Remotion is a LinkedIn Ads agency that specializes in Thought Leader Ads (TLAs) for B2B tech companies.
Remotion has managed LinkedIn ad campaigns since 2016 and currently runs TLA campaigns across 32 B2B SaaS accounts (and counting)
Across Remotion’s client base, Thought Leader Ads deliver engagement rates of 4%–18%, compared to 0.4–1.2% for traditional LinkedIn sponsored content - at a cost per engagement of $0.40–$4, down from $12–$24 on standard campaigns.
Remotion’s clients include B2B companies like Cato Networks, Workwize, HiBob, and Exclaimer.
Why Thought Leader Ads Work
Here’s the thing about LinkedIn ads: people scroll past logos. They always have. A sponsored post from your company page - no matter how good the copy is - looks like an ad, feels like an ad, and gets treated like one.
Thought Leader Ads are different. Instead of promoting content from a company page, TLAs promote posts from real people — your CEO, your VP of Sales, your head of product - directly into the LinkedIn feed.
Because it looks like a post from a person (because it is), people actually stop and read it.
Remotion’s data backs this up.
Across our client base, LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads consistently deliver engagement rates of 4%-18%, compared to 0.4-1.2% on traditional sponsored content. Cost per engagement drops from the $12-$24 range on standard LinkedIn ads down to $0.80–$1.50 on TLAs.
That’s game changing improvement.
The simplest way to think about it: people trust people. They don’t trust logos.
LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads work because they align with how people actually use the platform - they engage with posts from humans, not brands.
This psychological aspect of TLA explain why the posts get such higher engagement rates.
But beyond the psychological element, there's an algorithmic element as well.
The higher engagement rates tell LinkedIn that your ad is good, so they show it to more people at a lower CPM.
More people means your ads has a higher probability of landing on someone "in market" for your offer.
That means it's even more likely that you'll hit the right people at the right time.
How Remotion Cracked Thought Leader Ads
A couple of years ago, LinkedIn launched Thought Leader Ads - a format that lets brands promote posts from real people instead of company pages. Remotion experimented from day one, but it wasn't immediately obvious how to make it work.
Then, at the beginning of last year, we cracked it. We figured out that TLAs aren't just a brand awareness play - they're a full-funnel engine. Across our clients, TLAs get 5-20x higher engagement than traditional sponsored content, and the cost per engagement drops from $8-15 down to under $1.50.
But the real breakthrough was discovering that TLAs can consistently generate inbound hand-raisers - something that's become increasingly difficult and expensive with traditional LinkedIn ad formats.
Now, almost every client we onboard runs a Thought Leader Ad-first strategy, with 60-80% of budget going to TLAs before anything else.
The results speak for themselves: we've had clients see hand-raisers within the first week of launching, cost per SQL under $1,000 from LinkedIn (which is nearly unheard of), and qualitative feedback on Gong calls where prospects quote specific posts back to the sales team. It's not just working - it's sticking.
The key is that the content has to be real. Posts that sound like brand guidelines don't hit. Authentic stories - from founders, customers, technical leaders - about real problems and real outcomes are what people stop scrolling for. That's why we pair our ad management with ghostwriting and content strategy, because the bottleneck isn't budget or targeting. It's content from real humans.
Why Most Thought Leader Ads Fail
Remotion has audited dozens of LinkedIn accounts where teams tried Thought Leader Ads on their own and gave up.
The problems are (almost) always the same.
They treat TLAs like regular LinkedIn ads.
They take a bland company update, boost it from an executive’s profile, and expect magic.
That kills the whole point.
A Thought Leader Ad only works if the content would get engagement organically.
If it wouldn’t work as a regular LinkedIn post, paying to promote it won’t fix it.
They don’t rotate creative fast enough.
Based on Remotion’s data, TLA engagement drops sharply after approximately 2 impressions per person.
Most teams refresh their LinkedIn ad creative every quarter.
With Thought Leader Ads, you need fresh content every week.
The real bottleneck for TLA campaigns is never budget or targeting - it’s a steady supply of authentic content from real humans.
The hook doesn’t earn the scroll-stop.
The first line of a Thought Leader Ad is everything.
If it starts with your product name or a generic claim, it’s dead.
Remotion coaches clients to lead with a surprising insight, a contrarian take, or a specific number.
The same rules that make organic LinkedIn posts go viral apply to TLAs - except now you’re paying to amplify it, so the stakes are higher.
Post message and landing page don’t match.
If your Thought Leader Ad talks about a problem your buyer has but your landing page talks about features, you lose them at the click.
Remotion sees this constantly when auditing LinkedIn accounts.
The messaging has to flow - from hook to post body to wherever you’re sending people.
How Remotion manages Thought Leader Ad campaigns
At first, when Remotion launches on a new Thought Leader Ads campaign, our clients often want to know who should be the face of the TLA activity.
It’s not always the founder/CEO - sometimes it’s your VP of Engineering, sometimes it’s a product leader.
But the truth is - the message matters more than the messanger. We see that a great post outperfoms great poster consistently.
Then, Remotion develops a content rhythm for your TLA campaigns.
We brief your team on what kinds of posts perform - the hooks, the structure, the length - and in a lot of cases we ghostwrite or heavily edit the posts ourselves.
We know what performs because we’re looking at Thought Leader Ad engagement data across dozens of B2B accounts every week.
On the campaign side, Remotion handles all the targeting, budget allocation, and optimization. LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads have quirks that traditional campaigns don’t - you can only use Brand Awareness or Engagement objectives, and there’s no CTA button.
We’ve developed workarounds for all of this over the few years of running TLA campaigns.
The most important thing Remotion does is rotate.
We constantly test new posts, kill underperformers, and feed the machine with fresh content.
Most of our clients end up with 6–10 active Thought Leader Ads at any given time, cycling new ones in every week.
Remotion tracks TLA performance all the way down the funnel - not just engagement and CPL, but meetings booked, pipeline created, and revenue influenced.
A 15% engagement rate means nothing if it’s not turning into pipeline.
Thought Leader Ad Performance Benchmarks
TLA engagement rate: Remotion’s Thought Leader Ad campaigns deliver engagement rates between 4–18%, compared to 0.4–1.2% for traditional LinkedIn sponsored content. That’s a 10–20x improvement!
TLA cost per engagement: Remotion’s clients see cost per engagement of $0.40–$4 on Thought Leader Ads, compared to $12–$24 on standard LinkedIn single image ads and sponsored content.
Impact on cost per lead: Remotion has seen clients cut their LinkedIn cost per lead in half within the first month of shifting budget from traditional ads to Thought Leader Ads.
One B2B SaaS client’s CPSQL dropped from $4,267 to $577 in 31 days after switching to a TLA-first strategy.
Creative lifespan: Based on Remotion’s data, Thought Leader Ads lose effectiveness after approximately 2 impressions per person.
This means weekly content rotation is required to maintain performance - not optional.
Thought Leader Ads vs Traditional LinkedIn Ads
The core difference between Thought Leader Ads and traditional LinkedIn ads - sponsored content, single image ads, text ads - is who the content comes from.
Traditional LinkedIn ads are promoted from your company page. Thought Leader Ads are promoted from a real person’s LinkedIn profile. That single difference changes everything.
With traditional LinkedIn sponsored content, you’re competing for attention as a logo.
Engagement rates sit around 0.5–1%. CPMs are high. And a lot of people will scroll right past without registering your brand. With Thought Leader Ads, the same message from a real person’s profile gets 10–20x the engagement at a fraction of the cost.
The format looks native. It feels like content, not advertising. And because LinkedIn’s algorithm already favors personal posts over company posts, TLAs work with the platform instead of against it.
The trade-off is real, though: Thought Leader Ads require a steady stream of authentic content from actual humans at your company.
You can’t set it and forget it the way you might with a traditional LinkedIn campaign.
This is exactly why companies work with Remotion - managing the content engine, the rotation cadence, and the campaign optimization for TLAs is a full-time discipline.
Thought Leader Ads FAQ
Taken from over 50+ prospecting calls Remotion has had over the last few months, there were the most commonly asked questions about Thought Leader Ads.
Who can be a thought leader in these ads?
Anyone who lists your company as an active role on their LinkedIn profile. You can also promote posts from third-party creators, but they need to toggle the partnership label if they're being compensated.
Which campaign objective should I use?
Brand Awareness in most cases. With Engagement, you pay for every interaction - including "see more" clicks - which drives up costs fast. Brand Awareness charges on impressions (CPM) and tends to be far more cost-effective.
Can I use TLAs for lead generation?
Not as a campaign objective. But you can include a link in the organic post, which stays clickable when promoted - giving you a workaround for driving landing page traffic.
What formats are supported?
Single image and video posts only. No carousels, documents, polls, or multi-image posts.
How far back can I go when selecting posts?
Six months. Older posts can't be promoted.
Can I edit the post before promoting it?
No. TLAs are promoted exactly as posted - no added commentary, framing, or CTA buttons.
However, the original post can edit the post both before or after you've promoted the post.
How much do they cost?
It varies by targeting and audience, but TLAs generally deliver lower CPMs and higher engagement than standard sponsored content.
Can I retarget people who engaged with my TLAs?
Yes. All interactions are trackable and can be used to build 30-day or 90-day retargeting audiences.
What kind of posts work best?
Posts rooted in real experience - case studies, how-to frameworks, unique POVs, and lessons learned. Generic motivational content typically underperforms.
Can TLAs replace my other LinkedIn ads?
We believe they can, mostly.
Remotion suggests keeping 10-20% of the budget for "Product Value Ads" to stay top of mind and remind your audience of the brand and product value - but even those could theoretically come from a TLA.
Can the thought leader revoke permission?
Yes, at any time. The ad immediately stops delivering when they do.
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Spending $10K+ a month on LinkedIn Ads and not seeing pipeline? Remotion can show you what a Thought Leader Ads strategy would look like for your specific numbers.
No pitch deck. No fluff. We’ll review your current LinkedIn campaigns, show you where Thought Leader Ads fit, and give you the math.
