Business-to-business marketers are seeing higher engagement rates when featuring casual attire and authentic emotional expressions in their advertising content, according to new research by LinkedIn conducted with VidMob, which analyzed 13.6K creative assets across 2.9 billion impressions.

The study finds that content showing people in casual clothing, including sneakers, increased video completion rates by 37%. Personal accessories like jewelry contributed to a 53% lift in performance metrics.

Beyond wardrobe choices, the research indicates that displaying a range of emotional expressions impacts viewer engagement. While smiling faces drove a 14% increase in video view-through rates at the 25% mark, content showing expressions of frustration saw a 59% increase, and confused expressions yielded a 21% gain.

LinkedIn notes that these findings align with data from the Edelman Trust Barometer, which shows that 74% of people trust peers more than CEOs and journalists when communicating about innovation. Content featuring multiple people increased engagement rates by 14% on the platform.

The research also examined AI messaging trends, revealing that technical capability descriptions underperform compared to practical application narratives. Messages focused on “future-proofing” achieved a 748% increase in conversion rates, while “digital transformation” messaging produced a 34% uplift.

Image credit: LinkedIn

In visual design elements, the study found that high-contrast creative assets improved video completion rates by 68% and increased static engagement by 41%. For technology companies specifically, neutral backgrounds with clear text contrast-enhanced click-through rates by 15%.

The research notes that while blue remains dominant in tech brand identity, appearing in 43% of top technology companies’ visual assets, alternative colors like pink drive increased engagement, with a 26% improvement in video view-through rates at the 25% mark.

The findings emerge as the AI market is projected to grow from $86.9 billion in 2022 to $407 billion by 2027, highlighting shifts in how brands communicate about emerging technologies on professional networks.