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When building a three-stage funnel on LinkedIn Ads, Stage 1 is all about cold traffic—and at B2Linked, we’ve found that nothing works better here than Thought Leader Ads.

They’re fast to build trust, generate engagement at record levels, and create retargeting audiences more efficiently than any other ad format. For most advertisers, they’ve become the default starting point for awareness campaigns.

Why thought leader ads dominate stage 1

• High trust factor: People engage with people more quickly than with brands.
  
• Efficient audience building: Every like, comment, or share expands your retargeting pool.
  
• Lower resistance: Cold audiences are more open to thought leadership than hard-sell brand messaging.
  
  

Unless a company doesn’t have an internal thought leader (CEO, subject matter expert, or even a motivated employee), we recommend standardizing Stage 1 with Thought Leader Ads.

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The challenge: connecting the dots to your brand

There’s one risk: after engaging with an individual, prospects may not immediately connect that person back to your company.

That creates a gap when you begin retargeting them with brand ads in Stage 2.

If the prospect doesn’t realize the thought leader and the brand are linked, your funnel loses continuity.

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How to bridge individual trust to brand trust

Here’s a simple fix we’ve tested with success:

• Encourage thought leaders to casually mention the company in their posts.
  
  Example: “At [Company], we’ve been seeing X trend…”
  

• Align messaging so when company ads appear, the connection feels natural.
  
• Blend social proof later in the funnel (case studies, testimonials) to reinforce that the trust built in Stage 1 lives within the company.
  
  

This small shift ensures that when someone engages with personal content, they’ll already recognize the brand name once company ads start appearing.

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Key takeaway

Thought Leader Ads are the engine of Stage 1. But to maximize their impact, make sure the trust they generate flows naturally from the individual to the brand.

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