• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, October 23, 2012

LinkedIn today announced the rollout of video ads through its self-serve platform—LinkedIn Ads—which will appear in standard 300 x 250 units across the professional network’s site.

When a LinkedIn member is engaged and clicks on a video ad, the video will take over the entire 300x250 ad unit and play a 30-second video. After the video completes, users will still be able to click through to an advertiser’s landing page or visit their website, just like with current ads.

“With LinkedIn Ads you can control your costs, pay per view or click, and stop your campaign at any time,” stated a company blog post today. “LinkedIn self-serve video ads work seamlessly with YouTube so you can instantly leverage your brand’s existing YouTube presence and promote same videos on LinkedIn. You’ll still be able to grow and capture the same YouTube stats you’re used to.”

LinkedIn’s user base of 175 million members also makes for a sizeable video audience.