The B2B LinkedIn flight
Setup: a security-software vendor, $5,000 video flight targeted to IT decision-makers. Close-out: 45,000 views under LinkedIn's 2-second, 50%-on-screen rule LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help, 2026.
The arithmetic
- CPV = $5,000 / 45,000 = $0.111.
- Naive comparison: 4.6x the $0.024 YouTube in-stream blend Store Growers, Google Ads Benchmarks, Q1 2026, nearly double the $0.058 legal-vertical top of the sourced spread Store Growers, Google Ads Benchmarks, Q1 2026.
- Correct comparison: none of the above. LinkedIn publishes no rates and no sourced LinkedIn band exists LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help, 2026; and the unit is a 2-second professional-audience view, not a 30-second consumer view.
The defense, in deck language
The premium buys the filter. This flight reached a job-title-filtered audience no consumer platform can compose; the auction premium IS the targeting cost. Even the consumer data shows verticals paying 2-3x each other for audience value Store Growers, Google Ads Benchmarks, Q1 2026; audience-first B2B buying extends that curve. If the average closed deal is $60,000, this entire flight costs a twelfth of one deal.
What to watch instead of raw CPV
- Completed views and engagements per dollar (CPV vs CPE): 2-second views are shallow currency.
- Flight-over-flight CPV on the same audience: your own trend is the only LinkedIn band that exists.
- Pipeline influence per flight, however imperfect the attribution.
LinkedIn B2B flight: $5,000 / 45,000 views (2s/50% def) = $0.111 CPV; no published LinkedIn rates; premium = audience filter, judged vs pipelineSolve your flight: the LinkedIn solver. The consumer version of the high-CPV defense: the legal vertical. Spread context: by industry.