LinkedIn introduced Newsletter Articles and updated Sponsored Articles in July, expanding its content marketing offerings for businesses.

These features allow companies to promote long-form content directly to their target audience on the platform.

Initially launched in January, Sponsored Articles enable brands to promote and gate their posted content in the app.

The tools are individual, standalone pieces covering various topics, while Sponsored Newsletter Articles are part of recurring, serialized newsletters that LinkedIn members can subscribe to. 

Both types of content can be promoted through Company Pages or as part of thought leader campaigns in LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager.

The platform highlights three primary benefits of this new feature:

1. Improved content targeting to reach specific audiences
2. Faster time-to-market for content distribution
3. Enhanced brand awareness and engagement

Sponsored Newsletter Articles support brand awareness and engagement campaign objectives. Companies can sponsor content as single-image ads for these campaigns and lead generation using LinkedIn’s Content Library.

LinkedIn implements certain restrictions and identifiers for sponsored content. 

All sponsored articles and newsletters will display a “Promoted” tag to indicate paid content. The platform notes that if multiple Company Page posts link to the same article or newsletter, only the first post will appear in the Content Library.

For lead generation campaigns, sponsored articles will feature a default “Unlock article” call-to-action button. When clicked, this opens a lead form in the user’s feed. After completing the form, members gain full access to the article.

Expansion Amid Growth

LinkedIn reported a 47% increase in engagement with newsletters in the app over the past year.

Over 184,000 newsletters are published in the app, implying that many LinkedIn users are interested in receiving periodic updates from people and pages in the app.

Recently, Microsoft revealed that LinkedIn sessions grew by 11% year-over-year, citing “record engagement” and “a billion users” on the platform.

LinkedIn ventured into gaming in May by launching three new daily puzzle games: Pinpoint, Crossclimb, and Queens.

“It’s time we turn over a new leaf in how we deepen and reignite relationships at work and put fun at the heart of it,” Product Management Director Lakshman Somasundaram said at the time.