic landing page.
Marketers are noticing that:
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Completion rates for multi step flows are increasing
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Users are choosing content that matches their stage of the funnel
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People prefer clicking a button instead of reading dense paragraphs
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Engagement is higher compared to static Sponsored Messaging
This format empowers the user to decide how much or how little they want to engage.
Lead Quality Is Higher Than Most In Feed Ads
While in feed ads still dominate budgets, marketers are reporting that Conversation Ads produce more qualified leads rather than just more leads.
Why? Because someone who interacts with multiple steps inside a Conversation Ad is signaling real intent. They are taking action, making choices, and expressing interest.
Brands are seeing:
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More mid funnel leads
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Stronger demo requests
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Lower sales friction
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Higher close rates when paired with retargeting
In other words, Conversation Ads act as a pre qualification tool. By the time a lead reaches sales, they have already self segmented.
The Format Works Extremely Well for Event Promotion
One of the biggest areas of resurgence is webinars, conferences, roundtables, and virtual demos. Conversation Ads let you personalize the message based on user type and get them registered faster.
Marketers love them for event promotion because:
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Registration buttons are frictionless
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Messaging feels personal
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You can deliver multiple event options in one ad
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LinkedIn delivers reminders that increase attendance
Many B2B brands report that Conversation Ads outperform landing pages for event sign ups, sometimes by a wide margin.
What B2B Brands Are Doing Differently Now
It is not just that the platform has improved. Marketers are also using the format much more strategically. Here are the playbooks that are working today.
More Personalized Messaging
Instead of generic sales speak, marketers are writing Conversation Ads that sound like helpful introductions.
For example:
Not working:
“Try our award winning platform that helps teams scale.”
Working:
“I put together a quick guide on the exact process top B2B teams use to fix pipeline leaks. Want the PDF?”
The difference is tone, simplicity, and value.
Shorter Flows With Clear Outcomes
The old approach was to cram a mini website into the message. The new approach is to give users a simple branching path with three to four options max.
Examples:
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Download resource
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Learn about use cases
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Register for a live demo
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Talk to someone
People do not get overwhelmed, and marketers collect cleaner intent signals.
Pairing Conversation Ads With Retargeting
Brands are using Conversation Ads as intent warmers, then retargeting engaged users with:
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Case studies
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Product comparisons
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Free trials
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Customer proof
This multi step approach increases the chance of generating a sales ready lead.
What Results Look Like Today
Based on performance trends reported by advertisers and case studies on LinkedIn, Conversation Ads today often see:
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Higher open rates compared to email
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Higher opt in rates compared to traditional form fills
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Lower cost per qualified conversation
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Increased attendance for events and demos
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Better engagement for niche B2B segments
They are not always cheaper than in feed ads, but they often generate stronger intent and better downstream pipeline.
Should Your Brand Test Conversation Ads?
If your audience spends time on LinkedIn, the answer is yes. But the key is to approach them with the right mindset.
Conversation Ads work best for:
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Mid funnel engagement
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Event and webinar promotion
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Lead nurturing
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Persona based messaging
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High ticket B2B offers
They are less ideal for cold outbound or top funnel awareness, unless paired with strong value based content.
LinkedIn Conversation Ads are not brand new. But they are entering a new era where better targeting, smarter messaging strategies, and higher user intent are bringing them back into the spotlight.
For B2B marketers, this resurgence represents a chance to connect with buyers in a more personal, conversational, and guided way. When used with the right creative approach, Conversation Ads deliver impact that most in feed ads cannot match.
Get in touch with our team to get started on your next project today!
