Getting prospective customers to interact with your business is not an easy job. As the competition for ad spaces increases, the chances for your ad to be seen get difficult and expensive. However, if you’re looking for a way to engage with your targeted audience in real-time at a reasonable cost, consider using LinkedIn sponsored messages. It will help you interact with more potential customers online, increase brand awareness and lead generation, all at the same time. If you are not sure what a sponsored LinkedIn message is, this is what we will cover in this article. Let’s get started.
What is a Sponsored LinkedIn Message?
Sponsored LinkedIn InMail, rebranded as LinkedIn message ads, allows users to send direct messages to your prospects for immediate action. It helps users to reach out to potential customers outside their network and capitalize on opportunities. You can reach out to people based on their location, the company they work at, job title, skills, education, job industry and much more. It is a great way to reach out to industry experts and generate new leads, making it an indispensable communication channel for B2B sellers.
What are the different types of sponsored message ads?
There are two types of sponsored message ads, namely:
Message ads
These ads have a targeted message with a single call to action. Message ads help marketers to increase their reach by sending messages when the prospect is online. The desktop version of the ad can also include an image banner.
Conversation ads
It allows you to start a conversation with professionals and business decision-makers via LinkedIn messaging. You can achieve multiple marketing objectives by setting up an interactive experience that feels personal to your prospects. You can also set up multiple call-to-action buttons in this type of ad.
How is LinkedIn sponsored InMails different from traditional InMail?
The traditional InMail is the one that is sent by an individual, while sponsored InMail is an automated advertising function. The significant differences are:
- Recipients only receive sponsored InMail messages when they are active on LinkedIn.
- Recipients cannot reply to sponsored InMail messages as they do for a normal message.
- Sponsored InMail is less expensive than normal InMail.
- The message ads are marked as ‘sponsored’.
- Sponsored messages are built for lead generation activities such as promoting live streams, eBooks, and other content marketing activities, unlike InMail, which is designed for one-to-one engagement, sales prospecting, and recruitment.
Why use Sponsored InMail?
Salespeople use message ads for several reasons, from lead generation to account-based sales. Here’s why you should use message ads for your campaigns:
- Specific targeting – It helps to deliver a targeted message to a particular demographic that you choose with a single call-to-action button. You may want to drive them to make an enquiry or download a brochure, to name a few.
- High open rates – InMails get delivered to your prospect’s LinkedIn inbox, unlike emails which can land in a spam folder. LinkedIn says that sponsored messages have an open rate close to 70%, which is higher than the average cold email open rate.
- Bulk messages – Instead of sending manual messages, you can scale your message ads with automation.
- Lead Generation – You can add a lead generation form to your message to collect leads directly. It makes your marketing efforts more efficient by increasing conversions by up to four times.
- Performance monitoring – Message ads have comprehensive reporting and conversion tracking features that allow you to see how well your campaigns perform. It provides you with specific insights, such as open rates, click-through rates and which companies are taking action.
LinkedIn message ads best practices
Make your pitch persuasive
All you have to do is explain how your offerings benefit them. Even if you ask your prospect for something, you can mention how it will help both. You need to create value, so they can be enticed to respond and engage further.
Mention the reason for your message
Let the recipient know the reason for sending a message. For instance, if you want to connect, state that in the message. Ask for the connection and tell them why you want to connect with them.
Keep it short and clear
Don’t send a message with long paragraphs, as people don’t have the patience and time to read them. Make sure your message is easy to understand and grammatically correct as well. When you talk to the point, it demonstrates that you respect others’ time.
Personalize message
Check out the recipient’s LinkedIn profile in detail before you send a message to them. Use the insights gained to personalize the message. You can also mention the mutual connection, education, employment, and articles, to show that you have shared interests and try to establish some common ground.
Have a strong closing statement
Don’t assume that your recipient knows what you want them to do. Ask them if you’ll talk over the phone or meet in person. Add specifics about what you want, including the time and date for the meeting. A strong CTA helps you get a higher response rate.
LinkedIn message ad specs
Your LinkedIn message ads should adhere to the following specifications:
- Ad name < 50 characters (Optional)
- Subject line < 60 characters
- Body copy < 1500 characters, including punctuation and spaces
- Anchor text in body < 70 characters
- Landing page URL in CTA < 2000 characters
- CTA button text < 20 characters
- Clickable links: maximum 3
- Image: 300 pixels x 250 pixels
- File type: GIF or PNG
- File size < 2MB
- URL: Click-through
How much does LinkedIn sponsor messages cost?
LinkedIn-sponsored InMails are affordable these days, and the stats are as follows:
- The minimum campaign budget should be $25.
- The cost per send depends on your audience and targeting, but it may cost around $0.20 per send.
- With an open rate below 50% and a CTR of 4%, you can expect at least $5 per click.
Key Takeaways
LinkedIn message ads are a great addition to companies online marketing strategy. It allows you to easily reach out to leads making it a B2B seller’s best friend. If you don’t utilize it well, you’ll lose your potential leads, wasting time and money. Therefore, take time to build a great campaign. Create sponsored messages that resonate with your target audience, optimize them, and use the platform’s analytics tools to track your results.
