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Video Ads API Beta

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Warning

Deprecation Notice
The Marketing version 202305 (Marketing May 2023) and below has been sunset and the unversioned APIs are going to be sunset soon. We recommend that you migrate to the versioned APIs as well as migrate to the new Content and Community Management APIs to avoid disruptions. See the Migration page for more details. If you haven’t yet migrated and have questions, submit a request on the LinkedIn Developer Support Portal.

Video Ads Beta is the next generation of our Sponsored Content products that help you engage business decision-makers on LinkedIn's mobile and desktop news feed.

You can create video ads in two ways:

  • Post videos to your company page and sponsor the post to reach more than just your followers. With a company page video, your organization can share a first-hand look into your company culture, products, news, and events to drive engagement and conversation with members right from their LinkedIn Company Page.
  • Create video ads that bypass Company Page followers and go directly to the news feed.

Refer to Advertising Specifications for Video Ads for video ad requirements.

Permissions

To use Video Ads Beta, you must have the following permissions:

Permission Description
rw_ads Manage and read an authenticated member's ad accounts. To sponsor a video, the authenticated member must meet both of the following conditions:
  • Be an ADMINISTRATOR of a Company Page or a DIRECT_SPONSORED_CONTENT_POSTER with access to Campaign Manager. Have one of the following ad account roles:
  • ACCOUNT_BILLING_ADMIN
  • ACCOUNT_MANAGER
  • CAMPAIGN_MANAGER
  • CREATIVE_MANAGER
    		•
    r_ads Read an authenticated member's ad accounts. Restricted to ad accounts in which the authenticated member has one of the following ad account roles:
  • ACCOUNT_BILLING_ADMIN
  • ACCOUNT_MANAGER
  • CAMPAIGN_MANAGER
  • CREATIVE_MANAGER
  • VIEWER
    		•

    Use the organizationalEntityCreateShareAuthorizations endpoint to determine whether the authenticated member has the required roles to create a video ad.

    New Video Ads Beta APIs

    The following APIs are part of the Video Ads Beta program:

    Summary of Changes for Existing Video API Partners

    Update the URLs of the API requests for the following new APIs:

    You should reduce the number of distinct calls if you choose to create ads with Posts API Beta inline.

    Updated Schemas

    The schemas for the new APIs are more simplified and consistent when compared to previous creative APIs. We recommend that you not map to previous API schemas (e.g., Assets, ugcPosts, and others) as LinkedIn is working towards onboarding for all types of ad formats.

    Deprecated Steps

    The following steps are no longer required to create a video ad when using the new Video Ads Beta APIs:

    Previous Step New Beta API Step
    Verify access to create video ad using organizationalEntityCreateShareAuthorizations The access check to create the video is done by the underlying services.
    Create an AdDirectSponsoredContent The adDirectSponsoredContent option is set at the Posts Beta API request payload.

    Workflow

    Using the Video Ads API Beta, a video ad can be created one of the following ways:

    Create a Video Ad with a New Post

    Create a Video Ad with an Inline Post

    Steps to Complete Video Ads

    The following sections provide more information about how to complete video ads using the Video Ads Beta API.

    Upload a Video

    At present, LinkedIn partners are using Assets API to upload videos and images.

    The new Video API Beta replaces the Assets API with benefits such as support to upload captions and thumbnails, simplified and consistent schema, and a singular upload mechanism irrespective of the video file size.

    Refer to Videos API Beta for more information.

    Create a Post

    Currently, LinkedIn partners are using sharesV2 and UGC Posts API to create content and posts.

    The new Posts API Beta provides a unified API to manage all types of content when fully launched. For the Video Ads Beta program, the Posts API Beta has been designed to reference an uploaded video file along with the campaign sponsor information.

    Refer to Posts API Beta for more information.

    Create a Campaign

    The steps to create a video campaign remain the same as described here.

    Design a Creative

    At present, LinkedIn partners are using the adCreativesV2 API to design creatives for their ad campaigns.

    The new Creative API Beta features Video Ad format fields.

    A new feature introduced in the Creatives Beta API consists of a post created inline in order to save the necessity of an exclusive call to create a post.

    Refer to Creatives API Beta for more information.

    Prerequisite Values for Video Ad Campaigns

    Attribute Possible Values
    Campaign Type SPONSORED_UPDATES
    Campaign Format SINGLE_VIDEO
    Creative Type SPONSORED_VIDEO
    Objective Type
  • BRAND_AWARENESSli>ENGAGEMENT
  • LEAD_GENERATION
  • VIDEO_VIEW
  • WEBSITE_CONVERSION
  • WEBSITE_VISIT
    		•

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